The three owners of the firm - executive chairman Ric Traynor and chief operating officer Andrew Dick (the firm's founders), along with chief financial officer Graham McInnes - will not sell any of their shares. Instead they will be repaid £2m from an outstanding loan of £5.6m, through money raised from the flotation.

The flotation will give Begbies a market value of £30m. A spokeswoman for Begbies insisted that, while the flotation could raise between £4m and £12m, the decision to go public was not a 'fundraising exercise', and that £4m would be sufficient.

'Being a quoted company will help raise the profile of the group and give it the competitive edge. It's also appropriate after 16 years of growth,' the spokeswoman said.

The firm said that the flotation would act as a further incentive to management and employees through the increased shareholding opportunity and the provision of a market for their shares.

Begbies Traynor said it will use the money raised to open new offices, fund further acquisitions and staff recruitment, while providing the working capital to increase the firm's scope and range of services.