The proposed Anglo-Scottish union between Westminster-based Bircham Dyson Bell and Edinburgh-headquartered Dundas & Wilson has been abandoned. And rumours are circulating that partners are leaving Dundas in droves.

The suggestion that a potential tie up might be on the cards between Dundas and Bircham was doing the rounds for a good few months over the summer. But this was strongly denied by the firms until last month, when a joint statement was released explaining that that "given our positive mutual experience of collaboration to date" discussions were taking place to "combine forces more formally."

But it seems the warm and fuzzy feelings of mutual collaboration swiftly dissipated once the firms got down to the nitty gritty of, well, actually asking their partners what they thought of the idea. Which was clearly not very much. So another joint statement has been swiftly issued, with Dundas and Bircham confessing that "due to differences in their operating models, the downsides outweigh the potential upsides."

Lukewarm Anglo-Scottish reactions yesterday

It's perhaps a bit of a blow for Dundas, which has been on the hunt for a London partner for some time now. But with some RollOnFriday sources suggesting that "partners are fleeing from Dundas like rats from a sinking ship", the firm may be facing more pressing problems than failing to find love in the Big Smoke. There have been several high profile departures of late, amongst them banking partner Ross Caldwell and projects partner Andy Renton who, according to a spokesman for the firm, "decided that this is an appropriate juncture for him to take a career break."

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