Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.
AIA

Practice News: GT buys Navigant’s financial services arm

by
26th Jul 2013
Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

A round-up of significant executive moves, announcements and other developments from the world of practice during July 2013.

KPMG appoints 29 partners 

26 June - The Big Four firm has made a raft of appointments, including 80 directors. 

The promotions will take effect from 1 October, the majority of which are in the financial services team.

There are also seven in cross-sector, eight in regions outside London, two in healthcare, one in consumer goods and relations, one in telecommunications, onein technology and media, one in private equity and another in infrastructure.

UK Chairman of KPMG Simon Collins said the appointments were in line with the firm's growth. 

“Financial services is a high growth sector for us and accordingly 20% of our new partners advise businesses in this field, notably in the banking sector where we are seeing substantial business model and culture change.  We’ve also promoted specialists at the heart of the biggest issues society faces, for example transport and healthcare," he said.

***

Seymour Taylor acquires Colston Bush 

25 June -The Thames Valley based firms will merge, with Colston Bush's staff joining the Seymour Taylor team.

Colston Bush partner David Postlethwaite will remain during the handover period before retiring, whilst colleagues Martin Spittle and Ian Petty are joining Seymour Taylor as associate directors, along with all staff.

The firm has been in practice in Marlow for over 35 years and the partners had been seeking a succession strategy.

Postlethewaite said: "We are very pleased to have found a way forward in joining Seymour Taylor. I believe with this merge it has opened up greater access to expert fields and I see many opportunities ahead for our clients and staff."

***

New senior management team for Knights Lowe

23 July - The 25-year-old East Anglia based firm created the team as part of its expansion and reorganisation. 

Founding partner Paul Knights is now its chairman and Daniel Mead, Sarah Healey Pearce, James Knights and Neil Sandry will each take on responsibilities for the day to day business management.

“The restructure means I can recognise the important role that Neil and Daniel have both played as the practice has grown and to promote Sarah and James so they can also play a strategic role in developing the business," Knights said.

Sandry joined the practice in 1988 and becomes company secretary. 

Mead trained with the firm and now specialises in tax planning and business advice to owner-managed companies who want to develop their businesses.

Healey Pearce joined Knights Lowe after graduating and now leads the corporate finance team, with her own client portfolio of owner-managed businesses.

James Knights graduated in 2005 and joined the practice the same year, qualifying in 2008.

***

RSM Tenon partner joins global tax team at Kinetic partners

19 July - Gary Ashford, the former head of tax at Tenon, joined Kinetic's London office. 

Ashford, a leading expert in offshore tax risk and investigation matters, will assist clients, financial institutions and fiduciary companies in relation to the various FATCA intergovernmental agreements, global transparency and voluntary tax disclosure facility industry, the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility, the Swiss/UK tax agreement and general asset preservation.

At RSM Tenon, Ashford was partner and national head of tax investigations and dispute resolution. He has more than 25 years experience in the tax industry, gained through roles with Grant Thornton, Ernst & Young and HMRC.

He sits on the CIOT council in addition to being a member of the CIOT Professional Standards Committee and also represents the CIOT on the General Assembly of the Confederation Fiscale Europeenne, the umbrella body for tax advisers throughout Europe.

***

Midlands banker joins Baldwins Accountants

19 July - Martyn Shakespear, an experienced figure in the Midlands’ banking sector, has been appointed director of business development and client services at Baldwins Accountants.

Shakespear brings with him a wealth of experience having spent the last 31 years in the banking industry, most recently from The Co-operative Bank where he was regional corporate business development manager for the Midlands, South West, South Wales and Yorkshire.

Previously he was the regional director in the north for the Bank of Ireland and prior to that spent 20 years with NatWest in a number of senior roles across the Midlands.

Shakespear said: “I like Baldwins’ business model and they are a firm that I have known about and admired since 2007 as they started to grow their offices.

“I like the fact they are acquisitive, hungry, keen and as a business committed to supporting the entrepreneurial market in the Midlands. This is particularly evident in the Kick Start young entrepreneur’s award scheme Baldwins has recently launched,” he said. “Baldwins has a large client base and I will be supporting existing clients primarily with their banking and financing needs such as raising additional finance, reviewing existing terms, grant finding or assisting in discussions should things not be going according to plan.”

* * *

GT buys Navigant’s financial services arm

9 July - Grant Thornton has acquired the specialist UK financial services advisory arm of consulting services firm Navigant Consulting.

The addition to GT’s ever-growing arsenal comes at a time when many accounting firms have looked to offload their FS exposure in recent years.

It also follows consolidation across the profession of late, including BDO’s takeover of PKF; and more recently that of MHA MacIntyre Hudson deal with Larkings, and Carter Backer Winter’s takeover of Blackstone Franks.

The 45-strong team from Navigant, which includes three new partners and nine directors, come with a strong track record in the retail financial services market and a particular focus on the challenger banks.

Scott Barnes, chief executive of Grant Thornton UK, said: “We are delighted to welcome the newest members to our already successful financial services team, led by Peter Allen. Their expertise, coupled with the entrepreneurial and dynamic approach that they bring in the retail financial services market, perfectly complements our current offering.

“Financial services is a core investment area globally for Grant Thornton and this addition demonstrates our commitment to building an offering that is market leading. As a firm, we already have a strong record of successfully integrating new businesses and people, such as our 2011 acquisition of LECG SMART which is delivering strong revenue growth benefits, and look forward to working alongside new colleagues in supporting our clients and delivering growth.”

* * *

Bishop Fleming appoints new partner 

4 July - David Butler, audit director at the Bristol branch of the firm, is appointed as partner. 

Butler has previously worked for KPMG and EY and was head of audit at a Cheltenham accountancy firm.

Butler is one of 12 new recruits to join Bishop Fleming's Bristol office in the past year, including three managers, four seniors, and five trainees.

According to Matthew Lee, Bishop Fleming's Bristol based managing partner: "David has extensive experience of providing advisory and audit services to both owner managed businesses and large multi-national companies. His experience of the education sector also made him a natural fit for Bishop Fleming, which has the largest education team in the region.

***

KPMG promotes Manchester partner to head of UK regions audit 

4 July - David Bills spent 25 years with the firm and has led its North and Scotland audit team since 2011.

He will now be responsible for maintaining practice growth and the quality of audit work across KPMG's 20 offices based outside of London. 

Billes joined KPMG in London in 1987 where he worked for 15 years and was made a partner in 1999. He moved to its Manchester base in 2002 and was later promoted to North West head of audit in 2006.

He has worked in positions throughout Europe, the Americas, and the Far East and advised a variety of large corporate and mid-market clients including Liverpool Football Club.

***

CCW appoints Meller as chief executive

2 July - Crowe Clark Whitehill (CCW) has appointed David Mellor as the firm's chief executive.

Mellor, a former tax practitioner, is also on the ICAEW council. He joined CCW in 2006 from PKF, where was a tax partner.

He takes over from Andrew Painca, who stands down after 10 years of heading CCW. 

As chief executive he is set to look at CCW’s work in the international arena. 

Mellor said: "I am honoured that Crowe Clark Whitehill’s partners feel I am the right person to lead the firm. Our firm rarely trumpets its successes, preferring to focus on delivering quality services to our clients and contributing to knowledge in our key markets.

***

Wilkins Kennedy to open new office 

1 July - The firm is due to open a 13th UK office in Sandwich, Kent.

Opening at the beginning of July, the new office will be the third office for the Kent region, along with existing offices at Ashford and Orpington.

The new office is being launched following increased demand for accountancy and business advisory services for businesses operating in East Kent, the firm says.

Managing Partner at Wilkins Kennedy Dave Fenn says, "We are thrilled to announce the opening of our new office in Sandwich following increased demand for our services in the Kent and South East region, and we look forward to serving our existing clients in the East Kent region.'

***

CBW takes over Blackstone Franks

1 July - Mid-tier accountancy firm Carter Backer Winter (CBW) has taken over accounting and tax specialists Blackstone Franks.

CBW’s second merger in the past 18 months will boost its business advisory team with the addition of one of the profession’s most recognised figures – Robert Maas.

The deal will bring CBW’s complement to 16 partners or consultants and more than 100 staff.

The newly created unit will trade as CBW Blackstone Franks, but the firm as a whole will continue to be known as CBW.

The Blackstone Franks team has been advising UK and international clients for more than 40 years and has pioneered ideas that have shaped tax legislation, management buyouts, tax software, financial services, and international business and finance.

The firm was also joint developer of TAXsoft, which became the leading tax computational software package of its time.

New additions to the CBW team include:

  • Robert Maas - leading property tax expert; awarded the 2013 Lifetime Achievement award at LexisNexis Taxation Awards
  • Thomas Adcock - former corporate tax Inspector with HMRC, where he headed an enquiry team
  • Subhash V Thakrar - chair of the London Chamber of Commerce; founder of an equity fund investing in the Indian equity market
  • Lance R Blackstone - joint senior partner at Blackstone Franks; primarily focussed on corporate finance activity and advising businesses and high-net worth clients

Peter Winter, managing partner at CBW, said: “CBW’s strategy is to grow both organically and with the selective addition of highly regarded specialist practices. We are all about providing a firm that delivers the sort of expertise you would normally expect to find in a very large firm, but combined with a strong partnership ethos and hands-on partner involvement. We have known the team at Blackstone Franks for many years and look forward to working with them in the same partnership.”

* * *

MacIntyre Hudson moves in on Larkings

1 July – Top 20 accounting firm MHA MacIntyre Hudson has taken over independent accountancy practice Larkings.

Larkings - which has offices in Canterbury and Maidstone - provides audit, accounting, personal and business tax advice to clients in Kent and the South East of England.

The deal will see six partners and 40 staff operating under the name of MHA MacIntyre Hudson from their current office locations.

Rakesh Shaunak, chairman of MHA MacIntyre Hudson, said: “Kent is an exciting market place and we have long seen it as a growth area. Our Rochester office has provided us with a small presence in the region for several years. However with Larkings, we now have the opportunity to work much more closely with businesses across the county and take advantage of the opportunities on offer.”

Michael Moore, partner at Larkings, added: “We are excited about becoming part of MHA MacIntyre Hudson and providing a broader range of service and sector expertise to our clients such as outsourcing, VAT and corporate finance.”

* * *

PKF brand returns to UK as PKF Littlejohn

1 July - The PKF brand has returned to the UK accountancy sector with PKF Littlejohn formally starting today as a representative of the PKF International network.

Back in April AccountingWEB reported that Littlejohn would continue to run as an independently owned firm within the PKF network.

The top 40 firm has been based in Canary Wharf with nearly 200 staff and 32 partners.

Carmine Papa, PKF Littlejohn’s managing partner, said: “PKF International is a highly respected brand around the world, and we are delighted to be its representative in London.

“Meeting the needs of the businesses we advise was at the heart of our decision to join PKF International as many of our clients are becoming increasingly international. We have received enormously positive feedback from both our clients and our employees about becoming PKF Littlejohn.

John Sim, chief executive of PKF International, said: “PKF Littlejohn fits perfectly with our profile of independent member firms committed to the highest quality of client service.

“PKF Littlejohn has already brought its energy to our network, including involving member firms in their extensive portfolio of international assignments. In addition, PKF Littlejohn is setting up an international group within PKFI to serve the insurance industry – a sector where the firm has particular expertise. Soon to follow will be a European tax network and a transfer pricing group, and a group serving international charities,” Sim added.

Replies (0)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

There are currently no replies, be the first to post a reply.