Corporate finance veteran joins Mazars

CORPORATE finance specialist Nick Johnson has joined the Birmingham office of Mazars as a partner. Mr Johnson has worked in the corporate finance market for more than 20 years covering acquisitions, disposals, buyouts, capital raising and restructuring. He led the corporate finance arm of Deloitte in the Midlands and most recently has been running a boutique advisory business, Atticus. Mr Johnson said: “Atticus has been a success on many levels and great fun but Mazars provides a fantastic platform in the UK and overseas to maximise opportunities. I am impressed by Mazars development in the Midlands and the strength of their integrated international partnership.” Andrew Millington, corporate finance partner at Mazars in Birmingham, said: “Nick is a major player in our sector – his career speaks for itself. It is a major coup that he has agreed to join Mazars.” Mr Johnson is a graduate of Leeds University where he gained a First in chemical engineering. He is married with four children and lives in Edgbaston.

UK expansion for Warwiskhire-based expats’ IFA

PENSION specialist Angela South has launched a UK division of her Expat Pension Providers Ltd business. The Warwickshire-based IFA has been advising expats living in Spain, France and Cyprus for three years on the potential benefits of Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pensions (QROPS) and Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS). Expat Pensions was founded by offshore pensions expert Ms South in 2007 and incorporated as Expat Pension Providers Ltd in February 2010. The business has seen “phenomenal” growth in the past 12 months, moving from one full and one part time employee to eight full and part staff in the past 12 months. She said: “From my contacts built up over more than two decades in the pensions marketplace, we have been receiving increasing numbers of inquiries on UK pension issues. These have ranged from pension splitting on divorce, to SIPP property purchases and questions on how the new National Employment Savings Trusts will impact on businesses. Clearly this kind of inquiry and requirement for advice did not sit comfortably under the Expat Pensions’ banner, and so we have launched Magna Wealth Management to handle all UK pensions, savings and investment inquiries.”

Fingers crossed at Harrisons

HARRISON Beale and Owen is celebrating its nomination in the 2011 ICAEW West Midlands Chartered Accountant of the Year Awards. The firm, which has offices in Coventry and Leamington, has been short-listed in the Chartered Accountants of the Year (up to five partners) category. The financial experts have been chosen along with three other companies ahead of an awards lunch at the Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Monday, May 9. Rob Kendall, director at Harrison Beale and Owen, said: “To have gained such recognition by our peers is extremely heartening and is a glowing endorsement of our services. We have built the company on providing excellent customer service allied with first-class work from our experienced team. The fact we have won many new clients over the last 12 months on customer recommendations speaks volumes for our customer care.”