Begbies buys Welsh insolvency firm and eyes further expansion

Begbies Traynor Group has acquired Jones Giles & Clay, one of the leading business recovery and insolvency practices in Wales.

The deal announced on the London Stock Market this morning (5 September) sees Begbies Traynor welcome four experienced team members to its Cardiff-based team, including directors Sue Clay and Vaughan Jones, who were the principals of Jones Giles & Clay and operated as licensed insolvency practitioners.

Both Clay and Jones have over 38 years’ experience in both personal and corporate insolvency with Sue Clay bringing additional personal insolvency expertise and Vaughan Jones with experience across a wide range of businesses including the charity and third sectors.

Nationally, Manchester-headquartered Begbies grew by 11% in the past financial year and the South Wales team is focussed on further expanding its operations through recruitment and strategic acquisition. 

Ric Traynor, Executive Chairman of Begbies Traynor Group plc, commented: “This is an important step for our practice, bringing in significant hires and increasing our capacity to work with larger clients on complex cases.

“Directors, Vaughan and Susan are well respected in the local business community and by combining our teams we are creating an exciting offering for the South Wales market.”

Sue Clay

Sue Clay added: “Begbies Traynor has established a reputation for providing a consistently high-quality offering across the UK, while retaining personal and friendly service at a local level. There has never been a more important time for businesses and individuals to have access to specialist expertise in this area, and Vaughan and I are looking forward to growing our practice with the Begbies Traynor team.”

Clay is a regular contributor to both national and local media outlets appearing on BBC Wales radio and television and has regularly appeared as an expert on the BBC Wales consumer affairs programme X-Ray.

She has over 26 years’ experience of both personal and corporate insolvency and started her career with Ernst & Young then KPMG in Cardiff before working in Scotland. She currently manages an extensive portfolio of Individual Voluntary Arrangements (England & Wales), Trust Deeds and Sequestrations (Scotland), and Corporate insolvencies across the UK