S&W is targeting further growth across the Midlands after significantly expanding its regional presence over the past five years, with plans to continue investing in talent, services and its position as an adviser to privately owned and entrepreneurial businesses.<\/p>\n
The firm, which has its Midlands base in Birmingham, has grown its Midlands team from around 35 people to almost 200 employees since launching its corporate services expansion strategy in 2020.<\/p>\n
The growth has seen S&W develop a broader offering across audit, accounting, tax, and advisory services, alongside specialist areas such as global mobility, transfer pricing, and innovation-focused tax advice.<\/p>\n
Stephen Drew, S&W\u2019s Midlands managing director, said the firm\u2019s growth has been driven by a deliberate decision to invest in the region and build a broader corporate offering.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in 2020, we wanted to build out the corporate side of the business. We\u2019ve been building our corporate service offering since then, and we\u2019ve gone from 35 people to close to 200 people here now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drew joined S&W as part of that growth journey, taking on responsibility for developing the firm\u2019s corporate presence in the Midlands. He said the opportunity to build a business from the ground up was a key attraction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was asked to come up here to grow out the corporate side in 2020. You don\u2019t often get the chance to be allowed to go and grow a business, and that\u2019s been good fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The firm\u2019s Birmingham office, which opened in its current location in 2022, was chosen as a statement of intent around S&W\u2019s ambitions for the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were the first tenants to sign up for this building. It was on the back of that growth strategy and getting into the right space to enable us to grow, but also because we wanted it to be a statement of intent around what we were trying to do and how we wanted to recruit people.\u201d<\/p>\n
While S&W has had a presence in Birmingham for more than 15 years through its private client advisory business, Drew highlighted that the major transformation of the Midlands operation began in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been here for 15 or 16 years, but a large part of that was a very small business. The more interesting story is what we chose to do from 2020 onwards in terms of building it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The firm\u2019s Birmingham office is now its fastest-growing regional location, with Drew outlining ambitions to continue expanding its footprint.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis office has grown at around 20% compound annual growth. We want to carry on on that basis. I think we\u2019ve got the opportunity in this region to become somewhere between 250 and 300 people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Future growth is expected to come through a combination of senior hires, team acquisitions and continued investment in specialist services.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always on the lookout for good quality people in the marketplace who are interested in that growth story. We\u2019re interested in team hires where we can find them, and we\u2019re interested in purposeful acquisitions.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, he stressed that any acquisitions would need to align with S&W\u2019s culture and values rather than simply adding revenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt needs to be aligned in terms of culture, values and quality. We\u2019re not just buying revenue for revenue\u2019s sake. We want like-minded people who are working in the same sort of part of the market that we\u2019re interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Birmingham remains S&W\u2019s only Midlands office, the firm sees significant potential in expanding its presence further east.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe East Midlands is an opportunity for us. We\u2019re not there yet, but I\u2019m keen on finding a way of doing that. We\u2019re actively looking for the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that any future move would need to be carefully considered to ensure it supports clients and employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we could identify a team or another firm that works on both sides, we would be really interested in seeing if we could do something around that and create a base in the East Midlands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drew believes locations such as Leicester, Nottingham and Derby could all play an important role in strengthening S&W\u2019s regional coverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you\u2019d probably want to be in Derby, Nottingham and Leicester to really cover the region properly. Getting the right thing in that space would be a real enabler and multiplier for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
S&W\u2019s growth strategy is focused on supporting privately owned businesses, particularly those with complex needs and ambitions for expansion.<\/p>\n
Drew said the Midlands continues to offer strong opportunities because of the quality and diversity of businesses operating across the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis region is full of really good businesses and dynamic companies. We want to work with privately held companies, whether they are family-owned or entrepreneurial businesses, that are doing things and looking to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manufacturing, advanced engineering, automotive, defence and technology are among the sectors where S&W sees significant opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cManufacturing in the wider sense is the biggest sector that we deal with from here. Bringing together advanced engineering and automotive, those businesses tend to have complex needs and they also tend to be international.\u201d<\/p>\n
The firm is also seeing growing demand from businesses navigating economic uncertainty, supply chain challenges and international expansion.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses realise that if they stand still, they\u2019ll go backwards. They have to keep looking at how they can operate differently, improve efficiency and find new ways of working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many professional services firms, S&W is exploring how artificial intelligence can support its teams and clients. Drew said the focus is on using technology to enhance, rather than replace, human expertise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re exploring how we can use AI within different parts of the business. We\u2019re not going to be at the leading edge of this, but we know there\u2019s a benefit from it and we need to understand how we apply that benefit sensibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He believes AI will increasingly support repetitive tasks, allowing professionals to focus on higher-value advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should focus on highly repetitive tasks and enable our people to deliver higher value-added services. It will save time, but the value comes from our people bringing higher-value thought processes to what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite recruitment challenges across professional services, Stephen said S&W\u2019s growth has created opportunities to attract and develop talent across the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve done a lot of recruitment because we\u2019ve been growing fast. Regionally, we\u2019ve had to do a lot around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The firm works with universities, colleges and schools to build future talent pipelines, while also attracting experienced professionals through its growth plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to get local links up and running, talking to universities, colleges and schools about the opportunities. For senior hires, it tends to either be through recruitment agencies or contacts in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n
S&W also operates a flexible working model, with most employees spending at least three days a week working either in the office, with clients or externally.<\/p>\n
He believes maintaining collaboration and in-person learning remains important.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lot of value in people being together. It\u2019s the intangible benefits \u2013 overhearing conversations, being able to ask a question quickly and learning from seeing senior people do things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Drew believes the Midlands has significant untapped potential and that S&W\u2019s journey in the region is far from complete.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve only started our journey. We haven\u2019t finished it here. There\u2019s loads more we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
With ambitions to continue growing its Birmingham operation, explore opportunities in the East Midlands and expand its specialist offering, S&W is positioning itself for the next stage of its regional development.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy medium-term goal is to be twice the size.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drew said the Midlands has the foundations to become an even stronger destination for investment and business growth, but believes the region must continue communicating its strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still feels like it\u2019s a bit of a best-kept secret in terms of what we could do here. We need to keep communicating why this is a successful region and what people can access here that they can\u2019t access somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
For S&W, the next chapter of growth will be focused on building deeper relationships with Midlands businesses and continuing to invest in the people and expertise needed to support them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
S&W\u2019s Stephen Drew on growth, expansion and the future of the Midlands<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266702,"featured_media":2112792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53262],"coauthors":[127717],"class_list":["post-2112791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-featured-story","tag-greater-birmingham"],"yoast_head":"\n