 It was formed as a "consolidator", inviting existing small local accountancy partnerships to join it and become part of a national company.It acquired five firms in April 2001 for £60 million, making it the 15th largest and the first PLC in the United Kingdom league table of accountancy firms.In practice, the company found it difficult to integrate these businesses, and its share price dropped to 6.25p in 2003, following the dot-com bubble.