Start-up QS company Thomson Gray Partnership has already received two buy-out offers, which it has turned down.

The Edinburgh based firm launched in only 2004 under the stewardship of Ron Thomson, former head of Scotland for Gardiner & Theobald and another ex-G&T man, Stuart Gray.

The fledgling firm baosts heavyweight clients such as Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh University and the NHS.

Ron Thomson built up G&T's Edinburgh branch from six people to 35 in five to six years during the 1990s. The G&T office is now understood to employ around 20 staff, including18 fee earners.

Thomson said: "When you get to 30 to 35 people you tend to have a more bureaucratic and disciplined approach. That's fine but you find you do more reporting to partners and spend less time on winning work, which for me is the fun part."

Thomson Gray has a staff of 12 and plans to grow no larger than 15-20 strong.

• Another new QS firm Long O'Donnell Associates, based in Northwich, Cheshire, is showing signs of strength. The firm plans to open a Dublin office in three months. The firm is working in the Irish gas and water sectors.

Source

QS News