Opus Business Advisory Group, following its continued success, has moved into the Scottish market with the opening of its first Scottish office in Glasgow, led by experienced local insolvency and restructuring expert Mark Harper.

With this expansion, Opus will have eleven locations including Glasgow, stretching from Bristol in the South West and taking in Maidstone, Croydon, London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle.

This latest growth in the Opus network further increases its ability to offer advisory services to businesses and individuals right across the United Kingdom.  It provides restructuring & insolvency, corporate finance, forensic and other allied specialisations from each office.

Having a wide geographical coverage and such extensive resources enables the firm to carry out nationwide and complex assignments. Opus has grown rapidly since it was established in 2013 – from 5 partners and 2 locations at formation to 21 partners and over 40 team members in 11 locations.

The new office in West Regent Street will be led by Mark Harper, who has been active in the Glasgow business rescue market for over a decade, specialising in corporate insolvency proceedings including administrations, company voluntary arrangements and all forms of liquidations across a wide range of sectors. He is adept at managing a substantial portfolio of cases, as well as dealing with creditor-led sequestrations.

Mark is qualified as an insolvency practitioner, having passed his JIEB exams in 2017 and 2018. He was the ICAS prize winner for first place in the Scottish papers in 2017.

He anticipates that 2021 will be a difficult year for businesses and individuals as they try to navigate the inevitable financial issues they will face as they transition from lockdown to a world without the support of the government’s vital support measures.

The eventual ending of schemes like furlough and bans on landlord enforcement and winding up petitions will create a cash flow minefield, as businesses try to return to full operation, but with their resources so badly depleted by more than a year of relentless disruption.

Mark said:

‘I am thrilled to be joining the progressive team at Opus, their network and support will provide me with the platform to be even more active in supporting businesses in Glasgow and throughout Scotland as they face such uncertainty. The Opus ethos of supporting people in identifying early signs of distress and providing clear, pragmatic guidance and advice is one which I share completely.

I will be looking to grow the local team in Glasgow with like-minded professionals with the relevant skills and experience to add value to the group, however having access to the extensive resources and expertise of the whole Opus network, means that I will be able to take on assignments of all sizes and across all sectors right from the outset.’

Steve Parker, a founding partner of Opus, added:

‘The success of the vaccination programme and the promise of greater freedom as restrictions are eased are encouraging but nobody should expect the rest of 2021 and 2022 to be anything except deeply challenging for businesses and individuals. Huge financial and commercial damage has been done by the pandemic, so the road to recovery will be dangerous for many.

Having Mark join us is another significant step, it has always been a priority to open a Scottish office to compliment and grow our national network. We are delighted that Mark shares our philosophy of providing the highest quality national service, but one that will always be firmly rooted in strong local knowledge and experience. Our intention is to continue playing a key role in delivering the best possible outcomes for the broad range of stakeholders.’

If you would like to speak directly to Mark, he can be contacted at:

Mark Harper
Mark.harper@opusllp.com
+44 (0) 141 648 2030
+44 (0) 7545 215 824