The new division, Xeinadin Tax Advisory will be led by Owens and creates a central resource for the firm’s regional offices to provide new and existing clients with expert advice on direct taxes.

About Tax only had two members of staff so Xeinadin will be building up the new service around the expertise of Owens with plans to recruit a team of tax experts.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

The acquisition will enhance Xeinadin’s position in the tax market and will complement the indirect tax function provided by Centurion VAT.

Owens has over a decade of leadership experience across a variety of independent tax consultancies, including having founded About Tax in 2018, as a tax planning and advisory firm focused on owner-managed businesses and SMEs.

The new function will leverage Owens’ expert knowledge to enhance the services provided to clients and firms across the group, while About Tax will continue to provide services across its existing client base, which consists of a variety of small and medium sized independent accountancy firms.

The new division will draw upon existing specialists across the group and will also be looking to expand through external hires. Within two months at Xeinadin Group, the soft launch of the offering has already secured a significant amount of new business which shows a promising future for the team.

Xeinadin is a group of business advisory and accountancy practices with annual fee income of £97.7m and is ranked 18th in the Accountancy Daily Top 75 Firms annual league table.

Derry Crowley, CEO, Xeinadin Group, said: ‘Tax Advisory is the latest development in the Xeinadin offering. It is a highly specialised area and a high value service and we are pleased to be able to provide our clients with this level of advice.

‘Adam and the team are specialists and will further expand what our group can offer to clients, encouraging greater retention and attracting new clients.’

Adam Owens, tax director, Xeinadin Tax Advisory, said: ‘Xeinadin Group seemed like the perfect fit for our service offering. We have a shared focus on SME and owner-managed clients and are able to provide a specialist skill set which is of great value to the group’s client base.

‘We are looking forward to being part of the team and making the most of the huge opportunity ahead.’

The move follows the creation of Xeinadin Corporate Recovery in April and Xeinadin Corporate Finance division last September.

The Xeinadin group has over 130 offices across the UK and Ireland and 1,700 staff, and provides 40 service lines to 50,000 clients, predominantly small and medium sized businesses and their owner managers.