Alison Macfarlane and Greig McPhail, two of the three partners in Macfarlane & Co, will retire from practice. April Cuthbert, currently a partner in Macfarlane & Co, will join Holmes Mackillop as a senior associate in its office at 35 William Street, Johnstone, Renfrewshire which has been serving clients in that area for over 100 years.

Jan Kerr and Heather McQuilken, currently associates in Macfarlane & Co, will also join Holmes Mackillop’s team of solicitors.

The longstanding office of Macfarlane & Co at 4 Kenmure Avenue, Bishopbriggs, will become an important new location for Holmes Mackillop’s business going forward and Ms Kerr will continue to be based there. Macfarlane & Co’s office at 142 St Vincent Street will close, with the business transferring to Holmes Mackillop’s Glasgow office at 109 Douglas Street.

Holmes Mackillop will assume the rights to the name “Macfarlane & Co incorporating Philp & Miller” and will trade initially as “Holmes Mackillop Solicitors incorporating Macfarlane & Co” and then as “Holmes Mackillop Solicitors”.

Alison Macfarlane, who founded her firm in 1971, said: “Macfarlane & Co has been providing high quality legal advice to its clients throughout Scotland for over 50 years and, as a result of a number of successful mergers during that time, is proud to share with Greig McPhail, previously of Philp & Miller, a longstanding and loyal client base, in some cases representing families for five generations.

“I am so pleased to have agreed this deal with Holmes Mackillop, a firm we know well and hold in the highest regard. We are confident clients will find an excellent fit in terms of service and culture. Clients will also enjoy access to a greater range of legal specialisms such as dispute resolution, corporate law and some of the more complex areas of tax and trusts work.”

Ross Brown, director, who heads up Holmes Mackillop’s wills, tax and estates team, said: “It is a privilege to have this opportunity to look after Macfarlane & Co’s clients, and to welcome April, Jan and Heather and their colleagues to our firm.

“We will all work hard to ensure a smooth transition, and to make sure that our new clients feel at home with Holmes Mackillop. In the last 12 months we have made significant investments in our teams, opening offices in Milngavie and Giffnock following our successful merger with Campbell Riddell Breeze Paterson and establishing a presence in Prestwick, and we are now delighted to be able to continue to serve clients in Bishopbriggs and grow our client base there. We wish Alison and Greig a very happy and well-deserved retirement.”