Robson Rhodes merger with Grant Thornton resolves a problem the firm had set itself in an annual report just a couple of years ago - how to become a £200m firm by 2007.

The merger, announced at the weekend, will create a £369m firm once revenues from both are combined solving the issue of how the firm would grow from its current £85m.

Perhaps though, when that ambition was laid out so publicly, it was not envisaged that the Robson Rhodes name would disappear forever from UK accounting. Having said that, it could not have been an unknown possibility.

And getting this far has had its ups and downs, as well as its casualities. Sukhbinder Heer, the former managing partner charged with raising that income parted company with firm after gambling on a steep rise in consultancy income. Robson Rhodes insisted that the departure and the unfulfilled ambitions were unconnected.

Heer later suggested it was a lack of entrepreneurial drive that held back the firm. On taking on a new post with MGI Wenham Major, he said: 'Having worked for a large firm, I know how difficult it can be to move quickly. At a small firm with an entrepreneurial spirit you can implement new ideas and grow quickly. This was something that I tried to develop at Robson Rhodes, but there were always a number of people that had to be moved along.’

The £200m ambition seemed to be dead in the water.

David Maxwell, the current managing partner, then admitted in July last year that he might have to ask partners for more money in order to invest in future growth, while at the same time revealing a u-turn in strategy.

At the time he told Accountancy Age: 'We are discussing the possibility of asking partners for funds to invest in future growth. Our focus is on building depth in key sectors rather than achieving £200m revenues. Quality is our priority. We want to develop people rather than numbers.'

Robson Rhodes also announced it would merge with US firm McGladrey - but it seems that signatures were never placed on the contract as talks went on interminably.

Now however, Maxwell has taken the firm in another direction entirely, with staff, partners and officers becoming part of Grant Thornton UK.

It is unclear as yet whether the management team at Robson Rhodes will play any part in determining the direction of GT, or whether the coming together will mean job losses for some.

For the time being however, the future of Robson Rhodes the firm has been well and truly settled.