Baldwins expanding into south east England

Baldwins' parent group, Cogital, has acquired Wilkins Kennedy in its largest acquisition since its launch.

Wilkins Kennedy has 18 offices throughout the south east, which contribute to a collective annual turnover in excess of £54m with 700 employees.

The move will see Wilkins Kennedy’s offices working alongside Baldwins’ existing offices in Union Street, Wolverhampton and Lichfield Street, Walsall.

The offices in south east England will continue to operate as Wilkins Kennedy, which was originally founded in 1882. After joining forces, the offices will continue to serve their local markets including SMEs and owner managed businesses as well as operating specialist teams across sectors including not-for-profit, financial markets, insurance, property and construction, professional services and public sector.

Baldwins has been part of the Cogital Group since 2016. It is an international business services group with annual revenues of £480m, employing around 6,000 people across 170 offices.

Mark Craddock, Baldwins regional director for the West Midlands, believes the latest move will act as a catalyst for further growth.

He said: “From our experience with previous acquisitions, this will be a case of business as usual although Wilkins Kennedy’s clients can expect to receive further support with additional expertise from across our group. We have found that when our clients look to us for help, our scale and range of services has allowed our offices to provide exceptional advice tailored to their clients’ individual needs.

“We have a shared vision with Wilkins Kennedy on the high quality of service we provide to our clients across accounting and broader business services.

“A core part of our diverse client base is made up of owner managed SMEs at varying stages of the journeys, and we look forward to providing additional resource to Wilkins Kennedys’ one-stop-shop offering, whether it is helping businesses to navigate pressing issues such as preparing for Making Tax Digital legislation, or assisting with specialist services such as corporate finance or restructuring.”

Wilkins Kennedy’s arrival forms part of the group’s strategic expansion plan which, under the guidance of Baldwins founder John Baldwin, has seen the firm grow to 82 offices across England, Wales and Scotland.

Mark continued: “Our passion for providing a personalised, high quality service, combined with our increased scale and market focus give us a competitive advantage and we are delighted that Wilkins Kennedy have joined the group.

“Wilkins Kennedy has built up a solid reputation in the busiest business region across a plethora of sectors, just like Baldwins has done in other areas of the UK, and we look forward to working together to further expand the business further.”