Advisory firm doubles workforce in first year in Birmingham
The Birmingham arm of business advisory firm Baldwins has laid multi-million-pound foundations for further growth after its first year based near Colmore Row.
Since Baldwins opened its 4,700 sq ft premises in late 2018 at Bank House on Cherry Street, the firm has recruited 36 staff, doubling in size since it started.
The firm says much of the growth has come from the introduction of new departments including Audit and Assurance, a financial Due Diligence team, and Forensic specialists. The existing Corporate Finance, Restructuring and Insolvency, and Tax teams have seen rising staff numbers to cope with increasing demand for their services.
Baldwins’ Restructuring and Insolvency team has seen a surge in insolvency cases and generated in excess of £1.2m turnover in 2019, while taking on three new staff members and five licensed Insolvency Practitioners within the team.
The firm’s five-strong Forensic Accounting team have also generated more than 40 assignments relating to fraud over the past year, with further growth expected over the coming months.
Baldwins’ Birmingham office has also played a key role in helping the firm’s Midlands-wide Corporate Finance team achieve significant year-on-year growth, attracting two additional advisors to generate a pipeline of additional work.
A new Due Diligence team was also formed in late 2019 to support Baldwins’ Corporate Finance department and is led by Malcolm Cook. He joins as partner and comes with more than 20 years of transaction services experience in a career that has seen him advising banks, private equity and companies on more than £400m corporate transactions.
Demand for Tax Advisory services is also on the rise, and has seen seven new Tax experts recruited to Baldwins’ Birmingham base to advise on corporate restructures, business succession planning, property, expat, capital allowances, employment and VAT.
The new Audit team is the latest addition to one of Baldwins’ fastest-growing offices, with 19 new recruits coming on board to help the firm expand the 120-strong Audit client base that it currently serves in the region – with the team set to double its workforce over the next 18 months.
Ian Gould, regional managing partner for Baldwins in the West Midlands, said: “The performance of our Birmingham office in its first year shows why we wanted to develop a hub that offers all of the necessary services for both SME and larger businesses to thrive.
“Baldwins is rapidly expanding its footprint across the UK, and having a strong foothold in the second city where we can work closer with banking and legal markets is key to supporting this wider growth.
“It also strengthens our ability to recruit some of the best talent in the industry, and we now have nearly 70 members of staff across various business advisory specialisms working together in Birmingham, which itself has helped to generate more cross-referrals for us.
“We’ve had a successful first year developing our presence both locally and further afield, and are set for an even stronger year in 2020; particularly within our Audit and Tax departments which are experiencing exceptional demand both regionally and further afield.
“We will continue to recruit for additional high-calibre staff throughout the year.”
Photo caption: Back row left to right; Richard Tonks (Partner of Restructuring & Insolvency), Martin Chapman (Partner Designate of Forensics), Martin Poole (Partner of Corporate Finance), Praveen Gupta (National Head of Tax), Ian Gould (Regional Managing Partner), Malcolm Cook (Partner of Corporate Finance).
Front row left to right; Margaret Carter (Associate Director of Restructuring & Insolvency), Laura Hinsley (Partner Designate of Audit), Kim Richards (Senior Manager of Restructuring & Insolvency).
