Chesterfield Champion BHP is celebrating after winning two awards at the prestigious Yorkshire Accountancy Awards.

Yorkshire and North Derbyshire’s leading accountancy firm was recognised as both Mid-Tier Firm of the Year and Best Employer of the Year at the awards, which took place at the New Dock Hall in Leeds.

Alongside winning two awards, BHP were also finalists in the Managing Partner of the Year and Rising Star categories at the event on Wednesday 8 May.

Now in its second year, the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards represent accountancy firms of all sizes, working with both local and international clients, and recognise both team and individual efforts within the Yorkshire industry.

Winning Best Employer at the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards follows the firm’s recent recognition by the Sunday Times in their 100 Best Companies to Work For list in February, a hard-fought and nationally celebrated list that recognises the very best in employee engagement around the country.

Lisa Leighton, Joint Managing Partner said: “We are extremely proud to have won these two awards.”

“Over the last 10 years, BHP has experienced significant growth and increase in turnover, and this success is testament to the firm putting its people first.”

Hamish Morrison, Joint Managing Partner added: “The BHP team are agile, pioneering and future-facing, and as a team we continue to move from an accountancy to advisory focus – meeting shifting client needs.”

“The last 12 months have been crucial for us as a business and this recognition is testament to the hard work of the whole team.”

BHP has more than 300 staff, including 31 partners. Over the last 10 years the business has increased turnover from £8m to over £22m.

BHP remains in the top 35 accountancy firms in the UK and was also recently recognised with the Community Award at the Yorkshire Dealmakers Awards. The firm has five offices in Chesterfield, Sheffield, Cleckheaton, Leeds, and York.

For more information about BHP click here.

Chesterfield Champions Milestone Financial Planning have recently recruited a top lawyer following his progression into the field of financial management.

Craig Croft-Rayner originally qualified as a lawyer in 2007. He has since practised at various law firms, specialising in high value personal injury and clinical negligence cases.

Having always had a keen interest in financial planning, Craig is relishing the opportunity of making the career change, by joining a successful, forward thinking company in an area which he loves.

Craig said: “I have always held myself to the highest client care standards and enjoy being a complex problem solver. My role within the company will be looking after the needs of clients, discussing their financial objectives and tailoring advice that is unique to them.”

“I will also be heavily involved in financial research, producing recommendations and keeping abreast of economic trends and issues. This will ensure Milestone’s clients are best protected against economic volatility.”

“What attracted me to Milestone was the close knit family atmosphere they radiate. They are passionate and enthusiastic and always put clients’ interests as a top priority. This is a quality that is really important to me.”

Milestone MD, Michael Heath said: “There are many different career backgrounds that can pave the way to being a successful financial planner, but the practice of law prepares any aspiring advisor better than most. Craig is vastly experienced in dealing with high value complex cases and is already making a real impact within the company. We are delighted to have him on board.”

Milestone is a very different financial practice, in the fact that they offer truly independent financial planning. They don’t believe in searching for last year’s best investment performer, blinding clients with science or confusing them with industry jargon. Believing in a common-sense approach, they strive to deliver consistent returns that take the worry out of investing.

More information about Craig and Milestone Financial Planning can be viewed here.

Last year marked IT firm Addooco’s 10^th year of trading, celebrating with the expansion of the team and its client base. One year on and the company has reported its most successful year to date, counting its prime Chesterfield location as one of its success factors.

Addooco provides technical services for businesses that haven’t got a dedicated in-house IT team. Their overarching objective is to realise value for their clients through technically superior digital strategies. With a rapidly growing base of clients, its clear this resonates with businesses in a broad range of industries.

Born in 2008 from a group of technically savvy people, Addooco saw the potential to create a business out of their skills. Over ten years later, the firm has rapidly grown and with the addition of new engineers, Addooco recognised the need to develop its people.

They enlisted the help of BSA Training (www.bsa-training.co.uk), an award-winning training provider dedicated to improving people and organisations. Run by trainer Bobby Singh, the business offers a multitude of courses such as Leadership & Management, Business Strategy, Sales and Marketing, Team Development, Communication and Customer Care.

Paul Walters of Addooco explains: “We needed someone with the capability to offer leadership training as well as coaching for our more junior staff members and employee surveys for staff at all levels.”

The training, led by Bobby Singh, covered a wide range of topics; including strategic planning, leadership, management, employee engagement, and giving and receiving feedback. “We have worked really hard to ensure our headquarters provides a comfortable working atmosphere,” says Paul. “It provided the perfect opportunity to reward our staff by investing in their transferable skills.”

Addooco’s strategically located base allows their engineers to physically service client requirements onsite where necessary from Newcastle to London in under two hours. Organisations both nationally and those with international operations benefit from their cloud solutions and digital strategies. Now, their clients are fully supported by a highly trained and physically available team.

Paul takes part in the leadership and management training himself and also helps facilitate the engineering workshops. “Bobby came highly recommended, but his previous experience and great programme of work were the deciding factors,” he explains. “His approach is very smart, friendly and approachable. He easily finds out what the challenge is even if you are struggling to articulate it.”

While Addooco has grown rapidly, it is an organisation that has always looked after its people while also focusing on customer requests. During his time working as an external consultant for the company, Bobby Singh recognised this. “From day one, Addooco have identified the importance of investing in its people. They don’t think of it as a cost to the business, but more about how it adds value to the bigger picture,” Bobby explains. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with the team, they have been really receptive to the new learning, and I’m over the moon to hear they are happy with the training and the impact the training has had.”

As an approved provider of a local training funding initiative, BSA Training was able to help Addooco IT access 50% funding towards the cost of the training.  Bobby explains “We were able to sit down with Paul and understand where they were and where they wanted to be as a business.  We then designed a programme and helped them put together a funding application, demonstrating a strong business case.”

Addooco’s prime Chesterfield location, people development and technical superiority will be key drivers to success moving forwards. It is anticipated that the company will continue to invest in both its technical offering and their people to ensure their clients continue to enjoy a strategic advantage.

Chesterfield based estate agency, Pinewood Property Estates picked up 4 Golds and 1 Bronze at the prestigious ESTAS Customer Service Awards 2019.

Pinewood Property Estates won Gold for Best Estate Agent in the East Midlands, Best Letting Agents in the East Midland voted by Landlords, Best Letting Agents in the East Midlands voted for by Tenants, Best Agent in the UK with 2-5 Branches and Bronze for Best Letting Agent Office in the UK

Stacey Davies-Bowler owner and founder of Pinewood Property Estates said “We are absolutely thrilled to have won four Golds and then the Bronze in the Grand Prix Final at this year’s ESTAS, the result is incredible. It means so much to us as we know it’s our customers who have judged our performance.  We take our levels of customer service very seriously because we know clients have a choice.  We have always been very proud of the personal service and this proves we are delivering what we promise. There is nothing clever about Estate Agency, Pinewood just do the ordinary things exceptionally well”

The awards, celebrating their 16^th year determine the best estate and letting agents in the UK based purely on feedback from customers who are asked a series of questions about the service they have received from their agent, over 45,000 surveys were completed by customers via the ESTAS feedback platform.

Phil Spencer, who has hosted the ESTAS every year since their inception in 2003 said “The ESTAS encapsulates what your typical agent is trying to do, which is to provide honest, transparent service for their clients. These awards are special because shortlisted and winning firms are selected purely on the service they deliver. Real feedback from real customers experiencing real service, I don’t think there can be a greater honor in the industry than to receive an award based on that mantra.”

Estate and letting agents were recognised in counties and regions around the UK.  National Grand Prix Awards were also announced for the Best Single Agent Office in sales and lettings.

Simon Brown Founder of The ESTAS said “At The ESTAS we’re proud to say we believe in old fashioned values like customer service. We know how hard it is to deliver it and that’s why we put the spotlight on property firms who are committed to providing excellent service. The ESTAS review and awards platform brand helps agents generate consumer trust.”