Local Energy firm transitions to Employee Ownership

14th January 2022

Shorts Chartered Accountants recently teamed up with Knights plc to act as corporate finance, tax advisors and legal representatives as Cost Advice Energy Specialists (Cost Advice) transitioned to an Employee Ownership model.

Established in 1995, and previously owned by brothers Christopher and Stephen Ball, the Company strives to set the benchmark for providing quality advice for commercial energy customers on the best ways for them to purchase and manage their electricity and gas.

Over its history, the business has expanded into a team of professionals who assist businesses across Britain, ranging from small independent retailers to large multi-site organisations.

On completing the transition, Stephen Ball commented: “Chris and I are extremely proud of the company and how it has grown and evolved over the last 26 years, and it is important to us that we protect its legacy and ensure it remains independent.

“Employee ownership provided a way for us to do this; it’s progressive and forward-thinking and provides a way to give back to our loyal and talented workforce who have helped to make Cost Advice what it is today. The company is going from strength-to-strength and now is the perfect time to start our exciting new chapter.”

Speaking about the transition to employee ownership, Shorts Corporate Finance Partner, Andy Ryder said: “We would like to extend our congratulations to Cost Advice and its new employee owners.

“Having discussed various succession planning options with Stephen and Chris, it was clear that the EOT route would best meet their overall objectives.

“Businesses that choose the EOT route build trust and shared responsibility. and we are confident that this will result in a very positive future for the business. We look forward to seeing Cost Advice’s continuing success under their new ownership model.”

Shorts supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Home, UncategorisedTagged in chesterfield business news, chesterfield news, corporate finance, Employee ownership, finance, Shorts accountants, Shorts Chartered accountants

Collaborative working from Chesterfield firms leads to landmark deal… and regional recognition

6th October 2021

The success of the recent landmark buyout of Heathcotes Group by partners Civitas and Envivo Group has led to new opportunities, and awards, for the financial brains behind the deal.

The buyout, presented and managed in a unique collaboration between Chesterfield Champions Milestone Financial Planning Services and Mitchells Chartered Accountants, has led the two businesses to team up formally.

This brand-new partnership, Mitchells Corporate Agents, is already in line for their first award, being shortlisted in Sheffield City Region’s Dealmaker Awards later this week. And in the words of Milestone Financial Planning’s MD Michael Heath, this is just the beginning.

Michael said: “It’s great to be shortlisted for this award, but more than that, we’re so pleased to be taking our collaboration with Mitchells to the next level. Together, we take the time to get to know our clients so we can protect them from the complex nature of a business sale, it’s what makes Mitchells Corporate Agents so different from our large-scale competitors.“

Instruction for the sale of healthcare group Heathcotes, which has 72 healthcare facilities located across the UK, including here in Chesterfield, was first received in March 2020 as COVID-19 reached its height, with the buyout agreed by the end of 2020.

On the sale, Tony Hornsby of Mitchells Chartered Accountants said. “It has been a privilege to work with Heathcotes Group from initial incorporation, through to working alongside Milestone Financial Planning on the business sale. We are very excited regarding our collaboration with Milestone as Mitchells Corporate Agents and believe this will offer tailored solutions and guidance to owners looking for similar business exits.”

The Insider Sheffield City Regional Dealmaker Awards are being held this Thursday, 7 October at Mercure Sheffield St Paul’s Hotel and celebrate the top dealmakers in the region, recognising expertise, leadership and innovation in banking, funding, legal and accountancy.

Milestone Financial Planning, Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Heathcotes Group support the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Left: Tony Hornsby, Right: Michael Heath

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Home, Love Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in business news, chesterfield business news, chesterfield news, corporate finance, finance, Heathcotes, milestone financial planning, Mitchells accountants

BHP bolsters its VAT offering with new Director

25th August 2021

Leading independent accountancy firm BHP has strengthened its tax team with the appointment of Carla Horsfall as a VAT Director.

Carla joins BHP from Hart Shaw Accountants where she trained as a Chartered Accountant after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University in 2006. After spending four years in the audits and accounts team at Hart Shaw, Carla moved into the tax team in 2010 and began specialising in VAT.

The BHP tax team now consists of six VAT specialists, including Amar Zaman who was recently awarded the Chartered Institute of Taxation Wreford Voge Medal for achieving Distinction and the highest mark in the country in the CTA Advanced Technical Paper on Cross-Border Indirect Taxation.

Carla, who will work across Yorkshire and North Derbyshire, said: “The experience of the VAT team at BHP really appealed to me, they have a wealth of knowledge, and I was keen to focus purely on VAT rather than a mix of everything as I had been doing in my previous role.

“I already feel so welcomed by the team and the firm has a real family feel to it which was important to me.

“I’m looking forward to becoming a core part of the team and developing further in my role.”

Joint Managing Partner, Lisa Leighton, said: “Carla brings with her brilliant experience and knowledge, and she will be a great addition to our growing team.

“We pride ourselves on the depth of knowledge of our VAT team and our ability to offer complex specialist VAT advice to our client base.

“Investing and developing our fantastic talent pool and supplementing it with experts like Carla is a key part of our strategy going forward.”

BHP has been ranked the second-best accountancy firm to work for in the UK, and the 35th best company to work for across Yorkshire and the Humber in the Best Companies survey 2021.

The independent accountancy firm is made up of over 350 professionals and 37 partners working across a wide range of specialities including audit and assurance, consulting, corporate finance and taxation.

For more information about BHP visit www.bhp.co.uk.

BHP supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Home, UncategorisedTagged in bhp, chesterfield business news, chesterfield champions, chesterfield jobs, chesterfield news, corporate finance

BHP Corporate Finance builds on success with deal advisory teams

10th March 2021

A multi award-winning division of leading regional accountancy firm BHP now has over 20 deal advisory specialists sharing expertise across all aspects of corporate finance.

Building on 18-months of increased deal activity during a global pandemic, BHP Corporate Finance has bolstered its headcount with Will Sykes moving into its M&A advisory team and Mathew Oldfield into Transaction Services. This closely follows significant growth in team numbers in recent years, including two partner appointments in 2019.

Following a successful year’s internship with BHP Corporate Finance in 2018, Will completed his degree at the University of Leeds before joining the firm as part of its Graduate Recruitment Scheme. With a year’s post grad experience in BHP’s audit and tax teams under his belt he has now joined Corporate Finance on a full-time basis.

Mathew followed a similar route, training and qualifying with BHP’s audit team before switching to his new Transaction Services role in November 2020.

BHP Corporate Finance has a wide range of expertise across M&A, Transaction Services and SPA advisory, with seven partners and three directors leading these specialist service lines. The firm also boasts one of the region’s largest corporate tax advisory practices.

This expertise has recently been put to good use advising Greenhous Group on its disposal of Smart Fleet Solutions to highly acquisitive online automotive dealer Cazoo, and YFM Equity Partners’ investment in marketing automation platform Force24.

Other recent deals include Foresight Group’s investment in Sheffield-based M.R. Machine Knives, and engineering service and support group Pharos on the disposal of its power generation division to RSK Group.

Kevin Davies, partner at BHP Corporate Finance, said: “I’m tremendously proud of the way our team has adapted, expanded and succeeded in spite of the unusual times and the differing challenges that all businesses are currently facing.

“With the numerous talented and dedicated individuals that have recently joined us we’re confident that we will have another strong year with a team fully-equipped to meet the increasing demands of the deal-making environment.”

Martin Athey, Transaction Services Partner, added “These recent recruits not only demonstrate BHP’s commitment to nurturing and developing its people, but also highlight the specialisms, expertise and strength in depth across all of our service lines”.

BHP Corporate Finance provides a full range of personalised lead advisory and transaction support services for corporates, management teams, investors and funders.

Find out more about how they can assist here: https://bhpcorporatefinance.co.uk/

BHP supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Bottom picture: Matthew Oldfield. Top picture: Will Sykes

Posted in Business, Destination Chesterfield, Home, UncategorisedTagged in accountancy, bhp, business development, Chesterfield business development, chesterfield business news, chesterfield news, corporate finance