Financial Appointments: PwC; Grant Thornton; KPMG

PwC has appointed a new financial services leader in the Midlands as part of a UK-wide regional investment.

Carl Sizer will be based in the firm’s Birmingham office as it looks to build its regional FS presence.

Mr Sizer has moved to the Midlands from London where he was a partner for almost seven years within the firm’s banking and capital markets segment.  He has been at PwC for more than 17 years, providing audit and advisory services to a number of international and domestic financial institutions. He also spent two years in the firm’s New York office working with a global investment bank.  

In his new Midlands role, Mr Sizer will head up a team of around 100 FS specialists based across PwC’s Birmingham, Castle Donington and Milton Keynes offices.

Mr Sizer said: “This is an exciting time to join our Midlands FS practice and to lead the business. The growing presence of financial institutions in the Midlands – including traditional high street banks, challenger banks and building societies as well as back office operations – heralds a raft of new opportunities.”

Matt Hammond, PwC’s Midlands regional chairman, added: “We are delighted to welcome Carl to the Midlands. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge at a time when the region’s FS sector is rapidly expanding.”

Stephanie Hyde, head of regions at PwC, said: “This appointment reflects our investment in supporting the regionalisation of the UK’s FS sector. The sector’s continuing move into the regions is gathering pace. Two-thirds of people working in the UK’s financial services sector do so outside of Greater London.”

***

Grant Thornton in Birmingham is looking to build on the growth of its ultra-high net worth practice with the appointment of international tax specialist Natalie Iceton as associate director in its entrepreneurial private client team.
 
Her appointment comes as the firm’s Birmingham office reports a ‘growing demand’ from ultra-high net worth individuals and families for specialist advice on UK and international tax planning.

Since 2013, Birmingham’s entrepreneurial private client tax team has seen double-digit growth, with advice to ultra high net worth individuals accounting for a large proportion of this growth.
 
Following training and qualifying at PwC, Ms Iceton, joins Grant Thornton after 16 years with KPMG in Birmingham, latterly specialising in international tax matters, particularly offshore structures and the issues facing non-UK domiciled individuals.
 
Grant Thornton tax partner Sue Knight said: “Natalie’s appointment is a further investment in this increasingly important area of our work and I know that our clients will value her experience and insight.
 
“Natalie is very well-respected locally for her first-rate technical skills in what are often complex tax matters and her enthusiasm for understanding what clients want to achieve in their financial lives.
 
“In particular, her expertise in the taxation of non-doms is especially significant at the moment and pertinent for many of the West Midlands’ successful entrepreneurial families.”

Pictured from left: Natalie Iceton with Dan Hartland and Sue Knight.

***

KPMG has boosted its tax offering with the appointment of Paul Jackson (left) as an indirect tax director within its Midlands practice.

Based in Nottingham, Mr Jackson joins the firm from PwC, where his role as an indirect tax director saw him lead the delivery of VAT advisory services to a wide range of corporate clients across the East and West Midlands.

Mr Jackson has more than 20 years’ experience of advising clients on indirect tax matters, including manufacturers, housebuilders, retailers and even a specialist restorer of classic cars.    

At KPMG, he will have a particular focus on growing the VAT practice in the East Midlands and building a team around him. He will also spend time in the Birmingham office to help build on the growth of the firm’s VAT advisory practice in the West Midlands.    

Simon Shaw, head of indirect tax, national markets, at KPMG in the UK, said: “I’m delighted that Paul has joined our team in the Midlands. The demand for our indirect tax services is ever increasing and with Paul’s appointment we now have yet another senior adviser who can help solve the complex issues that businesses are facing.”