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Firms’ anniversaries
Four of Rawlinson & Hunter’s offices are celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2023. The UK office celebrates its 90th anniversary, while the Bermuda office celebrates its 60th, the Cayman office celebrates its 50th, and the Singapore office its tenth. The Jersey office also reached its 50th anniversary in 2022.
The chartered accountancy firm of Rawlinson, Hannaford & Hunter was established in Aldwych, London on 1 April 1933 by Alfred Rawlinson, John Hannaford and Robert Hunter, following their departure from the accountants Rooke Lane. It adopted the name ‘Rawlinson & Hunter’ when John Hannaford retired a few years later.
Clive Owen LLP is celebrating 40 years since its first office, in Darlington, opened to offer accountancy and taxation services to local owner manager businesses and private individuals. The firm now operates from Darlington, York, Durham and Middlesbrough.
To mark the anniversary, the firm has launched a series of events for partners, alumni, clients and intermediaries which are planned across the year. It has also introduced a team ‘40 challenge’ where colleagues are encouraged to pick something with a 40 theme as a challenge to themselves – such as reading 40 books, visiting 40 beaches or swimming 40km.
The partnership was started by Clive Owen, initially at his home in 1983 and then he opened his first office in Cockerton in 1984. The current Darlington office was opened with a team of 40 in 1997. Housed in the stunning grade ll listed building, it has been extended and upgraded over the years but still retains many of its charming period features including its cage lift and sweeping staircase.
Gary Ellis said: ‘We’d like to thank everyone that has been involved with our business and who have helped shape our success over the past 40 years. It’s great to be able to mark this landmark anniversary together and we are looking forward to being able to spend time with past and present colleagues, clients and the business community over the coming months.’
Supporting the community
A team of 127 members from UHY Hacker Young took part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge on 21 April.
The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is a 24-mile route that takes in the three highest peaks in the county – Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough with a combined total ascent of 2,153m.
All proceeds raised from the challenge will be donated to UHY’s national charity, ShelterBox. The disaster relief organisation provides emergency shelter and accommodation to those made homeless by natural disasters and conflict, most recently helping those affected by the earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria in February and also those affected by the current conflict in Ukraine.
Birkett Long is supporting Colchester Kings RFC, East Anglia’s first gay and inclusive rugby team, as kit sponsor.
The partnership is an organic one for the firm, as Colchester Kings’ values of equality, diversity and inclusion reflect its own values. In addition to running a number of LGBTQ+ focused webinars and publishing regular blogs focused on helping those in the community tackle legal issues that affect them, the firm has a high profile presence at local Pride events every year.
Acquisitions
Moore Kingston Smith LLP has acquired Pilot Financial, a workplace pensions, employee benefits and financial planning consultancy, renowned in the education sector.
The acquisition follows the recent investment from European private equity firm, Waterland, in the business to fund an M&A programme in the UK.
Pilot Financial’s specialist team will join the firm’s existing financial planning team, Moore Kingston Smith Financial Advisers.
Azets has acquired Naylor Wintersgill, an independent firm of chartered accountants, business and tax advisers, which has been based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, for more than a century.
Naylor Wintersgill, which will rebrand as Azets with immediate effect, delivers accounting, audit, corporate finance, tax, payroll and human resource advisory services to small and medium-sized enterprises, private clients, and not-for-profit organisations across the Yorkshire region.
Office move
Armstrong Watson has moved into a new home in Newcastle’s multi-million-pound smart office One Strawberry Lane.
Following the acquisition of the long-standing accountancy practice Joseph Miller in January the firm has operated two locations in the city. The move will bring the Newcastle team together under one roof and is the result of sustained growth for the 155-year-old firm in the north east.
The new office – housed within a six-storey building in the Gallowgate area of the city next to St James’ Park – has been designed by the housing association Home Group, which has moved its head office there.
The move to One Strawberry Lane continues extensive investment in Armstrong Watson’s northern stronghold and comes just months before the relocation of the firm’s head office in the centre of Carlisle, Cumbria, to a new purpose-built site on the outskirts of the city.
