Douglas Home & Co welcomes growing turnover amid 40th anniversary

Douglas Home and Co has welcomed hitting a turnover of £4m as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. It comes as the firm has seen a growing client list across Scottish and English border towns, Cumbria and Northumberland, as well as its newest office in Edinburgh. The firm was established in 1983 with the opening of a small office in Kelso and Berwick-upon-Tweed’s quayside by accountant Andrew Douglas Home. Today, it employs 70 staff across seven offices with a six-strong board of directors overseeing seven specialist services. The firm specialises in agriculture, estates, hospitality, tourism and professional services, and serves small and medium sized businesses, land and estate owners and sole traders. In addition to offering accountancy and tax services, the firm has teams specialising in audit and assurance, business compliance, personal estate planning and IT services. Following the retirement of founder Andrew Douglas Home in 2003, the practice has been led by Alan Drummond, who led the team of directors for several years, and appointed Darren Thomson, Mike Johnston, Caroline Tice, Sheryl Macaulay, and Victoria Ivinson to the board. Douglas Home and Co managing director, Darren Thomson, said: “It’s incredible to see the growth of the firm since Andrew started the business in 1983. Forty years advising some incredible businesses and individual clients across Scotland and England is a significant milestone and we are looking forward to the next 40 years and beyond. “Being ahead of the curve has really helped that growth and making the best use of the latest technologies to be as efficient and cost effective as possible for our clients was an important chapter for us. We first invested in computers back in 1989 when they each cost around the price of a new car.” He added: “Financial success and security is important for any business, but we also pride ourselves on the strength of our client relationships, with a good number dating back to the founding of the firm. “We have also been very focused on investing in staff and improving individual’s professional and commercial know-how to create teams which match the growth in the size of our business and meet clients’ expectations. It has been some journey over the past 40 years and it has been incredible to watch Douglas Home and Co adapt and thrive in the ever-changing industry – we can’t wait to see what the next 40 bring.” Headquartered in Kelso, Douglas Home and Co has offices in Alnwick, Edinburgh, Haddington, Hawick, Melrose and Penrith.