People: PKF Smith Cooper; Marrons Planning

PKF Smith Cooper has appointed a new capital allowances consultant to bolster its tax division.

Thomas Webb brings 10 years’ experience to the firm having previously held roles with KPMG and Grant Thornton.

Webb has worked with high-profile clients including Pret A Manger and Lego and helped a variety of investors and businesses across the Midlands.

He said: “As a new and solely focussed Capital Allowances Consultant at PKF Smith Cooper, I’m looking forward to developing the service that the firm provides for the benefit of existing and future clients.

“This is a great opportunity to make a real impact while supporting local businesses and investors in claiming the tax relief they are entitled to.

“This is an area of tax that can have a real impact on managing the tax burden of clients through identifying and accessing allowances that are often overlooked and I expect this to be important over the next few years.

“Working alongside the rest of the tax team, my goal is to play a significant part in establishing PKF Smith Cooper as a leading provider of capital allowances consultancy services in the Midlands.”

Gary Devonshire, tax advisory partner and head of innovation and property taxes at PKF Smith Cooper, added: “It’s an exciting time of growth and expansion at PKF Smith Cooper. Last year the firm joined PKF International and this year our Derby team moved into a modern office space to accommodate our growing team, which serves our expanding and diverse client-base.”

“As part of our tax growth plan, we are now strengthening our tax services in key areas such as capital allowances that will attract new clients and allow us to offer an additional service to our existing clients. I am thrilled to have Thomas on board and look forward to seeing his expertise being delivered to clients and contacts as part of the continued expansion of our tax services at PKF Smith Cooper.”

Marrons Planning has appointed a new director to boost its socio-economics service.

Housing need research specialist Dan Usher joins the London and Nottingham-based firm following 11 years at Stantec (formerly Barton Willmore).

Usher previously spent six years working as a planning officer for local authorities in Sussex.

He said: “I am thrilled to have joined the Marrons Planning team at such an exciting time as the consultancy continues to build its reputation in the South East and expand its portfolio of services.

“In the past, socio-economics has often been thought of as a dark arts within the industry, but it is really powerful and robust information that can be drawn out to support the planning process. Clients are beginning to see and understand the value of this data and there is growing demand as a result.

“I am looking forward to establishing our socio-economics offer nationally by building a strong reputation and well-respected team that adds value to the planning strategy of clients.”

Dan Usher

Director of economics Simon Macklen, who heads up Marrons’ socio-economics division, said: “Having launched the socio-economics service less than a year ago, we are strengthening our team in response to growing demand from clients for a combination of town planning and economic analysis to provide robust evidence that contributes to successful planning outcomes.

“We’re well-known for providing planning advice that helps inform our clients’ decision-making process, driving projects forward and using our close working relationships with local planning authorities to help unlock strategic sites.”

“Dan brings with him extensive knowledge and experience in demographic forecasting and population modelling, which will further enable us to model out the potential and future population of new schemes – looking at the likely growth in an area, how future demand can be catered for and the associated benefits that will bring in terms of economic activity.

Macklen added: “I am looking forward to working with Dan as we expand our socio-economics service and presence nationally.”