After the challenges and uncertainty of last year, 2021 brought with it a new reality and a sense of hope.

Though navigating the wake of the pandemic has not been easy, our clients have once again shown determination, courage and innovation to reinforce and develop their businesses.

At the GS Verde Group, we are fortunate to have seen positive news across the Group this year;

Acquisition of Astrum Accountants:

The Group began the year by taking another step on our buy and build growth strategy, with the strategic acquisition of South West based Astrum Accountants.

Astrum has added outsourced finance director and accounting services to the integrated professional services provided to businesses on a scale-up or growth trajectory.

Its clients have since been able to access to the Group's other services including legal, corporate finance, and marketing and communication strategy advice, and the company formally became GS Verde Accountants later that year.

Now with GS Verde Accountants, the Group has not only increased its service offering to scale-up business owners, but also grown its geographical footprint.

Launch of Business Transfer Agency:

After launching our Business Transfer Agency late last year, we have seen it go from strength to strength.

A digital and platform-based business sales brokerage, the GSV Business Transfer typically works on the sale of businesses up to £2 million.

This service has strengthened the Group's services, offering end-to-end support for our clients, from valuing businesses, negotiating offers, through to completion, with access to an extensive market of buyers.

We are seeing incredible traction for businesses wanted to be sold, with others looking to use the Business Transfer Agency to find acquisition targets - 2022 is expected to be a big year for that part of GS Verde.

Brand alignment:

This year, the GS Verde Group announced brand alignment, to reflect our 'multiple disciplines: one team' approach. Each part of the GS Verde Group now carries the GS Verde brand, followed by; Law, Corporate Finance, Accountants, Tax, Investment Network, Business Transfer, and Communications.

We saw how our clients benefited from our integrated approach, and while we are proud of the reputation achieved by each individual business, working as one affords our clients the best corporate dealmaking advice across multiple disciplines.

With our unique approach now fully reflected in our branding, we are augmenting reality to create success for the businesses we work with.

GS Verde team grows to 60 staff members:

As a result of significant growth in 2021, our team has also expanded in numbers. The GS Verde Group now has a headcount of over 60, which is thanks in part to the Astrum Accounting staff joining our team, but also a mixture of hiring young talent and appointing experienced specialists as Directors across our disciplines.

Over eight years, to have grown from a two-person start-up to an industry-leading enterprise is something we as a Group are very proud of. Nowhere was this more felt than the GS Verde Group conference, where we were fortunate enough to gather the entire team under one roof and celebrate the success we have seen throughout the year.

First office outside the UK opened in Dublin:

The opening of our Dublin office this summer marked our first expansion outside of the UK. Located in Dublin's premiere business district, Dublin 2, this growth follows client-led demand with both new and existing client agreements in the country across industries including Aviation, SaaS and Technology.

Some of the world's biggest brands including Google, Facebook and Microsoft, have a presence here and we are delighted to join them as we continue to grow our own disruptive, fast-growth business.

We have big plans for GS Verde Group to accelerate and grow further, as we actively look to acquire and recruit high quality talent across the Group to support our growth plans. Our Dublin office opens up many opportunities for growth not just in the UK but across the EU and worldwide.

Best year of trading in our history:

The developments within our Group this year have made it our best year of trading yet, having met our expansion target set out last year, which in itself marks a significant increase from the end of 2020.

Having achieved this goal and expanded our connections across the UK and Ireland, with our Cardiff, Bristol, and Dublin offices, alongside satellite offices in Oxford and London, GS Verde is set to continue this progress through 2022.

In summary:

Though there was less disruption in 2021 than the preceding year, it was not without challenges. At the GS Verde Group we are proud of our progress in spite of this and feel optimistic about the coming year, as our clients are regularly reporting back on the benefits of our 'one team' approach.

We are primed to continue our growth through Wales, Bristol, the South West of England and now Ireland, and the Group has even more ambitious plans for further growth in 2022.

On behalf of all my colleagues across our Group, we wish all of our friends, clients and contacts a happy holiday season, and a safe and prosperous 2022.

Nigel Greenaway, CEO, GS Verde Group