As Duncan & Toplis marks its centenary in 2025, we’re not simply celebrating where we’ve been, but connecting with where we’re going. This year, that journey leads, rather definitively, to Derbyshire, with the acquisition of respected local company, Underwood Green.
Underwood Green has been part of Duncan & Toplis since February 2025, but we’ve been part of the fabric of Derby and the wider East Midlands for over 20 years now. A few months in, we’re pleased that our business-as-usual approach for employees and clients enables both to be excited about the new opportunities that occur from this exciting acquisition.
Our clients can enjoy a greater breadth of services by being part of a larger, well-resourced business. Duncan & Toplis is a respected company in the East Midlands, and it’s great to be part of that. We’re excited to grow our presence in the area with their backing.
With a proud legacy of helping businesses, individuals, and communities to thrive since 1925, Duncan & Toplis is elated to open our doors in one of the UK’s most ambitious and fast-evolving cities.
Derby’s dynamic business environment, strong talent pool and well-connected infrastructure make it a natural fit for our next chapter. With thriving sectors including advanced manufacturing, logistics, education, and healthcare, the region is packed with potential, and we’re here to help unlock it.
Underwood Green brings with it more than 20 years of experience in Derby, specialising in accountancy, audit, and regulatory services, particularly for legal sector clients such as SME solicitors. We’ve mostly grown through word of mouth, and many of our clients are a short distance from our location at Pride Park. Our team in Derby currently serves clients with turnovers ranging from £1 million to £80 million.
The move into Derby builds on the existing presence of Duncan & Toplis in neighbouring counties, offering greater local access to the same expert services: from audit, tax and cloud accounting to legal, payroll, IT and wealth management.
We’re not new to the region, but we are excited to deepen our roots here. As in every community we serve, our intention is to be more than just advisers; we aim to be collaborative partners in long-term success.
Duncan & Toplis began in Nottingham with a small office and a big vision: to help local businesses build a strong financial foundation. Over the decades, the company has grown to become one of the UK’s leading accounting and business advisory groups, with more than 500 team members and 14 locations, now including in the heart of Derby too.
The 100-year Duncan & Toplis journey has seen eras of immense change; weathering economic booms, recessions, digital revolutions, and a global pandemic. Through it all, the values to trust, partnership, and a commitment to people-first have remained constant.
This year’s ‘For the Future’ campaign isn’t just about honouring the past - it’s about preparing clients for what’s next. That means offering services that are as future-proof as they are grounded in experience, with advice tailored for the modern challenges and opportunities that business leaders face today.
Duncan & Toplis has always believed that strong businesses are built on strong relationships, with clients, with communities, and with the people who support them. The centenary campaign places particular emphasis on lifelong support, offering guidance for every milestone, whether that’s launching a start-up, expanding an enterprise, managing personal wealth, or planning for succession.
All Duncan & Toplis employees are now part of a larger group. It offers more opportunities to grow their professional careers, providing more opportunities to retain talent; with employees now working in different service areas, with different clients, in different regions. That just wasn’t possible previously.
That same ethos shapes our internal culture. We invest heavily in our team’s development, wellbeing and leadership potential, because we know that great people power great service. Many of our directors began their careers with us in entry-level positions, and we’re proud to create opportunities that help local talent thrive.
One hundred years in, and we’re just getting started. We are in Derby with a clear purpose: to help clients not only navigate change but embrace it, by turning challenges into opportunities and ambition into action.
Duncan & Toplis is a large business, but we felt that the friendly and professional cultural fit would work well. Derby is a great place to live and a great place to do business, with beautiful Derbyshire on our doorstep and a proud industrial heritage.
Duncan & Toplis is excited to bring its legacy to Derby, but more importantly, we’re proud to help shape its future. Contact us to discover more about our growing team and how it can support you.
