Ambitious accountancy firm takes on new tax specialist as it looks to win new business
Somerset accountancy firm Old Mill has expanded with the appointment of a new partner.
The firm has appointed highly experienced tax specilist David Gage who will take up the role of head of VAT.
In November 2021, Old Mill announced plans to double the size of the business by 2026.
David – who joins from Evelyn Partners where he was Director of VAT – has been brought on board to support these growth ambitions by expanding Old Mill’s services both to existing clients and the wider market.
The 38-year-old who was a management consultant before moving into tax in 2012, says he believes his commercial background combined with his tax expertise can help raise Old Mill’s profile across a wider range of client firms.
He said: “VAT is a complicated area of tax, and the compliance requirements are becoming more and more stringent. As a result, most small and medium sized accountancy firms don’t have the relevant expertise, while the larger practices are putting all their resources into their bigger clients, leaving a huge number of underserviced businesses in the area.
“I believe Old Mill can fill that gap by offering the client-centric, tailored and personal approach you’d expect from a small family firm combined with the expertise you generally only find in large practices. I want to build on the impressive growth that Old Mill has achieved over the past year to expand our client base and scale up our services to serve more clients, across existing and new markets.”
As well as being CTA qualified (Chartered Tax Advisor), David has a degree in business and management and a Masters in European business.
He has a seven-year-old son and lives in Bristol, he says while Old Mill’s ambitious growth plans were a big pull.
David said: “Not only does Old Mill have an excellent reputation in the market, and great ambition – which was a hugely attractive proposition – but also, a really refreshing approach to leadership and personal development.
“Our director of tax, David Maslen is a very people-focussed, collaborative leader, who encourages his team to bring new ideas to the table and follow their own professional passions. This not only makes for a highly motivated team, but naturally ensures there is a very broad range of knowledge there too.
David Maslen said: “2022 was a hugely successful year for the tax team, we doubled in size to 36, which includes the appointment of a number of senior hires, including Chris Watts as Associate Director in September. We now start 2023 as we mean to go on with the appointment of David Gage as Partner and Head of VAT.
“David’s extensive experience across complex tax matters – including his expertise within high value property transactions, tax investigations and international trade – will further enhance our offering to clients, while his commercial background and ambition to bring Old Mill to businesses that may not have considered us before.”
