West of England accountants Bishop Fleming, which has an office in Bath, has taken on three former partners of rival Smith & Williamson with more than 60 years at the firm between them.
Corporate financiers Martyn Fraser and Matthew Pearson have joined Bishop Fleming’s large corporate finance team while tax specialist Peter Ball has become a tax partner.
Bishop Fleming said Martyn and Matthew brought extensive experience of mid-market corporate finance advisory projects to the firm while Peter had a wealth of experience in advising high-profile entrepreneurs and family groups.
The appointments come on the back of a strong performance last year by Bishop Fleming during which it achieved record turnover of £28m, had the largest trainee intake ever into its own bespoke apprenticeship programme and launched a flagship office in Bristol – all against a backdrop of challenges presented by the pandemic.
Bishop Fleming audit partner and co-head of its Bristol office, Ria Burridge, said: “We are delighted to welcome Martyn, Matthew and Peter to our rapidly expanding Bristol team.
“Our Bristol and Bath business unit is on track to record double-digit growth and their appointments add considerable strength as we focus on expanding our capacity, capability and reach as a major force in the region.”
The arrival of the three former Smith & Williamson partners along with Len Dean, who joined as head of VAT from PwC in Scotland, takes Bishop Fleming’s partnership to 36 and its staffing to more than 420 – its largest headcount to date.
Bishop Fleming managing partner Andrew Sandiford added: “We’ve started this year like we ended the last. We have strong financial performance, a genuine optimism for the future and a determination to attract the very best people.
“We have bold plans to grow our business and I invite any talented people to speak to us to find out more.”
Bishop Fleming has seven offices across the South West and Midlands. Last year the firm was recognised as one of the Best Companies’ Top Five Accounting Firms to Work For and was previously named ‘Business of the Year’ at the British Chamber Awards.
Pictured, from left: Matthew Pearson, Martyn Fraser, Peter Ball, Andrew Sandiford and Ria Burridge
