AAB expands HR consultancy with key acquisition

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Pictured (L to R): Anne Dougan (Think People), Graeme Allan (AAB), Emer Hinphey (Think People), Feargal McCormack (AAB)

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AAB, the tech-enabled business critical services group, has today (Monday 22nd August 2022) announced a key acquisition to expand the HR consultancy services offered across the group.

Think People Consulting Ltd is an HR consultancy with an annual revenue of c. £1.7million, and a team of 24 people based across Belfast and Dublin.

Established by Anne Dougan and Emer Hinphey in 2006, Think People provides support to clients across a diverse suite of HR services, people development and organisational development. The company has a wide range of clients in both the private and public sector. Both Anne and Emer are remaining with the business to support ambitious growth plans to grow the Think People business as part of AAB.

AAB already has a strong track record in this field: Purpose HR joined the group in July 2021, and within 12 months reported the doubling of both turnover and headcount.

Following investment from August Equity, AAB has begun building strong regional hubs across the UK and Ireland. In May 2022, independent audit, accounting, tax and business advisory firm, FPM, was the first in Ireland to join the group. The addition of Think People is another significant step forward as AAB builds its reputation as a diversified business critical services group in the region.

Graeme Allan, Chief Executive of AAB, commented: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to expand the range of HR consultancy services that we can deliver for our clients. We are delighted to welcome the fantastic team at Think People to the group, and look forward to developing our HR offering across the UK, Ireland and internationally.”

Anne Dougan and Emer Hinphey, Managing Partners of Think People added: “We are delighted to join AAB, as we share strong values with the AAB team and their approach to delivering unparalleled services. We look forward to realising the benefits of the wider group support and range of services, to bring more value to our clients, and to help us realise our shared growth plans.”

Feargal McCormack, Managing Partner – Ireland of AAB added: “Since joining AAB 4 months ago we have been getting to know the enlarged team and collaborating on some new and exciting projects. We see the addition of Think People to the group on the island of Ireland as a perfect fit to offer our clients even more services maximising their success. Our shared synergies will ensure our clients and teams will continue to benefit from our Better Together approach.”

Following the acquisition, AAB will continue to actively pursue its organic and M&A growth plans, strengthening its team with further recruitment across all locations, and continuing to identify attractive M&A opportunities which augment the group’s current activities.