Leicestershire’s oldest accountancy firm goes for growth

Leicestershire’s oldest firm of independent accountants is celebrating its 135th anniversary

Rowleys, which started in Friar Lane, Leicester, now has its head office in Meridian Business Park, just outside the city.

The firm says it has seen revenues increase by an annual average of 10 per cent over the last five years. As well as appointing four new associate directors in the last two years, it has also bought a number of smaller niche practices, and has seen organic growth in the medical specialist sector.

Rowleys diversified away from its dependence on textiles businesses, when that sector went into decline in the 1980s.

Since then the firm has concentrated on pension providers, charities, healthcare, hi-tech, manufacturing and property development companies.

Rowleys has also carved out a niche for itself within the medical sector, now acting for one in three of the county’s GP practices. It is growing its audit business, as smaller firms are giving up their audit registered status, due to audit thresholds increasing and the regulation and compliance becoming more onerous.

Rowleys chairman Tony Jarvis joined the company as an articled clerk when he was 16 to train to be a chartered accountant and is still there some 47 years later.

He said: “When I first arrived virtually all client records were kept in handwritten day books and ledgers.

“It’s all very different now. While we are extremely proud of our heritage as we reach this landmark anniversary, we are deeply committed to ensuring we are always up to date with the latest accounting software and digital technology so that we can deliver top level advice to our diverse range of clients.

“We pride ourselves on our ability to support business owners in maximising their tax efficiency, remaining tax compliant and acting as a sounding board for their day to day business challenges.”

Jarvis said: “As we get started with our birthday celebrations we look forward to continuing to provide an excellent service to new and existing clients and welcoming new staff on board.”