A professional services group which has operations across Britain has bought a London-headquartered contractor accountancy firm.

Optionis is headquartered in Warrington and comprises six subsidiaries; Parasol, ClearSky Contractor Accounting, SJD Accountancy, Nixon Williams, ClearSky Business and Brian Alfred. These have offices in a number of locations, with some operating specifically in Poole, Hemel Hempstead, Salford, Newcastle, Birmingham, Reading and Edinburgh.

SJD has sites in a multitude of locations.

It has bought First Freelance and its sister umbrella company First Five Projects Ltd, which trades as First Umbrella. The pair were founded in 2013 and are based in London, providing accountancy and umbrella employment services to contractors and freelancers.

The businesses are led by managing director Mark Beal-Preston, commercial director Reece Harrod and operations director Carlo Fardella. Following the sale of their shares, the trio will remain on board as part of plans to continue to scale the companies’ operations.

The acquisition is designed to further strengthen Optionis Group’s position in the contractor accountancy and umbrella market.

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