News Archive

Price Bailey is pleased to announce the appointment of Chartered Accountant and Corporate Finance specialist Pat Walters, who joins the firm’s Cambridge team as Strategic Business Development Director.

With over 25 years of experience, Pat has worked with clients throughout East Anglia and the Home Counties. Pat brings specialist expertise in Corporate Advisory and Debt Finance and has been a trusted advisor to many businesses, as well as leading transactions including refinancings, management buyouts, acquisitions, and disposals in the mid-market category.

Pat’s role will operate across Price Bailey’s service lines and locations, working closely with the Partnership team as the business continues its rapid growth, welcoming 94 new starters in 2024, including over 40 new trainees.

Pat’s arrival comes as Price Bailey receives several accolades through Best Companies and is named one of the Apprenticeships Top 100 Employers for the fourth consecutive year. The firm also recently received three prestigious awards at the Central and East of England Insider Awards, a recognition of the top acquisitions, buyouts, and funding deals of the past year, and the people that made them happen.

Pat Walters, Director at Price Bailey, comments:

“I’m delighted to join Price Bailey, and look forward to supporting our clients across all our service lines. Price Bailey is a strong and well-respected brand, and I am excited about helping the firm connect with more businesses in East Anglia and our new offices in Peterborough and Oxford.”

Paul Cullen, Partner and Finance Director at Price Bailey, comments:

“We are pleased to welcome Pat to Price Bailey. He is very well known in the marketplace and brings extensive experience from many years in business working across Price Bailey’s patch.

“He has advised businesses of all sizes from both an accounting and banking perspective and the knowledge and expertise he has built will be very valuable in Price Bailey. Pat’s enthusiasm and relationship-first approach to helping organisations grow will make him a valuable contributor to the firm. We are excited to see him support Price Bailey’s future growth.”

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• 24% of Northern businesses plan to increase borrowing compared to 11% of Southern counterparts.
  
• Survey of 750 Finance Directors.

More than twice (24 percent) of businesses in the North compared to the South (11 percent) intend to increase borrowing to fund growth, according to research by Price Bailey, the Top 30 firm of accountants.

Price Bailey surveyed 750 Finance Directors who work for businesses with a turnover of £10m-100m, asking them about projected sales volumes and the prices of the goods and services they provide. The full report can be found here.

According to Price Bailey, the survey suggests that while businesses in the South are in a better position to finance growth through cash reserves or attracting investors, their counterparts in the North are much more reliant on debt, which is still expensive by the standards of the last 15 years.

The results reveal that overall the two most popular methods of funding growth in the year ahead are via equity finance (52%) and cash reserves (49%), although significant regional disparities are evident.

The research also reveals an approximate 2:1 ratio of finance directors who anticipate a reduction in borrowing compared with those who anticipate an increase. In total, 28% of finance directors anticipate that their business will borrow less over the next 12 months, compared with 15% who believe it will borrow more.

What changes to your balance sheet, if any, do you expect to see over the next 12 months?

Chand Chudasama, Partner in the Strategic Corporate Finance Team at Price Bailey, comments:

“While UK businesses are generally bullish about their growth prospects over the next year, there is a marked regional divide in how that growth will be funded. Businesses in the South have, on average, carried forward stronger balance sheets and we know from our prior research also tend to hold better access to investors, which gives them more options for funding growth. For businesses in the North, generally, we can conclude there is a greater reliance on debt which may limit the potential for growth as rates remain relatively high and the costs of doing business are rising.”

“The significant increase in tax and borrowing announced in the Budget are forecast to fuel inflationary pressure next year, which will likely mean that interest rates stay higher for longer. For businesses in the North, which are more reliant on debt to fund growth, this Budget could pull the rug from under growth plans.”

He adds: “There is also a notable trend towards share buybacks – meaning money that could have funded growth is instead being used to return value to shareholders. This could indicate a lack of confidence in the UK’s business environment as shareholders look to extract value rather than reinvest.”

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• Data by Price Bailey indicates that more than 130,000 UK residents are set to be affected by tax changes on Furnished Holiday Lets.
• This comes as private owners now won’t get full relief for mortgage interest if they are a Higher Rate or Additional Rate taxpayer.
• Findings highlight the number of people with difficult decisions to make.

According to research by one of the UK’s top 30 accountancy firms Price Bailey, more than 130,000 individuals who have income from furnished holiday lettings (FHLs) accommodation in the UK are set to be affected by the removal of tax benefits.

The data, obtained under a Freedom of Information request, highlights a 67% increase in SA105 Furnished Holiday Let (FHL) taxpayer returns between the 2013-14 and 2022-23 financial years, reaching 132,000. While growth rates dipped in 2020-21 in the first year of the pandemic, a spike the following year returned growth rates to a mean average of six per cent per year over the last ten financial years.

The removal of the FHL tax regime will take effect from April 2025 and will harmonise furnished holiday letting with other forms of residential property income. Current tax rules offer beneficial tax treatment for Furnished Holiday Lettings, with exemption from finance cost restriction rules, beneficial capital allowances rules, access to reliefs from taxes on chargeable gains for business assets and inclusion as relevant UK earnings when calculating maximum pension relief.

Andrew Park, a Partner in the Tax team at Price Bailey comments:

“It’s clear that the Government is trying to disincentivise people from using holiday letting to subsidise the ownership of second homes. Repealing the beneficial tax treatment for Furnished Holiday Lets, alongside increasing scrutiny from councils, with some regions charging second homes or holiday homes a premium Council Tax rate of up to 300%, could make running a Furnished Holiday Let and paying the mortgage unviable.

“For those who do continue to operate, their profitability will be squeezed. Everyone will feel the effect of this.”

Park continues: “Although there are other changes too for those with Furnished Holiday Lets – including companies, the most dramatic change is seen for private landlords who now won’t get full relief for mortgage interest if they are Higher Rate or Additional Rate taxpayers – and will end up paying tax on profits they haven’t really made, often with cash that will need to come from other sources.”

Park explains that incorporating their rental properties as a business could be a route for landlords who want to mitigate the effects of the tax changes.

“Companies will continue to get full mortgage interest relief against their profits. Incorporating would typically mean paying Corporation Tax of 19%, since annual profits are normally well below £50k, and then paying personal Income Tax if an owner wants to take cash out of the company.”

Park concludes: “The big thing is, I don’t think that many are going to want to do this through a company and so I do expect that we will see an uptick in owners looking to sell. Fortunately, yesterday’s Autumn Statement has left the special rate of capital gains tax on selling residential properties unchanged at 18% for basic rate taxpayers and 24% for higher rate taxpayers.”

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• Suggests businesses may struggle to pass on Autumn Statement tax and minimum wage rises to customers.
  
• Survey of 750 Finance Directors.

Businesses are on average more optimistic about increasing their revenues from sales over the next year than putting up prices, according to research by Price Bailey, the Top 30 firm of accountants.

Price Bailey surveyed 750 Finance Directors who work for business with a turnover of £10m-100m, asking them about projected sales volumes and the prices of the goods and services they provide. The full report can be found here.

According to Price Bailey, the survey suggests that mooted tax and minimum wage increases in the forthcoming Autumn Statement are likely to erode profit margins as businesses struggle to pass higher costs on to customers.

The results revealed that in certain industries there are some clear disparities between finance directors’ growth expectations and how they expect their businesses to hit their revenue targets. This suggests that price elasticity continues to be significantly uneven by industry.

For example, in the case of architecture, engineering and building, 34% more finance directors expect to see an increase in revenue via sales growth compared with those forecasting increased prices for goods and services.

Chand Chudasama, Partner in the Strategic Corporate Finance Team at Price Bailey, comments:

“It is encouraging to see that UK businesses are generally optimistic about their prospects of revenue growth over the next year.”

“The research suggests that the plan for achieving growth is ‘work harder’. There is limited evidence that creating value through the product or service mix to capture higher pricing is part of the plan. Certain industries have a clearer strategy than others for hitting their revenue targets. In some industries, businesses do not appear to be sufficiently targeting output, and price rises as strategies for growing their top line.”

“It is likely that the Autumn Statement will increase the cost of doing business and those costs will eat into operating profits for many businesses. Businesses in sectors as hospitality and retail are already walking a balance sheet tightrope and will struggle to realise growth if that comes at the expense of already thin profit margins being further eroded.”

In the year ahead, will your prices or volume sold increase or decrease when thinking about driving your revenue changes? (By industry)

The regional perspective

In some regions of the UK, the research highlights a gap between those businesses that are anticipating a revenue uplift and those that are expecting to increase their volume and prices of goods and services over the next 12 months.

In the West Midlands, for example, 39% more finance directors expect to see an increase in revenue compared with those forecasting increased prices for goods and services. Similarly, 36% more finance directors in the region expect higher revenues compared with those who believe that their business will sell more output.

This gap is also evident in the East Midlands, Greater London, the North West, the West Midlands, and Wales.

In Scotland and the South East, the data highlights that businesses will focus significantly more on selling products and services over the next 12 months to hit their revenue goals, rather than on raising prices. Overall, 80% of Scottish finance directors and 55% of finance directors based in the South East expect their business to produce greater output. In contrast, 57% (Scotland) and 39% (South East) anticipate hiking up prices.

Chand Chudasama says:

“The research also highlighted some individual regions where finance directors are more likely to anticipate revenue growth than to predict that their business will sell more goods or services or increase its prices. These findings mirror other findings in the research – specifically that finance directors in the North are less optimistic than their southern peers about their business’s ability to increase the volumes and prices of its products and services.”

He adds: “While the Government cannot necessarily accommodate the needs of different industries and regions in the Budget, it should be sensitive to the fact that not all businesses are equally well positioned to take advantage of the UK’s economic recovery. Businesses’ ability to sell more products and services and increase their prices can vary significantly according to their industry and location.”

In the year ahead, will your prices or volume sold increase or decrease when thinking about driving your revenue changes? (By region)

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• Nearly twice as many businesses with more than 500 employees think sales volumes will rise than businesses with under 250 staff.
  
• Smaller businesses more likely to think minimum wage increases will have a negative impact.

Smaller businesses are less likely than their larger counterparts to anticipate growth in the volume of products and services they sell over the next 12 months. They are also less confident about passing on increases in costs to customers, according to research by Price Bailey, the Top 30 firm of accountants.

Price Bailey surveyed 750 Finance Directors who work for business with a turnover of £10m-100m, asking them about projected sales volumes and the prices of the goods and services they provide.

The results revealed that most UK finance directors (67%) expect their business to sell more services and products over the next 12 months, with 63% anticipating an increase in prices. Businesses with over 500 employees are the most optimistic. The overwhelming majority (96%) expect to increase sales volumes while 95% forecast higher prices.

Optimism begins to dip for businesses with 500 employees or fewer, and businesses in the smallest category (between 10 and 249 employees) are the least optimistic of all. Just over half (57%) of finance directors of businesses with between 10 and 249 employees expect an increased volume of services and products sold over the next 12 months, with 52% forecasting an increase in prices.

In the year ahead, do you expect the volume of products or services sold to increase or decrease? (Company size split)

According to Price Bailey, concerns about forthcoming legislation such as the Employment Rights Bill and the prospect of tax and minimum wage hikes in the forthcoming Autumn Statement are likely to be weighing heavily on small businesses.

Chand Chudasama, Partner in the Strategic Corporate Finance Team at Price Bailey, says:

“Small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy yet they are disproportionately affected by increases in the cost of doing business, whether that is tax or red tape. Concerns that tax rises in the Autumn Statement could fall heavily on small businesses are sapping confidence.”

“In light of the challenges they face, the Government should consider how it can provide targeted financial support to smaller businesses. The UK already has several successful schemes that help to channel investment into SMEs, including the VCT, EIS and SEIS schemes. It should consider how it can further promote these schemes to encourage interest from potential investors who may not have used them before. It should also explore whether further incentives are needed to unlock capital investment into smaller businesses.”

He adds: “As well as providing financial support, the Government should reflect on how it can create the right environment for all businesses to thrive. That involves minimising their administrative and regulatory burden and ensuring that they can access robust digital and physical infrastructure.”

Impact of National Minimum Wage changes

Another notable finding of the research is that the UK’s largest businesses are far more likely than their smaller peers to anticipate a positive impact from changes to the National Minimum Wage (NMW). In April 2024, the NMW increased to £11.44 per hour and further increases are expected as part of the Government’s New Deal for Working People.

Overall, 91% of finance directors for businesses with over 500 employees think that changes to the NMW will be beneficial, while just 5% see them as negative.

In contrast, just over half (53%) of finance directors for businesses with between 250 and 500 employees believe that changes to the NMW are a benefit. Nearly a quarter (23%) think they will have a negative impact.

The smallest businesses, with 10 to 249 employees, are most likely to view changes to the NMW as a disadvantage. For businesses of this size, 42% of finance directors maintain that changes to the NMW will have a negative impact while only 38% see them as a benefit. This is likely because they have proportionately more employees earning the NMW than larger businesses so changes will drive up their wages bill.

How much do you expect changes to the National Minimum Wage to affect your company finances, either positively or negatively? (Company size split)

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Price Bailey is delighted to announce the appointment of Mohammed Imran, a Chartered Accountant, who joins the firm’s growing Strategic Corporate Finance team as a Director. His appointment follows the recent announcement of 110 promotions, reinforcing Price Bailey’s ongoing commitment to expansion and excellence.

Imran brings a wealth of experience to Price Bailey, having had a distinguished career in Corporate Finance, with extensive expertise in M&A advisory, Financial and Vendor Due Diligence, and capital markets support. His experience spans working with entrepreneurs, Private Equity (PE) especially buy and build platforms and publicly listed companies, making him a versatile and highly valuable addition to the PB team.

While Imran will operate as a generalist, he has a particular passion for advisory work within the Healthcare and Life Sciences sectors. He has played a pivotal role in guiding both corporate and PE buyers through complex strategic transactions in these industries. Imran’s background includes training in audit, before transitioning into Corporate Finance / Transaction services and most recently working in M&A at an investment bank.

In his role at Price Bailey, Imran will focus on further enhancing the firm’s Financial Due Diligence and Transactional Services offerings. With his sector expertise and leadership, the firm is now poised to expand capabilities in these areas.

This appointment marks yet another milestone in Price Bailey’s continued success. Alongside Imran’s arrival, the firm has recently been named one of the Apprenticeships Top 100 Employers for the fourth consecutive year, and has retained an “Outstanding Company to Work For” status by Best Companies for a second year running.

Mohammed Imran, Director at Price Bailey, shares his thoughts on joining the firm:

“I’m thrilled to be joining Price Bailey and look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to grow and elevate our transactional services and due diligence offerings. I’m particularly excited about strengthening our connections within the Healthcare and Life Sciences sectors and working with entrepreneurs, acquirers, funds, and banks as they navigate future transactions.”

To contact Mohammed Imran, click here.

• Twice as many businesses in the North expect sales volumes to fall over the next 12 months.
• Businesses in the North less confident about putting their prices up.

Businesses in the North of England are more likely to face challenging financial headwinds over the next 12 months compared with their peers in the South. These headwinds include a potential fall in demand for their goods and services and barriers to raising their prices, according to research by Price Bailey, the Top 30 firm of accountants.

Price Bailey surveyed 750 Finance Directors who work for business with a turnover of £10m-100m, asking them about projected sales volumes and the prices of the goods and services they provide. The full report can be found here.

The results revealed that more than twice as many businesses in the North of England (25%) expect their company’s volume of products and services sold to decrease over the year ahead compared to their peers in the South (12%).

Businesses in the North are also significantly less confident about increasing their prices than their counterparts in the South. 20 percent of businesses in the North expect to increase their prices significantly over the next 12 months compared to over a third (37%) of businesses in the South. This is despite UK inflation having fallen to 2.2% in August 2024, down from 6.7% a year earlier.

The new Government recently expanded the remit of the Low Pay Commission, which sets the NMW/NLW, to include taking account of the cost of living, rather than the emphasis being solely on labour market conditions. The NLW is expected to surge from £11.44 to £12.10 per hour by April 2025, a much greater increase than forecast in March.

Chand Chudasama, Partner in the Strategic Corporate Finance Team at Price Bailey, says:

“As UK businesses continue to navigate difficult trading conditions and an evolving policy environment, the evidence suggests that their resilience levels are likely to vary according to where they are based.”

“In the upcoming Budget the Government should be conscious of regional and sector-based differences. These differences create fundamentally different economic outcomes to the lives of many people and the unintended consequences of broad changes to matters such as minimum and living wage and taxes can create systemic and irrevocable issues to both sectors and communities.”

He adds: “It is likely that businesses will seek to pass on wage rises to customers, which could feed through to inflation. Businesses in the pub and restaurant sectors have little room to absorb higher wage costs while borrowing costs stay relatively high. Many will be hoping for a rate cut but that could be delayed if statutory wage rises lead to stickier inflation.”

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Andrew Park, Partner and Tax Investigation Specialist from Price Bailey, shares insight on the effect of a pension increase on personal income tax and the impact the move could have on public finances.

In June, the Labour Party announced plans to review the pensions landscape. In Labour’s Manifesto, the party detailed ambitions to improve pension outcomes, a commitment to retain the triple lock for the state pension and the promise of reforms to workplace pensions, to deliver better outcomes for UK savers and pensioners.

In their commitment to the triple lock, figures from the treasury now suggest that the Government is expected to raise the state pension by £460 from April. This comes amid the controversial move to end winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners, with millions of elderly people now set to lose their access.

Andrew Park, Partner and Tax Investigation Specialist from Price comments:

“The triple lock guarantees that the state pension is getting bigger and bigger in real terms every year, but this comes alongside frozen tax thresholds. The suspected raise to the state pension will bring the full pension perilously close to the £12,570 threshold at which people start paying Income Tax on any earnings above that. It will also pull countless more pensioners with a state pension and just a small level of personal pension or savings income into paying Income Tax. Pensioners must prepare for that.”

Park continues: “It could be suggested that a fairer and more transparent approach, would be to revert to linking the state pension just to inflation and unfreezing personal allowances, increasing them in line with inflation too. However, the new government looks determined to keep thresholds frozen until 2028 and with the triple lock increasing fiscal pressure on government finances – I expect the rise will make the Government more rather than less disinclined to raise the tax threshold.”

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In June, the Labour Party announced plans to review the pensions landscape. In Labour’s Manifesto, they detailed ambitions to improve pension outcomes, a commitment to retain the triple lock for the state pension and the promise of reforms to workplace pensions, to deliver better outcomes for UK savers and pensioners.

In their commitment to the triple lock, figures from the treasury now suggest that the Government is expected to raise the state pension by £460 from April. This comes amid the controversial move to end winter fuel payments for all but the poorest pensioners, with millions of elderly people now set to lose their access.

Andrew Park, Partner and Tax Investigation Specialist from Price comments: “The triple lock guarantees that the state pension is getting bigger and bigger in real terms every year, but this comes alongside frozen tax thresholds. The suspected raise to the state pension will bring the full pension perilously close to the £12,570 threshold at which people start paying Income Tax on any earnings above that. It will also pull countless more pensioners with a state pension and just a small level of personal pension or savings income into paying Income Tax. Pensioners must prepare for that.”

Park continues: “It could be suggested that a fairer and more transparent approach, would be to revert to linking the state pension just to inflation and unfreezing personal allowances, increasing them in line with inflation too.  However, the new government looks determined to keep thresholds frozen until 2028 and with the triple lock increasing fiscal pressure on government finances – I expect the rise will make the Government more rather than less disinclined to raise the tax threshold.”

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The firm’s summer 2024 trainee intake brings 14 graduates, 15 school leavers and three 12-month industry placements.

Price Bailey welcomes its summer intake of trainees, with 29 team members joining on an initial two-week induction period at Price Bailey’s Cambridge office, before they move on to their respective offices and departments. The induction period offers all trainees an opportunity to learn about Price Bailey and integrate with existing staff, through events such as a pizza night!

This comes following the addition 11 graduates, hired through Price Bailey’s inaugural winter trainee intake, back in February 2024, as well as three 12-month placement students earlier this summer.

Price Bailey trainees attending an induction session

The firm is now recruiting for its February 2025 intake and expects to welcome another 15-20 hires from the local area.

Applications for the summer 2025 intake will open late-October.

To be considered for a place, school leavers must hold a minimum of 112 UCAS points, with graduates requiring a minimum of a 2:2 in any undergraduate degree subject.

Duncan Crooks, a Senior Manager who leads the firm’s Resourcing function and specialises in trainee recruitment said:

We continue to invest heavily in our Early Careers programme here at Price Bailey and this year we have welcomed over 40 trainees, joining our various trainee programmes.

This year we took on a winter intake for the first time, along with the traditional summer intake, and the obvious success of this has now made it a permanent fixture in our calendar.

Duncan continues:

We recognise that career development, structured training and a great life/work balance is important to future talent. As such, we’re delighted to offer all of our trainees a comprehensive programme that includes full study support for their accountancy qualifications; flexible working through our Smart Working policy; ongoing soft skills training and a structured progression pathway.

Our trainees are the future of the firm, so we’re committed to unlocking the potential of each and every one of them. One of the highlights of my role is seeing them flourish in our supportive and inclusive environment.

Price Bailey was ranked in the Apprenticeships Top 100 Employers list for 2024. This is the fourth year the firm was placed in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers, marking an excellent achievement and a testament to the training and development offered.

Martin Clapson is the Managing Director at Price Bailey and Chairman of the Association of Practising Accountants.

At Price Bailey, we are committed to helping our clients navigate these uncertain times, providing the right advice to ensure they are well-prepared for any changes that lie ahead. As part of the APA survey, Price Bailey shared the survey with its own clients to allow them to feed into research.

If you have any questions or concerns about the survey or how these developments might affect your business, please do not hesitate to contact us or chat to us using the live chat.

Price Bailey Listed in the Apprenticeships Top 100 Employers List for Fourth Year Running

Following the publication of the Best Companies results for 2024 and being recognised as a 2-star Outstanding Firm to Work For, Price Bailey has announced that the firm has ranked 45th in the recent Apprenticeships Top 100 Employers list for 2024. This is the fourth year Price Bailey has placed in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers, marking an excellent achievement and a testament to the training and development offered by the firm.

The Apprenticeships Top 100 Employers list celebrates England’s outstanding apprenticeship programmes, recognising an employer’s commitment to creating new apprenticeships, the diversity of their apprentices, and the number of apprentices who successfully achieve their apprenticeships. Price Bailey continues to recruit a large number of apprentices, with trainees from both schools and universities across the country, including 45 new apprentices joining the firm throughout 2024.

This recognition indicates that Price Bailey has outstanding levels of engagement and provides excellent opportunities for trainees and apprentices. We are proud of the achievements that both the Firm and our apprentices continue to make.

The apprenticeship training is complemented by internal training via the Stepahead programme. All new trainees undertake training from day one to help them make the best start, build relationships with their colleagues and clients, and eventually support the development of new trainees joining.

Commenting on the listing, Martin Clapson, Managing Director, said:

“I am very pleased to see Price Bailey recognised in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list once again. This achievement underscores our commitment to fostering talent and providing exceptional opportunities for apprentices. At Price Bailey, we believe in investing in the future of our workforce and maintaining an environment where trainees can thrive and contribute meaningfully to their career progression and our success.”

Accounting and advisory firm Price Bailey has released a report revealing that early-stage businesses who received funding from the crowd, experienced lower growth than those who sought Private Equity and Venture Capital investment.

Using the research database Beauhurst, the firm retrieved data on 1,075 Crowdfunded businesses and 3,472 Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC) funded businesses, that had experienced a funding round that raised at least £500k, between FY Q1 2016 and FY Q3 2023.

The data reveals that “seed stage” businesses, who went to the crowd for funding, raised on average, £1.1m with an average turnover of £141k at the point of investment. In contrast, seed-stage businesses who sought investment from PE/VC investors, raised on average, £2.9m with an average turnover of £1.3m for said round.

The data goes on to show that at the “venture stage”, crowdfunded ventures had an average cheque size of £1.4m with an average turnover of £2.8m at the point of investment. Comparatively, those who went to PE/VC investors raised, on average, £4.4m in their first round with an average turnover of £3.2m at the point of investment.

Total amount raised and average cheque size for respective significant rounds

Commenting on the report, Chand Chudasama, Partner and Strategic Corporate Finance expert at Price Bailey says:

“From our research, we can see that regardless of where these businesses are sourcing their investment from, it has been a challenging time. This is no surprise, given the prevailing economic uncertainty over the last few years, but there has been a sharp and distinct decline in investment deals from the heights of 2021.
“It’s also clear that at both stages of evolution (Seed and Venture), those businesses that went to the crowd are seemingly at the smaller end of the stages, while those who went to PE/VC investors are at the larger end.

“There also appears to be a split in investment source for consumer and B2B businesses, with the majority of consumer businesses seeking the crowd for investment, while B2B organisations seek PE/VC investment the majority of the time.”

“I hope the findings from our report will be useful for early-stage business owners, looking for information on the best route for fundraising, as they grow their organisation.”

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With the general election announced for July,  Price Bailey is urging healthcare businesses to sell up now to avoid potential post-election tax hikes. 

“When a new or existing party leader gets into government, tax rates on selling businesses tend to increase. Businesses in all sectors should look to get their sale in before this happens.”

says Holly Gibson, partner at Price Bailey,.

Between 2022 and 2023, the value of UK healthcare transactions rose from £8.6 billion to £15.4 billion, growing more than any other industry, according to recent reports. The prevalence of business sales may stem from rising operational costs, workforce shortages and increasing regulatory pressures, but is further fueled by private equity firms actively seeking opportunities to invest in the healthcare market, attracted by its resilience and potential for growth.

Several high-profile acquisitions from private equity firms have been making headlines in recent months as healthcare business owners look at leveraging the appeal of private equity to optimise the value of their business.

Price Bailey advises selling your healthcare company via a management buyout (MBO), rather than selling overseas, to transfer generational wealth and retain knowledge and expertise within the UK. Gibson notes that there are over 17,000 companies in the UK who could sell to their management teams through an MBO, rather than selling to trade buyers. “Then the economic benefits stay in the UK,” she notes, “with no leakage to international investors or tax authorities in other countries.”

She goes on to explain that, “since the beginning of 2023 there have been 330 healthcare sector MBOs. 22% of these were focused on care services and a further 16% focused on clinical and outpatient services. We’ve found that the average deal value of these MBOs was 6.45x Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA).” 

Dentists, opticians and pharmacists will need to start preparing for sale as soon as possible, including ensuring an investigative analysis of the financial performance of the company is carried out to determine its prospects for a sale.

Expanding on this, Price Bailey recommends those looking to sell their healthcare business consider the following steps with the support of their accountants:

• 1. Plan ahead: Establish an exit plan at the earliest opportunity, considering any regulatory requirements and patient care continuity.
• 2. Get ‘sale ready’: Maximise value by conducting an in-depth analysis and action plan to optimise performance, reduce debt, secure revenue, enhance your brand and attract potential investors.
• 3. Identify buyers: Research using industry-specific corporate intelligence databases and professional networks to find suitable buyers familiar with healthcare operations.
• 4. Market effectively: Send targeted teasers to healthcare investors and manage any NDAs required to protect practice information.
• 5. Negotiate: Review offers, select bidders, and negotiate terms while ensuring potential buyers have adequate funding in place, the correct medical licensing needed and access to carry out due diligence.
• 6. Sale completion: Handle due diligence, legal paperwork, and finalisation with attention to healthcare-specific legal and compliance issues and the transition process for the practice and patients.

The management buyout team will typically consist of three people and is built on a foundation of trust between each other and by the sellers and funders, with the current business owners also required to be reasonable on value expectations. 

ENDS

As a firm with a “people first” approach, Price Bailey is committed to its workforce. In 2023, the organisation was recognised as one of the best places to work in the UK by Best Companies, alongside being in the top 20 best employers in the Apprenticeships Top 100 Employers list.

The firm is committed to raising awareness and understanding of the importance of mental health, with 23 of its staff now trained ambassadors, equipped with the tools needed to support anyone who might be struggling.

Kelly Flack, HR Manager at Price Bailey comments: “All of our ambassadors are trained via Mental Health First Aider England and undertake the Mental Health First Aiders Training. They have also all been invited to attend additional Suicide Prevention training via Samaritans this year.

“Our ambassadors have different experiences and backgrounds which lend themselves to the role. These individuals support anyone who may need help with their wellbeing including mental health, and are trained to also recognise the symptoms and behaviours of wellbeing concerns.”

Kelly continues: “Our ambassadors then meet to discuss current topics and key issues and subsequently this helps Price Bailey to provide the right support, the right resources, at the right time.”

In addition to this, the firm offers several other mental health and wellbeing resources, including:

• two employee assistance programmes, which offer a confidential service with 24/7 access and counselling services, which is also available to family members,
• a stress and mental wellbeing at work policy, which sets out the measures in place to support wellbeing,
• a wellbeing toolkit which offers tips for effectively managing wellbeing,
• private medical care for assistant manager and above,
• time off for medical appointments,
• access to occupational health services which can provide support and assessments including helping individuals return to work after ill health
• reasonable adjustments and specialist equipment
• ICAEW members can also access support via CABA which provides well-being and mental health support and can also help family members in certain circumstances

Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 takes place from the 13th to 19th May, and this year’s theme is “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”.

According to the Mental Health Foundation: 

“One of the most important things you can do to help protect your mental health is regular movement. Moving more can increase your energy, reduce stress and anxiety, and boost your self-esteem”. 

Find out more about the Mental Health Ambassadors at Price Bailey here.

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Accounting and advisory firm Price Bailey announces plans for six new Partners in the year ahead, including four promotions and two new external appointments, Holly Gibson and Sean McCann.

Pictured above from left to right: Martin Clapson, Howard Sears, Holly Gibson, Sean McCann and Paul Cullen

The new appointments will bolster the expertise of Price Bailey’s partnership team, directing a provision for the Healthcare sector. Holly Gibson joins the firm’s Business Team, while Sean McCann joins the Corporate team, based in Cambridge.

Lee Sharman, Mark Roach, Richard Newman and Suzanne Goldsmith will also be joining the Partnership this year, taking the number of Partners to 45.

Lee Sharman joined Price Bailey in 2006 and heads up its Outsourcing services. Mark Roach, who joined in 2012, and Richard Newman, in 1999, are both members of Price Bailey’s Corporate team. Suzanne Goldsmith, who joined the firm in 2014, is also a member of Price Bailey’s Corporate team, specialising in the Charities and Higher Education sectors.

Martin Clapson, Managing Director at Price Bailey comments:

I am pleased to welcome six new partners to our expanding partnership team this year at Price Bailey. These new appointments highlight our dedication to strong leadership within the firm and ensure we have the right structure to both drive growth and support our clients. I am proud of their accomplishments so far and confident their future achievements will significantly contribute to our firm’s continued success. I am particularly pleased that four of the six new appointments will be internal promotions to Partner.

– Ends –

Today, countries across the world are observing Commonwealth Day. An annual celebration by people in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, as well as the Pacific and Europe.

The Commonwealth provides an abundance of economic opportunities. From access to a population of 2.5 billion, of which 60 per cent are under 30 years old and representing a billion middle-class consumers. The Commonwealth Advantage offers an average 21% lower bilateral costs for trading partners throughout the 56-strong association of countries.

Today marks the beginning of a week-long series of events including faith and civic gatherings, debates, school assemblies, flag-raising ceremonies and cultural events.

The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth’.

As Price Bailey completes its second year as a member of the CWEIC, Simon Blake, Partner at Price Bailey comments:

As a strategic partner of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, after another successful year, we’re looking forward to the year ahead.

We are excited to continue building on our international relationships through the opportunities the CWEIC presents, especially with our Indian and African partnerships.

Simon continues:

I’m making plans to visit Africa and we’re looking at ways we can better work with the Indian Investor market, this is especially timely, as we now have members of the partner team at Price Bailey spending longer periods in India.

The CWEIC is a great way to support these international growth ambitions, and we continue to see the benefit of this Commonwealth collaboration, for our firm and our clients.

Last year, as well as attending the third Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit (CTIS), alongside Managing Director of Price Bailey, Martin Clapson, Simon attended the launch of the CWEIC Singapore Hub, whilst attending a series of meetings in Singapore with other CWEIC Strategic Partners and IAPA members.

Hosted by the British High Commission, the hub supports CWEIC Strategic Partners in the Singapore and ASEAN region.

Speaking back in April at the launch of the Singapore Hub, Simon said:

It was great to visit Singapore and build on our relationships within the CWEIC, supporting our clients orientated towards growth in international markets, as well as global clients looking for support with their UK business.

Simon continued:

As an organisation, Price Bailey invests heavily in its international relationships, with partners attending meetings and conferences pro-actively across the world and supporting our global clients from overseas offices such as our Dubai office.

Price Bailey has recently been appointed to act for a multijurisdictional African-based client who is looking to expand globally through a London-based holding company and ultimately, planning to list on the UK stock exchange.

This opportunity was won directly through our involvement with the CWEIC and reflects the real business value of involvement with the association, cultivating improved international relations and offering an opportunity to connect with businesses from across the Commonwealth.

To find out more about the opening of the CWEIC’s Singapore Hub, visit here.

– Ends –

National Insurance cut of 2%, changes to the income threshold for Child Benefit and an increase in the VAT threshold. This week saw Jeremy Hunt deliver his 2024 Spring Budget, several partners at Price Bailey, shared their initial reactions to the news.

Gemma Thake, Tax Partner at Price Bailey comments:

In the Chancellor’s announcement, he quoted the lowest effective personal tax rate since 1975. With the rates of income tax and national insurance taken into consideration, this is a very favourable tax position for the median full-time worker in the UK at the moment.

It is also noteworthy that the Chancellor confirmed the cut in National Insurance will apply to self-employed individuals as well as employees. However, those who are not employed or self-employed, such as pensioners, will lose out as a result of the changes and many will be worse off from next month

Gemma continues:

Although not an immediate fix, the increase in Child Benefit thresholds should extend the benefit to more families and support working parents in addition to free childcare hours which are being increased and phased in from April 2024. Parents will however have to wait until 2026 for further reforms to the regime.

Whilst there will be some benefit to those in affluent positions, the highest earners are ultimately set to pay more tax as a result of the government’s freeze to income tax bands which have not been increased since March 2021 to keep pace with wage rises and inflation.

It seems this Budget’s changes are really designed to be more family-friendly and impact those people on middle to lower incomes

Plans to increase the VAT threshold were also announced. Greg Mayne, Tax Partner and VAT specialist comments:

The 2022 Autumn Statement effectively negated any rise in the VAT registration threshold (from £85,000) until 2026, but this week’s announcement of a £5,000 increase from 1 April could be argued to be something and nothing.

The ‘cliff edge’ of registration remains, and businesses will still be caught out by tripping over that threshold which provides only another £416.66 per month of ‘buffer’ before having to register.

At £90,000 the limit remains substantially higher than EU Member States, and only marginally above that of Switzerland. Pre-Budget gossip of a possible increase to £100,000 came to nothing so the impact on business of this small rise could be argued to be negligible.

The announcements also highlighted how wealthy UK-domiciled residents could save millions in tax under new non-dom tax regime. Nikita Cooper, Tax Director comments:

Wealthy UK-domiciled residents could make significant tax savings under the new regime. It’s possible that some UK-domiciled residents will leave and return to take advantage of the new four-year grace period, potentially saving millions in tax.

Domicile is a principle which determines which legal regime applies across a multitude of taxes. Inheritance tax is just one area where there is likely to be considerable uncertainty until the new rules are finalised.

There are some fairly optimistic assumptions about how much tax the new regime will raise but the devil will be in the detail. Many non-doms will be more concerned about wealth than income. If the new inheritance tax regime is equivalent to that which applies to UK-domiciled taxpayers, many UK resident non-doms might opt to leave or move wealth offshore.

– Ends –

Price Bailey has welcomed Strategic Corporate Finance partner Simon Blake to the Executive Board of Directors.

Simon Blake, who heads up the Strategic Corporate Finance team which he helped establish in 2009, joins existing members of the Board, Martin Clapson, Managing Director of Price Bailey, Howard Sears, Practice Chairman and Charlie Olley, Finance Director, as well as Nadia Khan, Paul Cullen and Richard Vass.

Pictured above: Simon Blake

The appointment will further strengthen the firm’s governance and ensure all compliance and regulatory obligations are continued to be met.

Martin Clapson, Managing Director at Price Bailey, commented on the appointment by saying,

“We are delighted to have Simon join the Executive Board at Price Bailey. Simon is a highly experienced Corporate Finance partner who holds many trusted positions within and outside of Price Bailey and is a well-respected member of our wider partnership team.

His skills and experience will be invaluable as we continue to grow and adapt to the ever-changing landscape within the accountancy world and will significantly contribute to the firm’s ongoing success.

I am excited to work with the whole of the Executive Board on our strategic initiatives that will drive the firm forward, continue to improve our client offering and fulfil our regulatory obligations.”

This new appointment is the first change to the structure of the Executive Board at Price Bailey since Richard Vass and Nadia Khan joined in 2019.

– Ends –

Price Bailey has announced six senior-level promotions this month as the firm continues to invest in its future.

Price Bailey, a top 30 chartered accounting and advisory practice, has appointed two new directors, Steve Butcher and and Michael Morter, both in the Tax team and four senior managers, Stella Anthanasiadou in the Corporate team, Seb Humberston in the Strategic Corporate Finance team, James Elvin in the Business team and Charlotte Page in the Tax team. These senior-level appointments follow two new partner promotions and five other senior-level promotions earlier in the year.

Commenting on this round of promotions, Martin Clapson, Managing Director, said:

“We are delighted to celebrate all the promotions across the firm effective 1 October, in particular the achievement of the following people in reaching a key milestone in their careers. We are particularly proud of the five individuals who joined as Price Bailey trainees.

These promotions demonstrate that career progression can be achieved either by joining Price Bailey part way through your career or as part of our Stepstone trainee programme. Together with the ability to smart work at every level of the firm, exampled by our previous senior promotions, we are pleased that people continue to choose Price Bailey as being their great place to work.”

Steve Butcher – Director

Steve joined our Corporate team as a trainee in 2003, qualifying ACCA in 2006. He then became CTA qualified and transferred to our Tax Team in 2014, becoming an Authorised Tax Expert in 2018. He is consulted regularly in his areas of expertise, particularly with share incentives. He leads technical tax advisory projects and assists our corporate and business teams with compliance. In addition, he is actively supporting the growth of the Norwich corporate tax team by developing additional tax advisory opportunities. Steve enjoys cooking, heavy metal, keeping fit, time with friends, and outdoor activities with his family outside of work.

Michael Morter – Director

Michael is a personal tax specialist within the Tax Team and joined the firm in July 2017 as a Manager, moving from Larking Gowen. He provides tax return services to an extensive portfolio of clients, including individuals and trusts, and tax advisory services to clients across the firm. Whilst predominately based in Norwich, he works with clients across all our locations. Michael is a keen traveller, having visited 30 countries, and he and his wife live near Norwich.

Stella Anthanasiadou – Senior Manager

Stella joined as a trainee in 2015. Since qualifying in 2017, she quickly progressed to becoming a manager in 2021. She has experience working with a broad range of commercial companies, charities, membership organisations and entities within the not-for-profit sector. Her portfolio also includes several PLC clients, one being the UK’s largest angling retailer. Outside of work, Stella enjoys football and travelling.

Seb Humberston – Senior Manager

Seb joined as a trainee in 2012, moving into the Corporate Finance team in 2014. He heads up the firm’s Financial Due Diligence offering and is involved in all the department’s service offerings. He has significant experience advising on Management BuyOuts, Buy and Sell-side leads advisory support, valuation work, financial projections, and debt and equity fundraising.

He has recently helped to support the team in delivering a significant volume of FDD work and continues to help grow and develop this service offering. Outside work, Seb is a keen runner and an occasional golfer and balances all this with a young family.

James Elvin – Senior Manager

Jimmy joined the firm in 1998 as a trainee. He now leads the Norwich Business Team and actively collaborates with our other offices. He is focused on encouraging staff to develop smoother working practices, including sharing resources with Cambridge. He also provides the Business Team guidance on SEIS treatment in accounts and tax returns and has rolled out team-wide advice on Wiki Staff Skills. Outside of work, Jimmy is a very keen Norwich City football fan.

Charlotte Page – Senior Manager

Charlotte joined as a tax trainee in April 2016. She specialises in providing direct and indirect tax advice and regularly assists the corporate and business teams with their VAT and tax questions. Additionally, she works on various complex advisory projects, including corporate reconstructions, sale and purchase transactions, property and construction matters, employee share schemes, research and development and patent box claims.

Having previously completed a PhD in mathematics, Charlotte still enjoys maths and logic puzzles and reading a good book in the garden.

– Ends –

Since Price Bailey was founded, we have operated within a changing world with many different economic, political and social issues. Throughout this, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has been a constant beacon for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and her public service has been an inspiration to many generations.

While many of us will mourn the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, we should also be grateful to have witnessed the UK’s longest-reigning monarch, and we should celebrate her achievements over the last 70 years since her accession to the throne.

In her life, Her Majesty has visited hundreds of countries, conducted many public engagements and met thousands of people from around the world. During this, she has had to meet and overcome some huge challenges along the way, none more so than the death of her beloved husband, HRH Prince Philip.

However, despite all this, she always set an exemplary display of resilience, humility and dignity, as well as having an extraordinary ability to unite so many friends, families and communities together even during the most challenging of times.

Of course, this is also a time for us to reflect on our own lives and remember our loved ones who are no longer with us.

Our people, who choose to, can take some time to reflect on this sad news and so responses to enquiries may be slower than usual.

Please hold those you love dearly close by and remember what is important in life.

Martin Clapson – On behalf of Price Bailey

The county’s first Cambridgeshire County Day was held to celebrate her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and showed off the best parts our county has to offer.

Price Bailey sponsored the event and used it as an opportunity to connect with school leavers and showcase the wide variety of career opportunities available at the firm.

The firm expects to hire over 100 people in several disciplines over the next 12 months to help it realise its growth plans.

Price Bailey was recently officially recognised by the Best Companies survey 2022 as one of the best companies to work for in the UK, being described as ‘Outstanding’. Best Companies independently surveyed staff at Price Bailey across a wide range of workplace factors.

Commenting on the firm’s upcoming recruitment plans, Nadia Khan, a partner at Price Bailey who sits on the Board and oversees the firm’s HR function, said, “Our aim is to position ourselves as the employer of choice for those seeking a well-established and forward-thinking mid-tier firm.

In 2022, our people rated us as ‘outstanding to work for’. We were one of the first professional services firms to offer truly flexible working through our ‘smart working’ approach and can provide the opportunity to work with varied and entrepreneurial clients.

Together with giving people accountability and ownership, we regularly benchmark our salary and reward packages to ensure our propositions are competitive, if not market-leading. In addition, we’ve recently launched a new Wellbeing Agenda to ensure that our people’s mental and physical health is prioritised. Our approach is to continuously improve our strong people focus and ensure that our people are happy and well looked after.”

The event was held at the July Course at Newmarket Racecourse, and Price Bailey also sponsored the 15:10 Price Bailey Fillies’ Novice Stakes at Newmarket which was won by Midnight Moll, ridden by Kieran Shoemark and trained by Ed Walker. Price Bailey is a big supporter of Newmarket Racecourse and regularly attends meets.

The royal icing on the cake was the special appearance from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were greeted by cheers and met and chatted with many people attending the event.

The event was organised by the Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Mrs Julie Spence OBE QPM. Commenting on the day, the Lord-Lieutenant said, “Cambridgeshire County Day is unique; it has never happened before and will never happen again in the same format. The day is filled with exciting showcases of the best of our county, and we want it to be accessible, relevant and engaging for everyone in the community. Young people will be given a platform to learn about, be inspired by and connect with the people and organisations that make this county so special.”

Price Bailey has several career opportunities and roles, from trainees to experienced people. For more information, you can visit our careers page or speak to the firm’s Talent Acquisition Manager, Duncan Crooks.

– Ends –

Price Bailey has announced the appointment of Adam Norman as an Audit Partner in their Corporate team with effect from 3 May 2022. This brings the total number of partners in the firm to 29 across 11 offices.

Adam joins Price Bailey, having previously worked for a top 4 accountancy firm since 1998. Over those 24 years, Adam has specialised working with privately owned, venture capital-backed and private equity-owned businesses across a range of sectors including fast-growing tech companies, high-end fashion brands, and other privately-owned retail businesses; whilst also fulfilling internal secondments in training and strategy.

Pictured from left to right is Paul Cullen, Head of Corporate, Adam Norman, Audit Partner, Martin Clapson, Managing Director.

Adam will be based in their Cambridge office and has a strong, well-established professional network in the area. Adam leads and is a key member of “Pro Network”, of which Price Bailey is an active member.

Adam will work alongside Paul Cullen and the other corporate partners, strengthening the firm’s audit offering to its clients.

This appointment further enhances the partnership team at Price Bailey after the promotion of both Michael Cooper-Davis and Lewis Ratcliffe to Partner last month.

Martin Clapson, Managing Director at Price Bailey, commented on the appointment, saying, “I am delighted Adam is joining Price Bailey. We are very proud of our audit team offering and see Adam as a key person who will support our exponential growth. We have a clear strategy at Price Bailey and I am sure Adam will contribute fully to achieving our strategic objectives.”

Following his appointment, Adam Norman shared his thoughts on joining the firm adding “I am really pleased to be joining Price Bailey, which is a growing and exciting business that I have admired for a while. I look forward to helping them continue to have a positive impact on many businesses in the marketplace.”

– Ends –

Price Bailey has announced five further senior-level promotions this month following the appointment of two new partners last week.

Price Bailey, a top 30 chartered accounting and advisory practice, has appointed two new directors, Suzanne Goldsmith in the Corporate team and Lee Sharman in the Business team and three senior managers, Thomas Birch and Matthew Hector, who are both in the Marketing and Business Development team and David Mertens in the Business team. These senior-level appointments follow the addition of Lewis Ratcliffe and Michael Cooper-Davis as partners last week.

These senior promotions help to strengthen Price Bailey’s Management team across its offices, create a solid platform for the firm to realise its plans for growth and support the firm’s vision and ethos for the internal development of team members at all levels.

Commenting on the promotions, Martin Clapson, Managing Director at Price Bailey, said,
“I am always really happy when we can celebrate promotions within the firm, especially promotions to senior positions. Therefore, I am happy that I am able to announce these senior promotions. These promotions follow not only Michael and Lewis becoming partners, but also the nine senior promotions we made in September. Well done to Suzanne, Lee, Thomas, Matt and Dave and to the other 65 promotions awarded across the firm this April.”

Suzanne Goldsmith – Director

Suzanne joined Price Bailey in 2014 as a manager in the Cambridge Corporate team. She quickly established herself as a charity and not for profit specialist and, alongside Helena Wilkinson, has won many new clients in this sector. In addition, she represents Price Bailey as a guest speaker at many sector events and webinars. Suzanne has worked in and around the Cambridge market for over 20 years. She has audited most of the Cambridge University Colleges during this time – another growth area for Price Bailey where we have recently won new clients. Outside of work, she is the Vice-Chair of Trustees of a multi academy trust in Suffolk, where she lives and the Chair of the Resources Committee in that Trust. When not working, it’s all about family time – lots of football matches with the children, dog walks and the occasional cycle ride.

Lee Sharman – Director

Lee began his accountancy career with Price Bailey, joining us in August 2006. He originally joined the Cambridge business team and spent time in the Corporate team before returning to the business team in the City office. During this time as senior manager, he has transitioned his role and responsibilities and now leads our outsourcing team based across City, Norwich and Cambridge. Lee works closely with all departments on various projects and where clients require outsourced finance support. Going forwards, Lee will continue to grow and develop our outsourcing offering. Outside of work, Lee is a long-time supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers and a car and mechanics enthusiast, currently restoring a classic mini amongst other projects.

Thomas Birch – Senior Manager

Thomas is a qualified and experienced Chartered Marketer and a full member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM). He joined Price Bailey at the end of 2018 after working in the financial services and energy sectors. Over the last few years, Thomas has helped build a strong and digitally-focused team which has enhanced the firm’s digital presence. He was instrumental in developing the firm’s content hub and is currently leading the team’s delivery of a new website for Price Bailey, which is planned to launch later this year. When not working, Thomas has a wide variety of interests, including sport, charitable work, and spending quality time with his wife and two boys.

Matthew Hector – Senior Manager

Matthew joined Price Bailey in 2019 after eleven years with NatWest Group. Matt heads up our BD function as well as providing direction for our front of house team. Matt has some exciting plans for the next financial year, all aiming to make Price Bailey an even better firm to do business with. Outside of work Matt has a seven year old daughter and spends his spare time doing whatever she, and his partner Laura, tell him he is doing.

David Mertens – Senior Manager

David has been with Price Bailey for over 20 years. He is an experienced portfolio holder with extensive experience within the property and construction sector, building strong relationships with a broad range of clients. Dave has a long-standing network of business contacts, and through meeting with them regularly, he plays a key role in business development within the Cambridge area. In his spare time, Dave enjoys holding up traffic by towing his caravan around the UK.

In addition to these senior-level appointments, Price Bailey has made a total of 65 promotions across the firm this month as part of its ongoing commitment to internal training, development and growth.

– Ends –

Price Bailey appoints Lewis Ratcliffe and Michael Cooper-Davis as partners in the firm with effect from 1 April 2022.

Price Bailey, a top 30 chartered accounting and advisory practice, has appointed two new partners. The addition of Lewis Ratcliffe and Michael Cooper-Davis, both previously directors, brings the number of partners to 30 across its 11 offices.

Commenting on the promotions, Martin Clapson, Managing Director at Price Bailey said “I am delighted to welcome Lewis Ratcliffe and Michael Cooper- Davis to the Partner team. The Board and the wider Partner team wish Lewis and Michael all the very best in their new roles.”

Pictured from left to right: Lewis Ratcliffe, Michael Cooper-Davis

Lewis Ratcliffe

Lewis Ratcliffe joined Price Bailey in 2012, being promoted to Director in 2020 and quickly now promoted to a Partner within our Business team. Lewis supports a diverse portfolio of clients from our Bishops Stortford office.

Lewis predominantly works with owner-managed businesses, advising on annual compliance and tax-related matters. Lewis also has experience in VAT, payroll and business systems making him a great professional to support any business owner; whilst also specialising in service charge accounting.

Michael Cooper-Davis

Michael Cooper-Davis, an experienced auditor, has been appointed a Partner after joining Price Bailey in 2019 as a Director. He works primarily within the not for profit sector, with 10 years’ experience working with charities and also specialising in academy trust audits.

Michael developed an interest in the not for profit sector early on in his career, now having worked with theatres and performing arts organisations, large international charities, national education and membership bodies, sports charities and independent schools. Outside of audit services Michael is also able to perform advisory work including tax.

– Ends –

Price Bailey has been named the ‘Best Accountancy Firm to Work For’ in the UK for Q1 2022 at the BestCompaniesLive event on 18 February. Price Bailey had already been officially recognised by the Best Companies survey 2022 as one of the best companies to work for in the UK, being described as ‘Outstanding’. Best Companies independently surveyed staff at Price Bailey across a wide range of workplace factors.

The firm was recognised at the BestCompaniesLive event, which was held virtually from MediaCityUK in Manchester and hosted by BBC’s Dan Walker.

During the day-long event, Price Bailey was also listed as one of the Top 25 Companies to Work For in the East of England and London, ranking 17th and 18th respectively, as well as ranking 41st best company to work for overall in the UK in the national listing.

Commenting on the accolades, Human Resources Partner Nadia Khan, who was pleased to see Price Bailey recognised this way, described the announcement as “exciting news” and paid tribute to the staff, thanking them for their efforts and saying the award was “a testament to all our people making Price Bailey such a great place to work.”

The company was notably recognised for its family-friendly credentials and work-life balance. As well as the firm’s ‘Smart Working’ policy, which has been in place for several years, even before the pandemic, and enables staff to work flexibly, the company offers school hours contracts to all staff and enhanced maternity pay. A good work-life balance is vital at Price Bailey. Price Bailey added circuit-breaker days during the pandemic, giving its team extra time off to recognise their hard work and commitment. The firm’s IT systems were completely shut down to ensure everyone had a proper break from work.

The firm also excelled in staff retention, with over 40% of the workforce working there for more than five years. Staff retention is taken very seriously, and the firm has several schemes to ensure they retain the best talent.

Everyone at Price Bailey is invited to join the employee share scheme once they have completed 12 months of service; this gives them a stake in the business’s success and recognises the value of their contribution.

“We aim to be the best in the world at building trust and providing support that creates value to all.”

Price Bailey was founded in 1938 with one office in Bishop’s Stortford and a single partner. Today it has 30 partners, with locations in London and East Anglia, and a strategic international presence.

In recent years, Price Bailey has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to Access Accountancy, aiming to broaden access to the accounting profession. The company’s PB Inspires initiative works with local schools to develop the next generation of employees from disadvantaged backgrounds; it also develops staff leadership skills.

Commenting on the firm’s culture, Martin Clapson, Managing Director, who, through choice, retained a client portfolio to ensure he maintains an understanding of how the firm’s systems and procedures said:

“We work within a culture that is open and inquisitive to new ideas, one that embraces change. We empower our people to challenge the norm and to look for opportunities. We want everyone to feel fulfilled in their role and to understand their contribution to the service we deliver to our clients.”

While Price Bailey takes its culture very seriously, that’s not to say Price Bailey’s senior leaders take life too seriously. Some can be found with their heads and hands in stocks on charity day, facing a barrage of wet sponges. Giving back to the community, the firm donated laptops to schools in 2021 and provided two paid leave days for employees to participate in voluntary work.

Recently the firm also celebrated National Apprenticeship Week. Price Bailey has many trainee accountants, taken on as apprentices and graduates. Staff are encouraged to return to their old schools or universities to promote the firm.

Commenting on their commitment to their apprenticeship scheme, Human Resources Partner Nadia Khan said:

“Price Bailey is proud to be an employer that utilises the apprenticeship scheme and gives young people a head start with their careers. It is fantastic to see them grow and develop as they work towards a professional qualification, whilst also benefitting from on the job training under the guidance of our experienced senior members of staff. We also really value the concept of upskilling our existing workforce and have seen tremendous benefit when our people have continued studying later in their careers.”

– Ends –

Price Bailey has been officially recognised by the Best Companies survey 2022 as one of the best companies to work for in the UK, having been awarded 2-star accreditation and described as ‘Outstanding’. Best Companies independently surveyed staff at Price Bailey across a wide range of workplace factors.

In the same week that the firm celebrates National Apprenticeship Week, Price Bailey received the award due to incredibly high levels of employee engagement.

Interview with Matt Howard

Matt Howard, Insolvency and Recovery Partner at Price Bailey is interviewed on Future Radio and explains the insolvency process as well as considering practical steps business owners can take in order to turnaround a struggling business, including taking an honest look at the foundations of your business. For more information, you can contact Matt below.

Matt Howard – Partner Price Bailey

This interview was with Future Radio 107.8FM – A community radio station for Norwich

• 3,126 businesses voluntarily liquidated in Q3 2020
• 52% increase in voluntary liquidations compared to Q3 2019

A record number of businesses are voluntarily closing down due to the economic uncertainty around coronavirus and fears over a possible increase in Capital Gains Tax, according to data obtained by Price Bailey, the Top 30 accountants.

According to data obtained by Price Bailey, 3,126 businesses voluntarily appointed liquidators in Q3 2020, a 52% increase on Q3 2019, when 2,058 businesses voluntarily appointed liquidators. The number of voluntary liquidations in Q3 2020 represents the highest Q3 total on record.
Members’ voluntary liquidations, Q3 2014 to Q3 2020

Price Bailey says that it has seen a surge in enquiries from business owners in the past quarter looking to close down their businesses in an orderly way and take cash out. In many cases, however, business owners are acting in haste and could take more cash via a trade sale or management buy-out.

Price Bailey points out that it has been widely speculated that Capital Gains Tax will be increased to a maximum rate of 40 percent as the Chancellor looks to shore up the public finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Many businesses owners are currently eligible for Business Asset Disposal Relief (Entrepreneurs’ Relief). This reduces the amount of Capital Gains Tax they are legally be required to pay when taking cash out of their businesses to 10 percent.

Matt Howard, Partner at Price Bailey, comments: “We are seeing a flood of enquiries from business owners seeking to voluntarily cease trading and cash out. Many business owners adopted a wait-and-see approach during the early stages of the pandemic but as the crisis has worn on and the economic outlook has worsened increasing numbers are taking matters into their own hands. They believe they are facing a stark choice between either shutting down now and taking some money or hanging on and potentially running up losses.”

“Many of these business owners are a decade or more before retirement age and their businesses are perfectly viable. Closing them down in many cases will result in job losses, which will have a knock-on effect on the wider economy. There is a large ecosystem of potential buyers with cash to spend, and many of these businesses will have built up intangible value, such as goodwill, which will be lost if they simply cease to trade.”

He adds: “Insolvencies in which the creditors pull the plug on businesses are at their lowest level in over a decade due to government support measures. It is therefore all the more ironic that so many business owners are voluntarily switching off the lights.”

According to Price Bailey, the mooted rise in Capital Gains Tax has spurred many business owners to accelerate plans to exit their businesses. For viable businesses, however, a members’ voluntary liquidation is often the worst option. Historically low interest rates mean that debt is cheap for potential buyers, so a trade sale or management buy-out, are alternatives worth exploring.

Matt Howard says: “There are plenty of available buyers that are able to access cheap debt to finance acquisitions. While High Street banks are showing some reluctance to lend, alternative lenders have an appetite to finance acquisitions. With the Autumn budget cancelled, we are unlikely to see an increase in Capital Gains Tax in the current tax year, which means that business owners have sufficient time to explore all the options alongside voluntary liquidation.”

– Ends –

HMRC yield from enquiries into taxpayers with offshore assets surges to £684,298 per enquiry.

The amount per enquiry nearly doubles since 2016/17. Higher fines and more sophisticated data analytics leading to behavioural change among taxpayers

The amount of tax collected per enquiry into wealthy taxpayers with income and/or assets offshore has almost doubled in the last three years to £684,298 per enquiry, according to Price Bailey, the Top 30 accountants.

Price Bailey obtained data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) under the Freedom of Information Act, which revealed that £414 million was identified from 605 investigations in 2019/20 (£684,298 per enquiry) compared to £325 million from 842 investigations (£385,786 per enquiry) in 2016/17. The data represents the work of the Offshore, Corporate & Wealthy unit, which sits within the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC.

Price Bailey points out that the absolute number of enquiries and tax identified fell from a high of 827 and £560 million respectively in 2017/18. The reason for the falling number of enquiries and the amount of tax collected is likely a result of taxpayers modifying their behaviour due to much more punitive fines (up to 300% of the tax due for those with undeclared assets/income offshore), combined with HMRC’s use of big data, which is likely leading to behavioural change.

Jay Sanghrajka, Tax Partner at Price Bailey, comments: “While the number of enquiries has fallen to the lowest level in four years, the yield per enquiry has jumped by more than three quarters. HMRC is becoming much better at identifying and challenging the worst offenders by using Connect, a data matching and risking tool, that allows it to cross match one billion HMRC and third-party data items. This enables it to target the most non-compliant taxpayers with greater accuracy, which has pushed the yield per enquiry ever higher.”

“A new source of information for HMRC has been the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) launched in 2017 by the OECD which has increased transparency with over 100 countries participating in automatic exchange of information on taxpayers.”

“HMRC’s offshore unit is staffed by highly experienced lawyers and accountants and is sifting through huge amounts of data, including information on bank accounts from offshore financial centres such as the Channel Islands, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands. HMRC is able to use its algorithms to analyse vast amounts of personal and commercial information and establish links between individual taxpayers and businesses, income, assets and transactions.”

“Those caught out by HMRC will pay considerably more in penalties on top of the tax due. This is because HMRC can charge an increased penalty where the income or asset that gives rise to the penalty is held outside of the UK. Penalties of up to 300% of the amount of the outstanding tax can be imposed where the taxpayer has moved assets to avoid having details reported to HMRC under international agreements.”

“The ramping up of penalties for offshore non-compliance and the introduction of a strict liability offence making it a criminal offence to fail to declare offshore income over £25,000, together with HMRC’s greater use of big data analytics, is likely to have encouraged behavioural change. Taxpayers who may have hidden assets and income arising offshore only a few years ago are now more likely to think twice.”

– Ends –

Cambridgeshire-based Comtec has been sold to French-based Euro Techno Com Group (ETC Group) in a deal supported by business and financial advisory specialist Price Bailey and law firm Keystone.

Founded in 1978, Comtec Group is one of the UK’s largest value-added distributors of telecom and IP equipment to both the carrier and enterprise markets, and a specialist in supply chain management for telecoms operators and systems vendors.

It serves most major telecom operators and installers in the UK and the Middle East, including BT, Virgin Media, Sky and Ooredoo. The company has experienced continuous growth since its inception and has scaled through targeted acquisitions and sustained international growth. Comtec has seven offices across the UK, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Hong Kong.

Since completing a management buy-out, the business has continued to develop.  Revenues have more than doubled over the past five years to over £70m.

ETC Group has operations across six countries in Europe and North America. It is regarded as a global leader in product design, procurement, supply chain management and the distribution of passive and active telecom equipment and materials with best-in-class technical and logistics solutions for communications service providers’ network deployment and maintenance. Its 2,000+ customers include major American and European cable operators and telecoms service providers, as well as large and small independent installers and sub-contractors.

The transaction provides ETC Group, which was acquired by Carlyle last year, a strong foothold in the fast-growing UK market, where all major telecom operators and alternative networks have started a long-term deployment phase of fibre across the country to support the ever-increasing demand for high-speed connectivity.

The acquisition also allows ETC Group to serve the growing IP infrastructure market for enterprise customers and further expand its offerings and expertise in data centre supply and maintenance.

John and his fellow Comtec managing directors, John Buck and Dan Conway, remain with the business.

John Archer, CEO of Comtec, said: “We are delighted to join ETC Group and to combine our offering, expertise and scale to further support our customers in accelerating their fibre and IP infrastructure deployments. The acceleration of fibre roll-out will create several business opportunities for which the enlarged group is uniquely positioned.”

The Price Bailey Corporate Finance team led the deal process through negotiations and transaction structuring.  Phil Sharpe, Corporate Finance Partner at Price Bailey, who led the deal, said: “We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to advise on the sale of Comtec. The deal has delivered a great outcome for all parties involved, strengthens Comtec’s offering and supports the continued growth of Comtec’s business. This is the first of many deals I hope to complete following my move to the Price Bailey in April”.

Archer went on to say “I am delighted to have been supported on the by the Price Bailey team.  I have known Phil for a long time, and he has a good understanding of our business, the key issues and how we like to work.  Phil provided some fantastic advice on the deal and helped us achieved a result that the shareholders are very proud of.”

Rich Grimster, Head of Tax at Price Bailey, provided Tax advice on the transaction.

Keystone law provided legal advice to the sellers, with Rob Matthews leading the team at Keystone.

– Ends –

Some parts of the country have more than twice the proportion of furloughed employees than others

Data points to a very uneven economic recovery

Deprived rural and inner London boroughs have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus jobs crisis, according to an analysis by Price Bailey, the Top 30 firm of chartered accountants.

Price Bailey analysed data obtained from HM Revenue & Customs and National Statistics, which shows that the 10 hardest hit out of 370 local authorities in the UK as measured by the proportion of employees furloughed are either in rural areas heavily dependent on tourism or deprived London boroughs.

The three hardest hit local authorities are South Lakeland (Cumbria), Pendle (Lancashire) and Craven (North Yorkshire), which have 46.9%, 40.3% and 39.9% of their employees being paid via the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme respectively. This compares to just over a quarter (26.4%) of all UK employees who are currently furloughed.

The next hardest hit are the London boroughs of Brent, Haringey, Hounslow and Newham, in which 39.5%, 37.7%, 37.3% and 36.5% of employees are furloughed respectively (see table 1 below for details).

According to Price Bailey, the analysis shows that employees in the parts of the economy that were shut down entirely, including non-essential retail, hospitality and tourism, are disproportionately concentrated in certain parts of the country, which suggests that there are likely to be significant regional disparities in the economic recovery.

Commenting on the analysis, Stuart Curtis, Partner at Price Bailey, said: “These data indicate that the recovery could be very geographically uneven. The proportion of employees furloughed is twice as high in some boroughs as in others, revealing a stark divide in how the economic crisis is affecting different parts of the country.”

“Rural areas in the North of England, which are heavily reliant on tourism, along with boroughs in London with a high proportion of service sector jobs, such as Hounslow, which is home to thousands of people working at Heathrow airport, have borne the brunt of the economic impact of the lockdown.”

“Nearly half of all employees in South Lakeland in the Lake Distract are on furlough compared to just one fifth in Cambridge. The divide in London is starker still given the close proximity of the boroughs. The proportion of employees furloughed in Harringay, Hounslow and Newham is nearly twice as high as in Camden, the City, Islington or Westminster.”

“Furloughed employees will be spending less in their neighbourhoods, which will have a knock-on effect on local businesses. We could see pockets of deprivation become more entrenched as the areas which have been hardest hit take considerably longer to recover lost output.”

Curtis went on to say “The proportion of the workforce which has been furloughed is a barometer of the health of local businesses. As the furlough scheme unwinds, businesses will need to consider the turnover levels they are likely to achieve and the impact on cashflow of bringing furloughed staff back onto payroll. While some sectors of the economy likely will rebound quickly, others will need to take a more cautious approach.”

Areas with higher proportions of public sector jobs and high-value private sector jobs least affected by jobs crisis

The research by Price Bailey reveals that cities and localities with a high proportion of public sector jobs, and private sector jobs which allow for remote working, have not been as badly affected by the economic impact of the lockdown as other parts of the country.

Cambridge has the lowest proportion of workers furloughed in the UK, with 12,300 out of 63,900 employees, representing 19.2% of the total.

Other cities such as Sheffield, which has 20.8% of employees (53,500 out of 257,000) furloughed and Cardiff, which has 21.4% of employees (36,000 out of 168,300) furloughed, have also benefited from a high proportion of workers being public sector employees. 27.7% of the workforce in Cardiff are employed in the public sector, compared to just 16.5% nationally.

Curtis offers an explanation this by saying “The world-renowned education sector in Cambridge is clearly a major factor in the significantly lower number of employees being furloughed. A large proportion of workers in the education sector are not eligible for the furlough scheme and have been retained on full pay instead. The Cambridge economy, including the education sector, is highly internationalised, which has shielded it from the direct impact of the lockdown on the UK economy.”

“Other cities with a high proportion of public sector workers, such as Cardiff and Sheffield, have also fared better than the national average.”

Price Bailey points out that the introduction of flexible furloughing will add complexities to the furlough claim process. The firm has processed over 500 claims to date, from basic claims to those with complex salary sacrifice and pension arrangements.

– Ends –

Price Bailey, one of the Top 30 chartered accountants and business advisers, is pleased to announce the appointment of Phil Sharpe as Strategic Corporate Finance Partner with effect from 1 April 2020, bringing the total number of Partners in the practice to 33 across 11 offices.

Phil has 22-years’ experience as a corporate financier and is well known to many in Price Bailey and across Cambridgeshire. He joins Price Bailey with a wealth of experience working previously at Grant Thornton and two big four accountancy firms, PwC and EY, in Cambridge.

Over the past 22 years Phil has advised a variety of clients, ranging from owner-managed businesses to FTSE 100 companies and public sector organisations. He has advised companies on strategy, disposals, acquisitions, debt and equity fund raising, restructuring and cash optimisation.

Phil will be primarily based out of Price Bailey’s Cambridge office. Head of Strategic Corporate Finance and Partner, Simon Blake said: “The appointment of Phil is an exciting and positive opportunity for Price Bailey and the Strategic Corporate Finance team and continues to demonstrate our ability to compete on many levels in the marketplace. He brings with him a wide range of transactional and advisory experience across a range of sectors.”

He joins an ever-expanding team as part of our drive to offer a greater breadth and depth of expertise to our clients.”

Phil Sharpe added: “I am delighted to be joining Price Bailey and welcome the opportunity of adding my experience and expertise to an already comprehensive corporate finance offering from the firm. Having spent most of my career in Cambridge, I have a strong network across the local business and advisory community and I’m looking forward to growing Price Bailey’s Strategic Corporate Finance and wider business. Whilst corporate finance will be my primary focus, I expect my work in other areas of advisory will be of particular relevance given the challenges businesses and shareholders will experience in the coming period.”

– Ends –

Price Bailey, a Top 30 chartered accountants and business advisers, is appointing three new Partners, bringing the total number of Partners in the practice to 33 across ten offices.

Darren Amott, Andrew Booth and Stuart Curtis, pictured below, are long-term Price Bailey employees and collectively have been with the firm for 75 years. Both Darren and Andrew will become Partners in the firm’s audit practice, while Stuart will become a Partner in the Business practice.

Darren Amott – Corporate

Darren joined the firm in May 2000. He started in Bishop’s Stortford and played a key role in the small team which opened the City of London office in 2007. Darren is responsible for a large portfolio of the firm’s larger corporate clients. Last year he qualified as an audit RI. Darren will continue concentrating on delivering excellent service to existing clients as well as developing and winning new work and helping to support and grow the City of London office.

Andrew Booth – Corporate

Andrew joined the firm straight from school in 1984 and is generally based in the Cambridge office.  Andrew primarily focuses on audit and has been part of the Corporate team since its inception. Andrew is a highly respected and key member of the Corporate department, working closely with many of the team across all offices. Andrew became Price Bailey’s first non-partner audit RI in 2010 and since then has been RI for many of the firm’s most challenging audits. Andrew will continue in his RI role and will continue to be the main relationship contact for many of the firm’s key clients, together with assisting the Partner team across Price Bailey.

Stuart Curtis – Business

Stuart joined Price Bailey as a manager in 2002 working in the Highams Park office. He has spent time in both the corporate team and, since 2012, the business team, looking after predominately owner-managed businesses and acting as a team leader, based in the City office, then Bishops Stortford and Cambridge. Stuart has a diverse set of skills, including being one of the firm’s qualified coaches and is an active participant in the PBInspires programme. Going forward Stuart will be working closely with William Wilson supporting the managers and team in Cambridge, Sawston and Ely in delivering the business team services to clients and growing the client base. From 1st April, payroll is moving out of the business team so, in addition to Stuart’s promotion, he will also be Head of Department for payroll.

Price Bailey is also appointing five new Directors, all of whom are employees of the firm. Gary Frear and Lewis Ratcliffe are being promoted to Directors in the Business practice, Heidi Berry will be a Director in the Legal Services team, and Tom Meeks and Stuart Morton will become Directors in the Corporate and Insolvency & Recovery teams respectively. Four employees are also being promoted to senior managers – Jacob McCloskey, Lee Sharman, Mark Roach and Padmeenee Hurdowa.

Martin Clapson, Managing Partner at Price Bailey, comments: “The appointment of three new Partners and five new Directors, all of whom are longstanding employees of the firm, is testament to our ethos as a firm which seeks to nurture and promote local talent. These are people who have deep networks within the local communities in which we operate, they understand the needs of local businesses and individuals, and have demonstrated great commitment to developing those relationships over many years. Their promotions are well-deserved, and I wish them continuing success with Price Bailey as we grow.”

– Ends –

• Follows HMRC computer error which rejected thousands of returns in 2018 and 2019
• Relates to 2016/17 and 2017/18 self-assessment returns
• Taxpayers should seek immediate advice

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is issuing letters to taxpayers demanding payment of tax it has no legal right to, according to Price Bailey, the Top 30 accountants.

According to Price Bailey, tens of thousands of self-assessment returns were rejected for the 2016/17 (31 January 2018) and 2017/18 (31 January 2019) filing deadlines due to a problem with HMRC’s software, which meant that it could not always accurately calculate the amount of tax due if taxpayers had unusually complex tax affairs, or if reported income was significantly different from HMRC’s expectations.

Price Bailey says that HMRC can correct errors in tax returns and demand any unpaid tax but this must be done within nine months of the date on which the particular tax return was delivered to HMRC. In most cases, that nine-month window has now closed, meaning that HMRC has no legal basis for demanding tax that was underpaid through no fault of the taxpayer.

Price Bailey warns that many taxpayers receiving letters relating to their 2016/17 and/or 2017/18 tax returns are unlikely to be aware of HMRC’s legal position and may pay the tax anyway without seeking advice.

Jay Sanghrajka, Partner at Price Bailey, comments: “HMRC had until the end of October 2019 to make corrections to 2017/18 tax returns and demand payment. Most of those returns would have been filed on or before the 31 January deadline, which means that in many cases HMRC has missed its chance to correct those returns. Taxpayers who have already paid as a result of receiving a correction letter might be able to ask for their money back.”

“Many taxpayers who receive a letter from HMRC are likely to assume the revised calculation is correct and pay without first seeking a second opinion. In some cases, the amount of tax being demanded runs into tens of thousands of pounds, which likely will cause some taxpayers emotional distress and financial difficulty.”

He adds: “The statutory position is that these corrections do not appear to be formal enquiries or discovery assessments. The time limit for opening an enquiry into 2017/18 tax returns ran out on 31 January 2020. Enquiries into 2016/17 returns had to be opened by 31 January 2019 at the very latest.”

Price Bailey points out that when HMRC misses enquiry deadlines they often raise discovery assessments instead, where the time limit is four years, or six years in cases of carelessness.

Jay Sanghrajka says: “It is difficult to see how a tax inspector could “discover” an error, which was created by a flaw in HMRC’s software, and attribute that to a taxpayer. If a taxpayer refused to pay and HMRC opened discovery assessment in response, it is doubtful whether a tribunal judge would consider a discovery assessment valid in such circumstances.”

Price Bailey’s Strategic Corporate Finance (SCF) department, have supported Foresight Group LLP (Foresight) in its investment into McIntyre Electrical Limited (MEL) to facilitate a management buy-out (MBO).

MEL is a provider of safety-critical fire and electrical inspection, maintenance and monitoring services primarily undertaking work with housing associations. Foresight has invested £5 million into MEL through a combination of shareholder loan and equity investment.

This investment is the first from Foresight’s £100m East of England Fund which is focused on private equity investments into SMEs based primarily in the East of England, corner-stoned by the Cambridgeshire Pension Fund.

SCF carried out financial due diligence reporting focusing on historical trading, working capital position and financial projections. This provided assurance to Foresight on the recent performance of the business and also on the assumptions underpinning the financial model prepared by MEL’s management. The SCF team reported on key findings identified throughout the course of the project.

Stephen Reed, Strategic Corporate Finance Partner at Price Bailey said; “We are delighted to have assisted Foresight on another of their investments as they add to their investment portfolio. In particular, we are pleased to have helped get this, the first deal of the East of England Fund, over the line and we hope to provide support to Foresight on future investments from the fund across the region.”

Stephan Gueorguiev, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight commented: “We are really pleased to have completed our investment into MEL. I would like to thank Stephen and his team for their flexible approach and for the support they provided throughout the deal.”

Photo L to R:
Karl Ballard (Kaplan Financial),, Lisa Bowler (Kaplan Financial), Matt Hector (PB), Jordan King (PB), Aaron Widdows (PB), Stephan Schmitt (PB).

Jordan King, a senior accountant at Price Bailey in Norwich, has achieved a mark of 98% for his ACA project, officially qualifying him as an accountant.

Jordan’s report was focused on five key skills and behaviours such as building relationships and flexibility. For these, he drew on his experiences gained whilst working at Price Bailey describing the situation, actions and effectiveness as well as what he learnt. This was the final assessment in Jordan’s level 7 accountancy apprenticeship with The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Joining Price Bailey on their Stepstone graduate programme, Jordan works in the Corporate team as an audit senior. In the last three years, he has worked on various private and public sector audits with a particular focus on group audits.

When asked what Jordan enjoys most about working as an accountant, Jordan said: “I feel trusted by clients and I am able to help them whilst using my specialist knowledge. I enjoy the exposure to a variety of interesting businesses and charities, as well as brushing shoulders with business professionals who are advanced in their careers and can offer me great learning opportunities. Price Bailey has always supported me throughout my career to date and provided me with challenging work which has supplemented my skills and experience alongside my studies.

“Study has been a significant part of my life to date; it has helped me to get to where I am today and will benefit me in my future career.”

Aaron Widdows, Corporate Partner said: “Price Bailey’s success is down to our two greatest assets, our clients and our staff. With people like Jordan on board we are very confident for the future of our firm.”

“We are thrilled for Jordan; he is an incredibly capable student and applies his skill in the workplace. We look forward to seeing him grow in his role using his skills and qualification to benefit our clients.”

Price Bailey, Strategic Corporate Finance, have supported BARBRI, Inc. (“BARBRI”) in its acquisition of leading UK legal training course provider Kaplan Altior (“Altior”). Altior is the legal education arm of the global education services company, Kaplan Inc. BARBRI is a premier provider of practical legal education in the USA and internationally; this acquisition expands on their global legal training offering.

The UK legal education market is expecting considerable changes with the introduction of the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam. This will see a complete restructure in the staged process of becoming a solicitor and this acquisition provides BARBRI a foothold in this changing market.

Price Bailey’s UK based Strategic Corporate Finance (SCF) team headed the project and carried out due diligence reporting focusing on the quality of earnings and working capital. This enabled the team to provide assurance on the recent performance of the Altior business and identify any necessary working capital adjustments, in particular around deferred revenue and revenue recognition. The SCF team reported on key findings with regards to deal drivers throughout the course of the project.

Stephen Reed, Strategic Corporate Finance Partner at Price Bailey mentioned; “We supported BARBRI with the acquisition of the trade and assets of Altior. We are delighted to have assisted BARBRI in expanding their service offering in the Solicitors Qualifying Exam preparation course market. We wish BARBRI every success with the integration of Altior and we hope to provide continued support going forward.”

Dan Wilson, Chief Financial Officer at BARBRI noted: “We are extremely pleased to have completed the acquisition of Kaplan Altior. Price Bailey played an instrumental role in supporting our due diligence efforts and ensuring this was a successful and smooth transaction. I would like to thank Stephen and his team for their personable approach, financial and accounting expertise and the support they provided throughout the deal.”

• £816 million in fines issued in 2018/19
• Fines issued rising almost twice as fast as amount of tax collected by HMRC
• Self-assessment fines falling; offshore tax evasion fines soaring

The amount in fines issued by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has surged by nearly a third (32%) in just three years, according to official data obtained by Price Bailey, the Top 30 accountants.

According to Price Bailey, £816 million in fines was issued by HMRC in 2018/19, up from £620 million in 2015/16, an increase of 32%. This is a much faster rate of increase than the amount of tax collected by HMRC, which has increased by 19.2% from £495 billion to £590 billion over the same period.

Price Bailey says that the data illustrates how much more effective HMRC has become in identifying non-compliance while also imposing substantially more punitive fines in many cases.

Price Bailey explains that the amount of data on taxpayers at HMRC’s disposal, and its ability to analyse that data, has significantly increased in recent years. This has provided HMRC with ammunition to challenge many more taxpayers despite having fewer staff.

HMRC has developed a powerful software system, known as “Connect”, which is able to analyse vast amounts of personal and commercial information, seeking to establish links between individual taxpayers and businesses, income, assets and transactions. “Connect” was launched with limited functionality in 2010 but has since gained additional capabilities and access to data, including financial information from British Overseas Territories, 60 OECD countries as well as numerous other government bodies and financial institutions.

Jay Sanghrajka, Tax Partner at Price Bailey, comments: “The amount issued in fines is increasing at a much faster rate than the amount collected in tax, which means that HMRC is fining a higher proportion of taxpayers and using new powers to impose substantially heavier penalties.”

“The amount of data HMRC collects and cross-references allows it to form a more complete understanding of taxpayers’ liabilities. This means that HMRC can challenge a greater number of taxpayers at a significantly lower cost.”

“Discrepancies now come to light much sooner. Its software can automatically check information reported in tax returns against bank accounts and make sure they tally. Previously, checks of this kind would have been time-consuming but HMRC’s software can spot any inconsistencies swiftly and flag those for further investigation.”

Over 100 countries have signed up for the automatic exchange of information called the Common Reporting Standard or CRS. The Government brought in new rules referred to as Requirement to Correct which require a taxpayer to correct any failure to declare tax on overseas assets by 1 October 2018. Tough new penalties have been introduced from 1 October 2018 for incorrect returns relating to overseas assets.

He adds: “HMRC’s greater focus on offshore tax evasion goes hand-in-hand with new powers to impose much heavier fines on taxpayers for non-compliance. HMRC can charge an increased penalty of up to 200% of the value of the outstanding tax where the income or asset that gives rise to the penalty is held outside the UK compared to 100% in normal circumstances.”

Value of penalties issued by HMRC £ million

Fines imposed for self-assessment returns falling; fines for offshore tax evasion rising

According to Price Bailey, while the number and value of fines imposed in some areas are falling, in other areas there has been a dramatic increase in the value of fines imposed.

The value of penalty payments made in relation to self-assessment tax returns has more than halved over the last two years, from £64 million in 2015/16 to £21 million in 2017/18.

Conversely, the haul (including penalties) from investigations undertaken by the Offshore, Corporate and Wealthy unit at HMRC has jumped from £325 million in 2016/17 to £560 million in 2018/19.

Jay Sanghrajka says: “In many areas of tax HMRC is undertaking fewer investigations and issuing fewer penalties. In other areas, such as taxpayers with assets and income offshore and transfer pricing disputes with multinationals, HMRC has been able to ramp up the amount of tax and penalties.”

Flagship Group provides affordable, market rent, shared ownership, and homes for sale across the East of England.

They own, manage and maintain over 22,500 homes and provide facilities, repairs and maintenance services to other housing providers and local authorities.

The Group has a turnover of £135m and is continuing to increase its commercial activity. It has achieved this through identification of a number of suitable acquisition targets, based upon desired criteria, as potential bolt-on opportunities for its existing gas maintenance and installation operations. Operating profits are reinvested back into the business, supporting its purpose of ‘providing homes for people in need’.

Having identified Blue Flame (Colchester) Limited as a potential match, Price Bailey assisted Flagship Group with the confidential approach to Blueflame from which commercial discussions commenced, resulting in the proposed acquisition. As part of the services provided, Price Bailey undertook financial due diligence on Blueflame across a range of key financial and commercial risk areas identified.

Lead advisory services were also provided throughout the deal process, from providing initial valuation appraisal, negotiating heads of terms and input on key aspects of the deal negotiations, including completion accounts mechanism and financial support on the legal documentation.

Price Bailey supported the internal Mergers and Acquisitions team at Flagship Group, providing ad hoc oversight and key technical input.

On 1 November 2018 final legal documents were exchanged and the successful acquisition was completed. Despite several challenges along the way, both parties are excited about the future opportunity this deal presents.

Andrew Yuill, Director of Business Growth at Flagship, said: “Price Bailey was adaptable in their approach to this particular deal, having worked with Stephen and the team on a number of previous acquisitions. The Flagship team were able to work closely with Price Bailey, calling for added input where required. We are thrilled to welcome Blueflame to the Flagship Group and hope this is a relationship which will flourish.”

Stephen Reed, Partner at Price Bailey in the Strategic Corporate Finance team, commented:
“We are delighted to have been involved in this transaction, working closely with Flagship to achieve this positive outcome. Flagship is a highly valued client and we look forward to continuing our relationship with further support of their ambitious plans.”

Leading regional accountants and business advisers Price Bailey have played a leading role in securing the successful business sale of clients Derbyshire Veterinary Services to Independent Vetcare (IVC) – one of the largest veterinary practice groups in the UK.

The Strategic Corporate Finance team at Price Bailey was asked by Ashbourne-based Derbyshire Veterinary Services to provide independent advice on the sale of the business, appraising deals already offered by potential buyers before exploring the wider market and negotiating on the clients’ behalf.

Strategic Corporate Finance Partner Stephen Reed, who led on the deal for Price Bailey, said tax planning had been key to securing a successful outcome.

“We were engaged as lead advisors to manage the sale process, which included liaising with solicitors, a pension fund, acquirers IVC, insurance brokers, and also HMRC, as a restructure was needed as part of the process,” explained Stephen.

“We worked closely with the clients to develop a sequence of events for various parts of the transaction. We were able to deliver expert independent advice, provide a dedicated member of our team with experience of working within a veterinary consolidator as a key point of contact to fully project manage the sales process resulting in a deal that was designed in a tax-efficient manner.”

Price Bailey has provided business tax planning advice for Derbyshire Veterinary Services – who were represented in the sale by James Sage at FBC Manby Bowdler LLP solicitors – as well as providing personal tax planning services for each of the vets and their partners.

Quote from Derbyshire Veterinary Services;

‘‘As well as the professional approach of Price Bailey ensuring that we achieved the best price, and the most tax efficient process, the individuals at Price Bailey were invaluable for their calm and thoughtful demeanour in all areas of discussion and negotiation. The reassurance of having them available throughout the sale took a lot of the pressure away from us in the business.’’

The Price Bailey Strategic Corporate Finance team have played a lead role in securing the successful sale of Central Management Solutions (CMS) Ltd, the urban and commercial district transformation specialists, to international property advisor Savills.

CMS was set up in 2011 by Paul Clement, and has worked with local authorities and town centre management organisations across the country, providing innovative support through the development and management of town and city centres, retail and leisure complexes, commercial areas, and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). It has offices in Ipswich, London and Nottingham.

Paul decided to sell the company following several years of growth, and approached leading regional accountants and business advisers Price Bailey to find a suitable buyer, prepare all necessary documentation, and provide full support during the sale.

Savills is one of the world’s leading property advisors with offices across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. CMS has immediate synergies with Savills property management division, particularly in terms of its retail, marketing and commercialisation services. CMS CEO Paul Clement will assume a new role for his business at Savills as head of place shaping.

Paul Clement, CMS said: “Price Bailey have managed the sale process extremely well, enabling us to focus on the day to day running of the business. We are truly grateful for the advice and support received.”

Price Bailey partner Stephen Reed, who led the Strategic Corporate Finance team’s work on the deal, said: “We are delighted to have helped reach a successful outcome for Paul and his team at CMS. From the outset, Paul’s number one requirement was that of future security for the excellent team he had developed since starting CMS in 2011. We are confident that in joining Savills, the team will continue to grow from strength to strength”

Price Bailey has played a key role in providing advice and expertise to international e-assessment specialists PSI Holdings, enabling the company to complete its acquisition of Dubai-based Innovative HR Solutions (IHS).

PSI, whose main UK office is in Royston, Hertfordshire, is one of the world’s largest certification, e-learning and talent assessment providers. It operates in over 160 countries and delivers 13 million assessments annually in more than 50 languages.

The company’s global headquarters are in Glendale, California, with further offices across the US as well as Europe and the Philippines. PSI is also looking to strengthen its operation in the Middle East, and the acquisition of IHS is another important step towards that aim.

IHS is one of the largest teams of occupational psychologists and learning and development specialists in the Gulf. The company works with organisations to select, assess and develop talent and teams, and support organisational development through strategic HR frameworks. Its staff have assessed and developed young talent through to senior executives in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan as well as Europe.

The Price Bailey Strategic Corporate Finance team carried out financial and tax due diligence enquiries into IHS on behalf of PSI, as well as being the lead advisers for PSI to ensure the deal went to completion.

Simon Blake, Partner and head of the Strategic Corporate Finance team, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to take such a key role in this deal, which will give PSI a strong base within the United Arab Emirates, and indeed the Middle East, to build on their continuing development in the region. The acquisition was a cross-border deal that required on-site analysis in Dubai (UAE) by our team as well as lead advisory services.

“This is the third project we have advised on for PSI, further strengthening our relationship with a client who views appropriate acquisitions as an essential element of their development strategy. We look forward to working closely with the team at PSI in the future.”

Steve Tapp, CEO at PSI said: “This acquisition will continue PSI’s global growth strategy, further strengthening our offering with an established and very experienced team in the Middle East. We are excited by the opportunity to expand our reach with such a trusted brand. Janet Garcia (President of PSI International) and the rest of the international team are looking forward to welcoming their new colleagues.”

Amanda White, Managing Director of IHS, added: “We look forward to the next stage of our journey as a part of PSI’s exciting strategy. Our deep regional expertise together with the world-class PSI assessment technology will enable us to address some of the key customer challenges, providing solutions that merge content, technology and consulting expertise.”

Price Bailey has a strong international presence, working regularly with clients and on potential mergers and acquisitions across Europe as well as in America, the Middle East and Africa. The company also has offices in the Caribbean and the Channel Island, and Managing Director Martin Clapson was last year unanimously elected Global Chairman of IAPA, the international association of independent accounting and business advisory firms.

Price Bailey have announced the appointment of Richard Grimster as Partner with effect from 1 April 2018, with a total number of 27 Partners across ten offices.

The promotion strengthens one of the firm’s core practice areas; the Tax team has seen significant growth over the last 12 months increasing fees by over 32% to circa £2.7m in total. This has been achieved in part by an increase in headcount of 15% including the appointment of three Tax Managers and a Tax Director last year.

Price Bailey now has a dedicated Tax Partner in each of their main locations, with Richard taking over leadership of the significant Tax offering in Cambridge, drawing from his knowledge of advising family businesses as well as larger corporates on a range of international, capital and transactional taxes which complements our Strategic Corporate Finance offering. The promotion further cements the firms’ commitment for its clients to have access to specialists in tax and other advisory areas.

Martin Clapson, Managing Director, said: “Our firm is growing rapidly in all divisions, including Tax and this success is largely down to our dedicated and enthusiastic people. Richard has shown a great deal of commitment to Price Bailey, this appointment is in recognition of his high level of enthusiasm and technical expertise – he really does care about the firm and its clients. These characteristics are very welcome amongst the Partner team, indeed welcome all around the firm.”

The Price Bailey Strategic Corporate Finance team have worked closely with clients NVM Private Equity to enable the company to complete a £3m investment deal in health-conscious snack specialists The Primal Pantry.

Founded by Suzie Walker in 2014 at her kitchen table, Primal Bars are now sold in over 7,000 distribution points in the UK including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-operative and WH Smith Travel. NVM’s investment will be targeted at growing retail distribution and in-store visibility along with driving brand awareness through consumer marketing channels. With The Primal Pantry’s vision to be the world’s most trusted real food brand, NVM’s backing will enable the company to continue to innovate and reach increasing numbers of consumers.

Price Bailey completed financial and tax due diligence in to The Primal Pantry on behalf of NVM, as well as reviewing the financial model for the company going forward, to include commercial sensitivity analysis.

Charlie Pidgeon, Investment Manager of NVM Private Equity, said the company was “extremely excited” about backing The Primal Pantry: “In a short period of time the business has built a strong and recognisable brand and has accumulated an impressive roster of retailers stocking its products. Having been impressed with the team’s achievements to date, we believe the business has the potential to become a category leader in the rapidly growing healthy snacking sector.”

The Primal Pantry founder Suzie Walker added: “We are incredibly delighted to be welcoming NVM on our journey to becoming a leading and trusted real food brand. With their backing we can take The Primal Pantry to the next level, ensuring more consumers have the opportunity to try our products and encouraging them to make better food choices.”

As well as growing The Primal Pantry’s retail distribution and in-store visibility, NVM’s investment will also enable the company to target social media, PR and sampling channels to increase brand awareness.

Price Bailey Partner Simon Blake, who led the Strategic Corporate Finance team’s work on the deal, said: “We’re very happy to have been able to play a key role in this deal, which should be an extremely good fit for both parties. NVM Private Equity has a history of backing innovative branded food businesses, and are very active in the market at the moment – this is their third growth capital investment of 2018. And The Primal Pantry is just the sort of award-winning, innovative challenger brand in which NVM’s investment can make a real difference.”

The Price Bailey Strategic Corporate Finance team recently assisted with a partial acquisition of Suretrans Limited, a haulage and fleet solutions provider, by property investment specialists Lousada PLC.

Suretrans are national suppliers of LGV/HGV vehicles and drivers, operating from their East Anglian head office. Founded in 1997 by Nick Vinyard with one vehicle, the Company has grown steadily and organically during the last 21 years to the 35 strong fleet of vehicles it maintains and operates today.

Price Bailey’s Strategic Corporate Finance team assisted Suretrans with sale mandate services during the sale of Nick Vinyard’s shares to Lousada PLC. Price Bailey also worked alongside legal advisers Shakespeare Martineau and Birketts throughout the remaining stages of the transaction.

Stephen Reed, Partner at Price Bailey said: “We are pleased that we were able to secure the deal quickly with Lousada, to the satisfaction of all parties. At the outset we identified and approached a number of suitable trade and financial buyers and during ongoing discussions, introductions were made to property investment specialists Lousada.”

Stephen continued: “Within a short timeframe, we were able to assist the parties to negotiate and agree a deal allowing Nick Vinyard to exit the company on completion with Lee Pyke, fellow director and shareholder of Suretrans, remaining within the business. We wish both parties all the best in their future endeavours.”

Nick Vinyard, former shareholder and Managing Director at Suretrans said: “Price Bailey provided an excellent service throughout the transaction. The team were quick to respond, driving the deal forward and providing professional advice when it mattered. Most importantly, their advice helped us to arrive at a suitable deal much sooner than expected.”

The Price Bailey Strategic Corporate Finance team assisted with the successful £10m sale of Discuva Limited (‘Discuva’) to Summit Therapeutics plc (‘Summit’), a UK and US-listed drug discovery and development company.

Summit, headquartered in Oxfordshire obtained an innovative research and development platform through its acquisition of Discuva, a privately held UK-based company. Price Bailey’s Strategic Corporate Finance and Tax teams assisted with sale mandate and tax services.

The acquisition expands Summit’s interests in infectious diseases. The Company is now better placed to advance additional potential drug treatments for patients with serious bacterial infections where there is substantial unmet need, while in parallel continuing to advance its clinical and research programme in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Mr Glyn Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of Summit said: “With the acquisition, Summit is positioned as a leader in the research and development of new classes of antibiotics. Using this platform, we aim to generate a pipeline of new mechanism of action antibiotics that address other serious infectious disease threats.”

Simon Blake, Partner and Head of Strategic Corporate Finance at Price Bailey commented: “This latest transaction highlights our continued success and expertise in completing Merger and Acquisition deals within Cambridge as well as our international reach. Discuva’s new technology in the antibiotics field was an attractive proposition for Summit because of the infectious disease research they are carrying out, and the platform they have created for new drug discovery,” Simon continued “Cambridge is an attractive place internationally, and it’s a place where real knowledge creation happens.”

Tax Director Richard Grimster said: “I’m really pleased to have been able to deliver the transactions alongside the management team of Discuva for them and the owners. It was a really interesting deal, with a tight timeline and with a number of complexities which we enjoyed overcoming, alongside the legal advisers Taylor Vinters.”

Summit acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Discuva. The consideration to Discuva shareholders comprised of £5.0 million in cash and £5.0 million in new ordinary shares of Summit.

We are delighted to be recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the UK’s ‘Top 100 Companies to Work For’ in their 2018 survey.

Listed at number 77 within The Sunday Times 18th annual ‘Top 100 Companies to Work For’ in the mid-size category, East Anglian based chartered accountants and business advisers also received the Best Companies™ 2 Star accreditation, recognising outstanding employee engagement.

A total of 799 organisations registered to take part and the views of 261,559 employees determined the rankings, making it the largest survey of workplace engagement in the UK. Both employees and management took part to ensure a holistic view of the organisation’s HR policies and practices from across a wide range of organisations such as recruitment, construction, charity, advertising or accountancy.

Nadia Khan, Human Resources Partner at Price Bailey said: “I am really proud to be part of a firm that places its exceptional people and wonderful clients above everything else. Being recognised by The Sunday Times as a Top 100 Company to Work For is testament to this approach. Thank you to the all the incredible people that make up Price Bailey, it is an amazing achievement for the firms 80th anniversary year.”

Martin Clapson, Managing Director at Price Bailey added: “This was Price Bailey’s first time completing The Sunday Times b-Heard survey and we are delighted to have been listed within the Top 100. I feel particularly proud that our people think that that Price Bailey is a great place to work.”

“Our profile within The Sunday Times listing highlights our focus on leadership, personal growth and offering a fair deal; we are driving a number of initiatives on all elements of employee engagement so that we can continue to improve.”

The Price Bailey Strategic Corporate Finance team recently assisted with a successful acquisition for Pioneer Foods (UK) Limited, manufacturers of own-label and branded breakfast cereals to major UK and international food retailers.

Pioneer Foods (UK) Limited is the UK arm of Pioneer Foods, one of the largest producers and distributors of food and beverage products in South Africa. Price Bailey’s Strategic Corporate Finance team advised Pioneer on their recent acquisition of The Good Carb Food Company, owners of granola brand Lizi’s, providing due diligence, lead advisory and tax advisory services.

Granola is one of the fastest growing products within the UK breakfast cereal market and the acquisition of The Good Carb Food Company aligns with the company’s overall strategic plan; to strengthen their existing branded product portfolio. Having acquired Stream Foods, the UK producer of children’s snacking brand Fruit Bowl in 2016 (a deal also advised by Price Bailey,) this most recent acquisition will help the group to realise its future aspirations for growth.

Simon Blake, Partner at Price Bailey said: “This latest transaction highlights our continued success and expertise in completing Merger and Acquisition deals within the food and beverage sector. We expect our relationship with Pioneer to continue as they seek to explore further strategic growth opportunities.”

Jonathon Thorn, Managing Director at Pioneer Foods (UK) Limited commented: “The acquisition of the Lizi’s brand is a good fit within the Pioneer group product and brand portfolio mix, we as a team are excited about the future growth opportunities that a granola brand will bring to the group. Price Bailey’s Strategic Corporate Finance team have been our trusted advisers for several years, in assisting us in achieving our growth aspirations through multiple strategic acquisitions.”

Tax Director Richard Grimster says: “I’m really pleased to have been able to deliver the transaction alongside the finance team in Pioneer UK. It was a really interesting deal, with a tight timeline and significant tax complexities which we enjoyed overcoming.”

Chartered accountant and business adviser Price Bailey has promoted Chris Godsave to Partner in the Business Services team, based in its City of London office.

In his new role Chris will play an integral part in ensuring the continued growth of the firm’s Business Services offering with a particular focus on the City of London office.

Chris has been with Price Bailey for 20 years and trained and qualified with the firm. During this time Chris has worked in four different offices including the firm’s Mayfair and City offices. In 2007 he was part of the original team that relocated to establish the firm’s first London office and in 2009 transferred departments to the Business Services team to establish the City Business team.

He has worked across both the Business and Corporate teams and with strong links to the Business Strategy department. He is currently a member of the Price Bailey professionals, healthcare and technology sector teams and is also an accredited Business Strategy Facilitator.

Chris has always focussed his efforts on providing a wide range of services and solutions in a structured manner to businesses to enable the stakeholders to achieve their personal goals. In doing so he has gained many years experience in servicing companies of all sizes in a variety of sectors, from compliance work through to business development projects.

“I’m delighted to have been promoted to Partner,” said Chris. “Having worked at the firm for many years I have been lucky enough to be a part of the evolution and growth of the practice from a regional East Anglian firm to its current position.  Price Bailey is a rapidly growing practice and has developed a reputation as one of the leading and most innovative practices which has lead to a huge level of client satisfaction. I look forward to playing a part in its continued growth and development.”