Titcheners, a Thames Valley-based general practice, will be 75 years old next year. Building on that pedigree, it’s now undergoing a rapid growth phase and has ambitious future plans.

The original firm was founded in 1933 in west London by John Titchener, but moved to Reading under the leadership of Neil Edge 25 years ago. It was acquired from Edge by Roy Ashton and Peter Kelly in 2002. Since then the firm has enjoyed dramatic growth.

Turnover in 2002 was around £700,000. Now Titcheners is on course to generate turnover of £5m over the next 12 months, and has its sights set on reaching £10m.

Ashton, Titcheners’ chairman, spent 14 years with the Inland Revenue before joining Hacker Young in the City in 1985. It was here that he met Kelly, who was financial controller for the firm. ‘We hit it off and then kept in touch over the years,’ Ashton says. Both set up their own practices ­ Kelly in 1990 and Ashton in 1991. The latter merged his business with Hacker Young five years later ­ becoming a senior tax partner in Bristol.

However, Ashton subsequently decided he wanted to go it alone again, setting up his own firm once more in 1999. Kelly provided his expertise on a contractual basis, becoming gradually more involved before the pair began looking for a firm to acquire. Their search brought them to Titcheners in Reading, which Edge was selling in order to retire.

The deal meant that Ashton and Kelly had a large client base, but not enough people to do the work. ‘So we went out on a recruitment drive,’ Ashton says. ‘We managed to get some super people. I tried to recruit the most capable, the most able people and to try and give them my dream, which at that point was to try to build a thriving small practice.’

The firm has also found additional expertise by acquiring other small firms ­ one in Reading in 2004 and one in Bicester in 2005. Another four have come on board since November 2006. As a result, Titcheners now has six offices, with 11 directors and just under 100 staff.

Acquiring minds

Ashton believes that Titcheners has a reputation as a good acquirer and that vendors trust that it will deliver on a number of counts. ‘There’s a genuine desire to, yes, see their money, but also to have their clients cared for and to make sure their salaried partners and staff find a home where they will be treated like they want to be treated.’

Ashton is proud of Titcheners’ track record in terms of staff retention. People who leave do so because they are relocating to a new part of the country, or leaving the profession altogether ­ not to join a local rival.

Further acquisitions are on the cards. Heads of terms have recently been agreed with a firm in Uxbridge and talks are under way with another local practice. If the two deals reach completion, they would add around £2.5m to Titcheners’ turnover, putting it just outside the Top 50 accountancy firm rankings.

‘Our ambition is to get to the top 50,’ Ashton says. ‘We want to be able to attract more complex work. We have a good deal of it now, but would like more. The market seems to perceive that bigger is better. We need to be able to say we are top 50.’ It could then perhaps tempt clients away from top 20 firms, offering the same quality of service but at lower cost.

Ashton feels fortunate that the firm he bought in 2002 already had qualities he valued. ‘Titcheners has clients who have been here 40 or 50 years,’ he says. ‘We have one client who is 98 now and who instructed the firm in 1934. I value long relationships with clients ­ helping them build their business. It makes what I do tremendously satisfying. I have clients who have been with me since I left the Inland Revenue ­ that’s 22 years.’

Titcheners’ service offerings have expanded since 2002, however. ‘Titcheners was a small audit practice when I bought it,’ Ashton says. ‘We found there was a huge amount of latent work. Neil [Edge] was an auditor. Anything outside the norm ­ like company reconstructions, serious tax issues is not what he did, so he would subcontract that work to other firms and specialists.’

Titcheners now has these skills in-house, so it can provide a more holistic service to its client base. Tax, business development, audit and accountancy services are all currently available. A new director is also being recruited, who will head a corporate finance division from November.

The firm now has around 6,000 clients, ranging from sole practitioners and individuals, to major companies. The firm’s largest client has a £120m turnover. ‘We act for a number of UK subsidiaries of overseas companies,’ Ashton says. ‘We do anything really, as long as it’s not illegal.’ All sectors are catered for, though the firm has a niche specialism, providing an accounts service to the licensed trade from its Emsworth office.
Speaking to Ashton, it quickly becomes clear that he wants his firm to be a good place to work, not just because of the opportunities there, but also because of its culture. ‘It’s a very friendly place to be,’ he says. ‘You can walk into our offices and there’s laughter. I like that.’ People are encouraged to talk about any issues that concern them so that they can quickly be resolved. ‘If they can’t talk to anybody else, they can always talk to me,’ Ashton says.

Feel-good factor

There is a culture of trust and openness, Ashton says. ‘It does no harm for members of the team to know what we are doing, what fees look like, where we hope the business is going. By making it open, people feel part of what we are trying to achieve. When we have successes and a firm joins us or we win a new client, I think they feel part of that success.’ This feel-good factor has a positive knock-on benefit. ‘If they [staff] feel good about Titcheners, clients feel good about Titcheners.’ says Ashton.

Ashton recognises that maintaining this culture may be a challenge as the firm continues to grow, but not an impossible one. Two young directors on the team are ready for a managing partner role, he believes. They understand and support the Titcheners culture and will be able to ‘take that and stamp it’ on new offices.
Opportunities are good not only for home-grown Titcheners personnel, but also for talented people in the firms acquired. ‘We look for talent within the firm to fill senior opportunities. It’s inspiring to people. If you want a career, you can have a career here.’ says Ashton.

The firm is also keen to develop a representative body of staff and directors. ‘We have one woman director here, but would like a couple more on the board,’ says Ashton. ‘It’s important that the firm be seen not just to be giving a super service, but to be truly representative of the nation out there.’

There is no doubting Ashton’s energy and commitment and the fact that his outlook is a major influence on Titcheners’ culture. ‘My cup is always half full,’ he says. ‘It’s not all been beer and skittles.’ There have been some dark years in the past, but Ashton could always find humour somewhere. ‘It’s the way I look at life,’ he says. ‘You spend a long time working. You might as well try and enjoy yourself as much as you can.’

He tries to find positive solutions for clients, even when they have serious problems. ‘You can often find a way through by applying the law in a positive way and with a positive attitude,’ Ashton says. ‘Most of my partners are of a similar optimistic nature, with one or two exceptions. But it’s good to have those guys too with their take on things, just to make sure your feet are on the ground.’

Team success

Titcheners is a limited company – a result of a decision to convert by previous owner Neil Edge. Roy Ashton feels this has helped the firm. ‘Because we are a limited liability company, we have automatically fallen into a corporate structure,’ he says.

Titcheners has a chairman, an MD, FD and other normal directorship roles. ‘No person’s remuneration is dependent on just their own performance,’ Ashton says. ‘It’s dependent on the performance of the team.’

In contrast, partnerships can be damaged by partners’ concern with their own self interest, Ashton argues. They can be too focused on generating their own fees.

For more go to www.titcheners.co.uk

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