Grant Thornton raids rivals to boost Birmingham presence

THE Birmingham office of Grant Thornton is growing its corporate tax team in the city with the appointment of two senior specialists.

Associate director Paula Thacker joins the firm after nine years with Ernst & Young, latterly in the transaction tax team, where she specialised in providing due diligence on deals across a wide range of business sectors including gaming, food and beverage and  manufacturing. Deals worked on include single UK acquisitions to multi-jurisdictional transactions, with values ranging from £10m to £2bn. Her new role will encompass transaction tax, tax compliance and advisory work and development of the corporate tax practice.

Fellow associate director John Foskett is joining Grant Thornton after 15 years at PwC in Birmingham, where he was part of the large corporate tax team. He is experienced in complex tax advice to dynamic businesses from a variety of sectors and for both private and listed companies. In his new role he will capitalise on his corporate tax skills as well as his business development expertise.

David Hillan, head of Grant Thornton’s corporate tax team in Birmingham, said: “Paula and John bring with them a huge amount of experience which will benefit Grant Thornton’s ambitious clients.

“They also represent our investment to grow the Birmingham office by attracting highly talented people who have the potential to become the firm’s future partners. We are also keen to recruit more good people to the team, which in today’s climate is quite rare.”

PwC strengthens assurance services practice

PwC has appointed partner, Owen Mackney, left, to lead the firm’s assurance services practice in the Midlands.

Based at the firm’s Birmingham office, Mackney has moved to the region from PwC’s St Albans office where he led the local assurance services team for the past six years and was appointed senior partner in 2011.

A specialist in financial reporting and auditing he will support the 600-strong Midlands-based team of assurance, risk, corporate reporting and transaction support experts. He will have particular focus on meeting the needs of private and public sector organisations, inward investors and private equity firms.

Mark Smith, regional chairman of PwC in the Midlands, said: “This is a strategic appointment that will further strengthen our assurance practice in the region. Owen has already demonstrated his drive and commitment in growing the firm’s assurance business and this move will further strengthen his links with the Midlands business community.”

Bloomer Heaven expands national presence

BIRMINGHAM-based accountancy firm, Bloomer Heaven, added to its network of associates with the recruitment of Wiltshire-based firm Monahans.

The addition of Monahans to MHA, of which Bloomer Heaven is a founding member, will improve the association’s presence in the south west. The network expansion means Bloomer Heaven clients can now benefit from expertise across 42 offices covering England, Scotland and Wales.

Chris Haynes, Managing Director of Bloomer Heaven and a board member of MHA, said: “We are delighted to welcome Monahans to the association. It is an exciting time for MHA and for Bloomer Heaven. This expansion will allow Bloomer Heaven to add further value to our client offer with the extension of our geographical reach.”