1. THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE –THAMESVALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2015
company profile 17
www.businessmag.co.uk
company profile16
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE –THAMESVALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2015www.businessmag.co.uk
Based in Aquis House overlooking the
new regional jewel and transportation
hub that is Reading Station, Crowe Clark
Whitehill’s team are ideally placed to
service the needs of the vibrant and, for
the UK, economically vital Thames Valley
business community.
With Crossrail and western rail access
to Heathrow (WRAtH) set to enhance
Thames Valley appeal, not forgetting an
overheated London property market
encouraging a move westwards, the
Reading home of Crowe Clark Whitehill is
well located indeed.
Plus, now that the days of‘battened
down hatches’are distant memories
and Thames Valley businesses are again
forging their own destinies, the time is
opportune for Crowe Clark Whitehill, as
a major national audit, tax and advisory
firm to be so readily available to support
those corporate ambitions.
Local multinational clients of Crowe
Clark Whitehill will also already be aware
of the firm’s seamless global service,
enabled through membership of Crowe
Horwath International, one of the top
10 global accounting networks, linking
more than 200 independent accountancy
and advisory service firms in over 120
countries.
Additionally, the firm has established a
proud and award-winning reputation
for quality work as technical experts in
the fields of corporate business, not-
for-profit organisations, pension funds,
professional practices, and private client
work.
It is very timely too that Crowe Clark
Whitehill now has an enhanced, widely
experienced Thames Valley team, replete
with accountancy skills, local knowledge
and international connections, to meet
the increasingly complex demands of
21st century businesses.
Strategic growth: resources, skills
and clientbase
For the past few years Crowe Clark
John Burbedge talks to partners of a Thames Valley firm of chartered accountants and business advisers that
plainly believes it is ….
In the right place, with the right team, at
the right time – Crowe Clark Whitehill
Whitehall has undertaken a national
strategy of growing its advisory services
and its partner-led approach to full-service
support.
The Thames Valley office, now 85-strong and
still growing with six audit trainees joining
and additions planned in audit, tax and
business solutions, has responded to the
challenge impressively with 8% growth in
the past year alone.
“Strategically, we are now very much
focused on business growth and supporting
our core advisory, tax and audit disciplines,
which predominantly involve corporates,
family and owner-managed businesses.
And, for us, it’s less about client size; more
about what we can do for them,”explained
managing partner Jeremy Cooper.
“It is not always considered the sexy part
of the overall market – other firms will go
for the so-called‘dynamic businesses’– but
we are happy to focus on our strengths,”he
admitted.
“What we care about is being able to
provide added value, quick and excellent
service to clients for a reasonable price.”
The Thames Valley office, second only to
London, represents around 15% of the firm’s
national business, but Cooper points out,
it works very closely with CCW’s other UK
offices as part of a national‘one practice’
workstyle.“If someone is buying CCW they
are buying the firm’s expertise as a whole.”
However, Cooper expresses strong
ambitions for Thames Valley growth.“Our
plan is to grow by 50% over the next 3-5
years. We are not well-known in certain
sectors and we are keen to change that.”
Addressing that concern will be Chris
Penfold, recently appointed as the new
Thames Valley business development
director.“We have successfully gained
industry credibility, but not broad
awareness. To support our strategic
investment and our growth focus we do
need to improve our market branding.
While that is important, we won’t be doing
it at our clients’expense,”he stressed.
A series of recent senior appointments have
also significantly strengthened the firm’s
professional services offering.
Extra expertise from fresh people. . .
In March, Jane MacKay became the firm’s
most recent senior hire, as a specialist
tax partner. She has returned to Crowe
Clark Whitehill after nine years with Grant
Thornton, to add extensive experience
and expertise advising on tax structures,
acquisitions, funding, restructuring and due
diligence. MacKay will work alongside tax
partner Stuart Weekes who came to CCW in
2007.
In February, qualified insolvency practitioner
James Hawksworth joined CCW Recovery
Solutions to boost restructuring, turnaround
and insolvency support and the function has
since gained experienced senior manager
Mike Smith to handle solvent liquidations.
Partner Simon Jordan became the Thames
Valley office’s first foray into corporate
finance and transactional support and
specialist Maya Panova has since also joined
his team.
. . . combined with‘home-grown’
talent at the top
Corporate partner Jaki Mitchell has been
with CCW for 28 years, gaining board-
ranging skills and experience and today
specialises in outsourcing and inward
investment services. She is also head of the
firm’s Business Solutions Group –“Client
service is paramount and we do what we
promise to deliver, and then some more.”
Also audit and accounting partner Richard
Baker who joined CCW 18 years ago has
arrived from the Midlands office to focus
on the firm’s Market-Listed Clients’Group,
financial reporting issues, plus healthcare,
manufacturing and technology sectors.
Audit partners Alastair Lyon and Janette
Joyce have combined service with CCW
approaching 40 years, mainly with the firm’s
highly regarded Not for Profit Unit based in
Reading, one of the largest UK accountancy
teams covering this sector.
And, right at the Thames Valley top is
managing partner Jeremy Cooper, who has
been with CCW for 18 years – an audit and
advisory partner who now heads the firm’s
national Retail and Consumer Group.
Plainly, with five of the nine Thames Valley
partners having been‘home-grown’, Crowe
Clark Whitehill has created an attractive
company culture and an employee-engaged
teamworking environment embracing flexible
and remote workstyles.“People don’t work
9-5 any more and neither do our clients, many
of whom work across different time-zones,”
says Penfold.
“We invest internally to bring people through
as business advisors not just functional
specialists, we go beyond the professional
training to ensure our advisers have the
commercial skills and technical expertise
to meet our client’s needs. Our culture and
values are of professionalism, integrity,
quality, development and approachability,”
explained Cooper.
Contented longevity of service is also
mirrored externally through very high client
retention rates.“We’ve actually had some
clients for approaching 200 years.”
So why do clients choose Crowe Clark
Whitehill?
CCW focuses on long-term business
relationships, operates with a low ratio of
staff to partners, and“Our partners and staff
actually care about our clients’businesses,”
answers Cooper.
Internally, regular client care meetings are
held to check performance.“We try to stay
one step ahead, coming up with answers for
the client before problems arise,”explained
Mitchell.
“We work very much as a boutique
firm – agile, quick to respond, providing
experienced cross-discipline services – which
is what clients want, yet offering all the
national, global and specialist skill support
expected from a firm our size,”explained
Mackay.“Our work is driven by what clients
need. We are responding to what their
business world is like today and preparing
them for a secure future.”
Jordan added:“Because our partners work
very closely with their teams, greater
knowledge, experience and understanding
of a client’s project is brought together to
deliver it properly.”
“We have a full-service offering and are
recognised as having highly-qualified,
very experienced staff across the piece,”
Hawksworth highlighted.
“A lot of people promise an awful lot and fail
to deliver, yet delivery is the most important
thing for a client. If we help them meet their
goals, even exceed them, then we make our
clients happy and ourselves a sustainable
business,”said Jordan.
And why will they need your help in
the future?
“The Thames Valley is one of the fastest-
growing business areas in the country,”
Cooper answered.
The pace and complexity of modern Internet-
led business requires greater and quicker
assistance for clients within their growth
journeys, plus increasing internationalism
and vanishing traditional work-life
boundaries were creating 24/7 pressures, the
gathered Thames Valley partners agreed.
“Very few clients today can afford not to
look beyond the UK borders for increased
market share,”said MacKay. Jordan agreed,
highlighting growing European, Far East and
US activities.
Mitchell noted the needs of inward investing
companies for tailor-made assistance and
more growing SMEs using outsourced
accountancy services. Businesses will also
continue to demand‘worksmart’solutions.
Lyon remarked how the austerity age with
government cutbacks had hit his clients.
“Our work is becoming far more varied
as charities think laterally about raising
money, and stray into potential mainstream
trading territories. They’ve never done this
sort of thing before and need to know it is
structured correctly.
“Charities can be more complex than a
normal company anyway, because they
often have many income streams of a highly-
variable nature.”
Jordan noted the recent sea-change in M&A
attitudes.“General election confidence has
encouraged growth and exit strategies to
be dusted off, particularly among smaller
businesses.” With significant cash financing
and deal opportunities available, it should
remain a buoyant market. He noted growing
activity in the biotech, medical, cloud, and
niche manufacturing sectors.
With low insolvency levels not seen since
2007, Hawksworth’s work-focus has been
towards business turnaround and efficient
restructuring. Interest rates, a potential
overheating economy, and avoiding‘running
before walking’growth stumbles, were
current concerns.
With increasing HMRC requirements, tax
specialist MacKay admitted there was an
increasing role to“help guide clients through
the red-tape,”particularly with public scrutiny
now higher. Future work would also include
taxation concerns about expanding overseas;
structuring remuneration packages; EMI
schemes, and securing governmental
business tax reliefs such as R&D and Patent
Box subsidies.
While spotlighting growing retail, property,
and manufacturing requirements, Cooper
added:“You can’t be in the Thames Valley and
not be involved with technology.”
So, what is your market differentiator?
“It’s our culture and abilities, and that we
recognise we are in a world where good
client service isn’t good enough any more,”
MacKay summed up.
Details: Chrisopher Penfold
0118-9597222
chris.penfold@crowecw.co.uk
Some of the Crowe Clark Whitehill team based in Reading.
Back row, left to right: Mike Smith, Stuart Weekes, Alastair Lyon, Christopher Penfold, Maya Panova, Phil
Smithyes, Mark Stemp, Stuart Elder, Shona Harvie, Simon Herbert, Terry Wright, James Hawksworth.
Front row, left to right:, Jo White, Richard Baker, Jeremy Cooper, Simon Jordan, Jane Mackay
Location is key say the property professionals, talented staff are crucial
say recruiters, and good timing is essential to ride the wave of successful
progress says almost every boardroom decision-maker. Crowe Clark
Whitehill seems to have got all three criteria aligned within its Thames
Valley office team