Accountancy firm makes two appointments to senior team

Accountancy firm Hazlewoods has made appointments in both its leadership and corporate finance teams.

The Bristol firm has appointed Phil Lane and Pete Muldrew from Deloitte.

Phil Lane will join the leadership team as a partner and chief operation officer for the firm and will also work with the corporate finance team as Hazelwoods continue to focus on growing the regional mid-market corporate finance M&A business.

Phil has held several leadership roles, including the head of private business for the South West, and was part of the UK corporate finance leadership team, with a particular focus on people development.

Phil also brings with him over 20 years’ M&A experience having been a partner at Deloitte advising on a range of entrepreneurial and family-owned clients principally in the consumer, food and services sectors.

Pete Muldrew will join our corporate finance team as a director and, with over 10 years of M&A experience in advising private and family-owned businesses across the South West, brings his market profile and deal experience to focus on supporting the growth of the M&A team.

Phil said: “I am delighted to have been appointed COO of Hazlewoods, one of the largest independent professional services firms in the South West, and excited to be part of the leadership team to continue the successful growth of this market leading business.

“I am also thrilled with the opportunity to work with an established corporate finance team of over 40 professionals alongside other experts from our tax, accounting and advisory teams who collectively provide a truly differentiated offering to individuals and business owners.”

Pete Muldrew said: “Being a proud resident of Gloucester, the scale and capability of the Hazlewoods corporate finance team made this the obvious firm to join to continue progressing my career, serving entrepreneurial clients in the mid-market. I look forward to bringing my breadth of experience in advising clients on transactional activity to further develop the scale of our business.”

John Lucas, head of M&A and healthcare corporate finance at Hazlewoods added: “Phil and Pete’s experience and track record, particularly in the £10m to £75m deal range, will enhance our mid-market M&A capability and also ensure we can continue to grow our business in line with the needs of our clients.”

James Morter, managing partner of Hazlewoods commented: “With more than 540 people across four offices, we are one of the largest independent professional services firms in the South West.

“Recruiting Phil and Pete demonstrates our continued ambition to grow and support our own people and our clients in the firm’s specialist sectors and the regional market. We will continue to invest in our talent and infrastructure as we are uniquely placed to support clients with our advisory, tax, audit and accounting services.”