Member Article

Smith & Williamson celebrates second anniversary

Smith & Williamson, the accountancy, investment management and tax group, celebrated the second anniversary of its Manchester office in Spinningfields at a drinks reception for clients and colleagues. The event, which took place at the Museum of Science and Industry last night, marked the success the Manchester office has so far achieved this year. A key achievement for the office has been the establishment of the national Smith & Williamson Sports Group, which is headquartered in Manchester. The firm has said it is targeting a period of sustained growth in the city and will be taking on more staff to service the North West over the next year.

Speaking at the drinks reception, partner and head of Manchester office Andrew McKenna said: “We are now very well established in Manchester. Organic growth and further development is very much on our agenda. We will be recruiting over the next year as we continue to expand our team and service offering to meet our clients’ needs.” Lee Blackshaw, head of Manchester private client tax services team, added: “Over the past year we have continued to build a great professional services offering to Manchester and the North West with a focus on entrepreneurs, family businesses and private wealth. Feedback from our clients tells us that our firm’s culture and approach is working very well here and we’ve had several clients refer us to friends and family - a real mark of the trusted adviser.”

“This year, we saw the profits of our Tax and Business Services divisions grow nationally by 30% to £9m, as improved market conditions underpinned many areas of the business. In addition to our general work, this office is the firm’s centre of excellence for two main service lines: tax investigations, led by Andrew McKenna and our sports group, led by Roy Baldwin. This has led to work, not just from this region but also Spain, Switzerland, Grand Cayman, Jersey, the Isle of Man, the USA and Singapore.”

Smith & Williamson delivered a period of robust growth in the year to 30 April 2015. The company reported an 8% increase in group operating income to £215.1m (2014: £199.1m) with adjusted operating profit also rising 14% to £41.1m (2014: £36m). The company also enjoyed a 8.7% increase in funds under management and advice to £16.3bn (2014: £15bn). All this has contributed to a 14.8% increase in adjusted earnings per share, to 61.1p (2014: 53.2p).

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Smith & Williamson .