THE END of the year saw two of the South West’s independent accountancy firms joining forces.

One of the two firms is Somerset-based Butterworth Jones, who have five offices across the county, including in Langport and Bridgwater.

The company, which was founded nearly 100 years ago, is merging with Devon firm Thomas Westcott.

John Parker, managing partner of Butterworth Jones, said: “A key advantage of this merger will be our ability to broaden the portfolio of services available to clients.

“Over almost a century we have provided high quality accountancy services and joining forces with Thomas Westcott will only enhance our reputation and create huge opportunities both for the business and our clients.”

“Our hallmark is to deliver specialist services across a range of sectors through local offices.”

The two firms will have a combined business with 24 partners and 190 staff across 18 offices in Somerset and Devon.

Richard Thomas, chairman of Thomas Westcott, said: “The merger is the ideal coming together for us and our clients as we continue to build a full-service accountancy business delivering first-class proactive support that adds real value to our clients.”

“Butterworth Jones is a well-established and successful accountancy firm and we believe the two firms’ highly-complementary service offerings will significantly strengthen our overall market position in the South West and beyond.”

For more information, you can contact Butterworth Jones Langport office on 01458 250208, or their Bridgwater branch on 01278 458 251.