South Coast: PKF Francis Clark ramps up with new staff and promotions

A raft of senior appointments has been announced as chartered accountants and business advisers PKF Francis Clark boosts its team. The investment in new roles comes as the firm – with annual revenue of £38 million, a team of more than 600 people and 60 partners across eight offices – sees continued growth in key areas, particularly tax.

This follows Francis Clark becoming a member of PKF International, the global network linking independent business advisers and accountancy firms, as well as merging with Dorset and New Forest firm Princecroft Willis last year.

The latest promotions and appointments taking effect from April 1 include directors at the Salisbury and Poole offices as the firm’s ongoing growth continues.

Client demand for advice of an increasingly complex nature has led to the firm enlarging its specialist departments, offering a comprehensive service to both clients and referrers.

PKF Francis Clark managing partner Andrew Richards said: “The scale of our recent recruitment at a senior level has been unprecedented and we are very excited about the future.

“Over the past six months we've recruited some highly experienced people into this practice - and we have also seen a number of promotions of extremely skilled members of staff.

“This investment has been driven by continued growth in key areas, undoubtedly assisted and driven by our membership of PKF.”

Chris Harrison is joining the Poole office with specialisms in research and development (R&D) tax incentives and international corporate taxation. He has worked within the R&D businesses of several national firms, most recently Vodafone plc from where he will join in early June.

Lisa Macpherson has joined the practice in the Poole office to head up the firm’s tax technical function, having previously performed a similar role for BDO, as well as PKF and Deloitte.

Business services senior manager Frances Kingsnorth has been made a corporate and business services director in the Salisbury office. She joined PKF Francis Clark in April 2013 from an accountancy firm in Sheffield.

Paul Stout joins the firm’s corporate finance team and will be based in the Poole office. Poole-based financial planner Peter Nyland has also been promoted to director.

The firm has also announced two new partners in mergers and acquisitions (M&A): tax specialist Holly Bedford and business recovery and Insolvency specialist Lucinda Coleman.

Bedford, previously with Arthur Andersen in Reading and Chicago and also EY in London and Edinburgh, joined PKF Francis Clark to help lead a tax team in the Plymouth office.

Coleman, who joined the firm’s Exeter office as a graduate trainee in 2003 and is an authority on Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs), has been promoted to partner within the business recovery team.

Newly promoted to director are: Liam Dushynsky (VAT, Exeter); Adam Kefford (Corporate Tax, Exeter); Katie Skea (Corporate Services, Plymouth); Jemima Fox (Private Client Tax, Plymouth); Ian Pring (Business Tax, Plymouth); Chris Watts (Tax Investigations, Torquay), and Justin Gliddon (Business Services, Plymouth).

New director appointments include James Barrett (Business Services, Plymouth), Martin Brown (Rewards Tax, Taunton), Julian Cramp (heading up the firm’s marketing) and Daniel Sladen (Corporate and Business Tax, Truro).

John Endacott, PKF Francis Clark head of tax, said: “Many of the appointments and promotions announced are tax related. We're seeing clients requiring advice of an increasingly complex nature, much of it with an international dimension.

“Our tax consultancy practice which provides advice to other firms of accountants and lawyers is also thriving. We've therefore invested in new recruits across the tax practice, focusing on specialisms that our clients are requesting and who we believe will add significant value.”