Accountancy and law firm Optimum Professional Services has cemented its move into Gloucestershire by taking over another practice in the county.

Stroud-based Chris Mattos Tax is being absorbed by Optimum, whose headquarters are in Swindon and who last month opened an additional office in Cheltenham.

Founder Chris Mattos is passing on his business as he is seeking to step back to pursue other interests. Two members of his team are joining Optimum.

"We are very excited to be taking over Chris's business and looking forward to working with his clients, whether they need our help with accountancy, or legal services or - as is increasingly the case - both," said Rob Stokes, audit and accounts director at Optimum.

"This acquisition, following closely on from opening our new office in Cheltenham, shows our commitment to the clients we already have in the county as well as to Chris's clients, who we look forward to supporting in their business and their personal lives."

Both Mr Stokes and Optimum's assurance & accounts manager Hannah Matthews have previously worked in Gloucestershire and have a large client base in the county.

Prior to joining Optimum, accounts director Michael Blaken was based in Stroud and also has an established group of clients and contacts in the area.

He said: "We are delighted that Chris chose to entrust Optimum with the business he has grown so successfully. We felt it was a very good fit for us, as we share a similar ethos and values, and the added bonus for Chris's clients is that they will now have easy access to our legal division as we strive to provide a seamless service. We would like to wish Chris all the best with his plans for the future."

Optimum offers a range of accountancy, audit and business services (including payroll and bookkeeping) and on the legal side specialises in commercial and residential property law, wills and probate.

Chris Mattos said having to work from home during 2020, and finding he could still deliver a quality service to his clients, made him realise that having a local, Gloucestershire based firm take over his business was less important than the quality of the firm.

"What was more important was that the new firm's team were similar to ours, that their ethos was similar to ours and that they had the capability to deal with the growing diversity of clients that we have welcomed. In Optimum we believe we have found this fit," he added.

"We didn't want to find just a safe pair of hands for clients to move to, we wanted accountants who listen to the issues our clients need help with in their business life, personal life and family life and to match their services to suit clients' needs."

Chris Mattos is not retiring altogether. He remains head of group finance for the i6 Group, but also plans to spend more time with his children and on his two great loves of cycling and chess.

Optimum is recruiting for both its legal and accountancy divisions, to work in Cheltenham and Swindon. For more information, email careers@optps.co.uk.

For more about Optimum, visit https://www.optps.co.uk/, or call the Cheltenham office on 01242 384 936 or the Swindon office on 01793 538 198.