Details: Brown Edwards Co., a Top 100 Firm based in Roanoke, has acquired a majority interest in Covenant Real Estate Services LLC, a real estate title and settlement firm in Salem, Virginia, and separately merged with Gregg Bailey P.C., an accounting firm in Richmond, effective Jan. 1, 2020.
Covenant Real Estate Services, founded by Roger Kronau and Jerry Dunnavant, serves attorneys, lenders, developers, investors and realtors in helping clients perform the due diligence needed to purchase or refinance real estate. The expansion of Brown Edwards’ services is said by the firm to be one of the first such acquisitions of a title and settlement operation by an accounting firm in the U.S.
“Real estate service offerings are a natural fit with our goal of being a one-stop shop and most trusted advisor for our clients,” said Brown Edwards CEO Jason Hartman in a statement. “Covenant, with its solid reputation in the industry, and depth of experience fits the bill nicely.”
Financial terms were not disclosed. Brown Edwards ranked 98th on Accounting Today’s 2019 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $42.4 million in annual revenue.
As part of the deal, Dunnavant will continue his role as president of Covenant and will also become director of business development at Brown Edwards, where he will focus on overall strategies to improve business growth for the firm in existing markets and expand in new markets such as Newport News and Richmond. “This is an ideal marriage for Covenant as we look to expand our service footprint and offerings,” Dunnavant said in a statement, Both of our organizations have shared values as to quality, accuracy, and reliability which provides peace of mind for our clients.” Kronau will continue with Covenant as operations manager, while Covenant’s current director of business development, Mike Walton, will transition into the role of director of marketing and communication at Brown Edwards.
Brown Edwards also recently announced a merger with Gregg Bailey, P.C. As part of the deal, GB partners Brad Bailey and Beth Llewellyn and their employees will join the Brown Edwards team.
“The addition of GB to Brown Edwards will have a significant impact on the combined firms as we continue to strive to better serve our clients and the communities we operate in through our growing practice,” Hartman said in a statement. “This merger positions us to provide a greater depth of expertise and resources to serve our clients, especially those in the Richmond area, strengthens Brown Edwards’ position as one of the largest independent CPA firms in Virginia, and expands our geographic footprint into a vital market.”
GB sees the merger as a way to offer its clients a greater array of services. “We recognized that the next step for our team members and clients was to merge with a firm that could enable us to expand the level of services we can offer to our clients, but wanted to be part of a firm that is committed to high quality and service as we are,” Bailey said in a statement. “We are very excited about joining Brown Edwards. They are a growing firm with resources and expertise that will bring depth and a broader range of services to our clients and that will provide additional opportunities for our staff to grow and develop.”