Practice round-up: Cowgills, Price Bailey, and more…

Practice round-up: Cowgills, Price Bailey, and more...

Accountancy Age's weekly round-up of practice news, including new teams, acquisitions and office moves.

Practice round-up: Cowgills, Price Bailey, and more…

This week’s practice round-up sees firms Cowgills, Price Bailey, and RSM expand – while accountancy practice Creasys is recognised for its workplace engagement.

Cowgills expands after delivering over £100m of deals

The chartered accountants and business advisory firm’s Manchester-based corporate finance team continues to expand after completing more than £108m of deal value in the last twelve months.

The team advised on some of the region’s biggest deal this year including the sale of Quick Release Automotive to Alten, the trade sale of Roadways, the sale of Assist Group to idverde UK, the MBO of CTI Digital, the private equity backed MBO of The Protein Works and the growth capital investment by Foresight into Steamforged Games.

The lead advisory corporate finance team of Cowgills will expand its footprint in the city when moving to the new office space in Manchester’s central business district.

The team, led by head of corporate finance Ian Johnson, has welcome three new members: Richard Hunter, Brett Marsden, and Adam Heywood.

Commenting on the growth of the business, Johnson said: “The last twelve months has been a period of great success with the team advising on some really prominent deals in the region. We have focused on recruiting a talented and dynamic team who have been instrumental in helping to continue our progression as one of the leading mid-tier corporate finance advisers in the region.

Johnson added: “When we established the corporate finance arm of the business we knew that it needed to be based in Manchester’s financial district and that location has been critical to our recruitment and ultimately our success. We are also backed by a superb team of advisory, accountancy and taxation specialists at our head office in Bolton ensuring we can provide our clients with a full service offering throughout the entire lifecycle of their business.”

Price Bailey partners with East of England Investment Catalyst

On 26th November, Price Bailey’s Strategic Corporate Finance team introduced a hallmark event which offered East Anglia’s tech companies the opportunity to pitch ideas to leading business investors alongside Barclays Eagle Labs.

The East of England Investment Catalyst was organised by The Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor, an initiative for economic growth in East Anglia, in partnership with Price Bailey and other business leaders. It aimed at offering tech companies the platform and support to aid future growth.

Companies that were invited to pitch had to go through an application process, which saw them working with business leaders to improve their propositions, before presenting them to an expert judging panel.

Chand Chudasama, Strategic Corporate Finance Partner, said: “Price Bailey works closely with small and large businesses across the Eastern region and we tend to find that businesses outside of Cambridge and London often don’t get the recognition they deserve.

“We are proud to partner with the investment showcase and demonstrate to a wider investment network the talent and ingenuity that is hidden away from the limelight. Our team thoroughly enjoyed helping this cohort of East Anglian businesses prepare for their pitch to venture capital investors in London; the talent that was showcased at the event was extraordinary and promises an exciting future for the region.”

Creaseys recognised for its workplace engagement

Creaseys, the Tunbridge Wells accountancy practice, has been awarded Best Company two-star accreditation in the latest good-employer list from the Sunday Times.

The two-star rating by The Sunday Times Best Companies index is awarded to businesses “striving for the top in workplace engagement and displaying outstanding achievement.”

Using a points system, the annual ratings result from evaluations of detailed and confidential surveys of staff. More than 70 academically designed questions are presented in such a way that respondents are free to express how they really feel about their employers.

RSM inaugurates newly merged RSM China

The official opening ceremony, inaugurating the launch of merger between Huapu Tianjian and GT Ascenda which comprised 3,200 partners and employees, marked RSM China’s increase in client service expertise and ambitious growth plans.

Jean Stephens, CEO of RSM International, commented: “With the addition of GT Ascenda, the professional capabilities, size and brand recognition of RSM in China have been greatly enhanced in what is an exceptionally important market for us, as our clients continue to seek a greater level of interconnected, global advice and expertise.”

Houfa Xiao, Chief Partner at RSM China added: “The launch celebration in Beijing was a real success and an opportunity for us to showcase the incredible progress that already been made at RSM China, as well as discuss our exciting future plans.

“We are now better placed than ever to provide the highest quality service and will continue to focus on offering integrated global advice and solutions to our middle-market clients looking for both local and multi-jurisdictional expertise.”

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