MCBAINS COOPER APPOINTS NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.

MCBAINS COOPER 

PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY

PRESS RELEASE

September 7, 2011.

MCBAINS COOPER APPOINTS NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.

Property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper has appointed Jonathan Mintz as Chief Financial Officer based at the firm’s City of London offices.

Jonathan, 42, a Manchester University graduate, joins from property finance and development specialists Lend Lease Corporation where he was also Chief Financial Officer, working with the business’ Continental Europe, Middle East and Latin America operations.

“What grabbed me was McBains Cooper’s ambitions to drive development in Latin America, the Mediterranean and Middle East – and then when I started to grow my understand of the business I realised that far from being a vision, they were actually delivering against those ambitions,” said Jonathan.

“It is extremely inspiring to come across a business in the property and construction sector which is moving heaven and earth to establish itself in sectors and markets – and then delivering presence, business – and contracts.”

Jonathan has been involved in the finance function of several construction-related businesses since the mid-1990s.

Michael Thirkettle, Chief Executive of McBains Cooper, said: “Anybody coming into the property and construction sector at a senior level, and who has not previously been involved in the sector can sometimes find the environment a little too challenging.

“But Jonathan has the experience and scar tissue to appreciate just how tough the sector is. He obviously has wider management and sector experience – crucially, in international markets – which bring an extra something to the team.”

Away from the office, Jonathan until recently held a licence to freefall parachute anywhere in the world, although is currently keeping his feet well and truly in and on the earth, cycling, gardening and wine tasting.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800 im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.mcbainscooper.com

Notes.

McBains Cooper

McBains Cooper is an inter-discipline consultancy, specialising in property, infrastructure and construction, offering a wide range of consulting and design services including architectural, aesthetic or technical design, problem solving, budget management, facilities management, health and safety, sustainability consultancy and on-the-ground civil engineering. Driving and supporting projects ranging from minor works to major contracts worth more than £100 million, McBains Cooper operates across a variety of sectors throughout the UK, Europe and Latin America. McBains Cooper is committed to environmental, social and economic sustainable development and their integrated approach means they deliver effective, award-winning solutions to their clients. The Group employs 150 people. McBains Cooper has regional headquarters in London (head office), Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Windsor, Athens, Lima (Peru), Miami and Mexico, with associate offices in Belfast and Dublin. www.mcbainscooper.com

UK’S FIRST TAX RATES APP LAUNCHES FOR BUSINESS OWNERS & FDs.

HAINES WATTS

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

PRESS RELEASE

April 11, 2011

UK’S FIRST TAX RATES APP LAUNCHES FOR BUSINESS OWNERS & FDs.

A new mobile app has been launched for business owners, FDs and financial controllers, giving instant and continuous access to the latest UK Tax Rates on their iPhones. Download app here

“Time is money – and anything that streamlines accountancy and makes things faster and more efficient is worth embracing. Rather than having to use the internet via a PC to find out relevant tax rates or keep a hard copy tax card to hand, the app will allow access to tax rates anywhere, at any point in time,” said Gary Heywood of Haines Watts, a top 20 firm of Chartered Accountants, which has offices across the UK. Watch video here

“There’s huge demand for our tax rates cards, but there’s both a financial cost and an environmental cost in generating reams of printed versions – so we turned it into an app. The app will initially be available for use on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.” 

The app will be free to download from the app store. It will list a large proportion of UK tax rates, including Income Tax, Car & Fuel Benefits, Corporation Tax, VAT, Capital Gains Tax and National Insurance – amongst others.

The move follows Haines Watts’ look at how it can better serve business owners and finance directors by making information more easily accessible day-to-day.

Samantha Davies, Marketing Manager of Haines Watts, said: “Our partners, who are also business owners, rely on their phones so much now to access information 24/7 as a matter of course - we know that other business owners would be doing the same.  Time is at a premium for business owners and FDs, and this is just a small step in the process of driving efficient and massively more convenient accountancy services.

“No other UK accountancy firm has developed such an app.  At Haines Watts we make sure we give business owners what they want, when they want it – technology is the ideal way to do this.”

Gary Heywood, Partner at Haines Watts, said: “Time is precious for most business owners and FDs, with many working long hours both day and night.  Giving them information at their fingertips whatever time of the day they need it is vital.

“Every year we send out tax cards to our clients and contacts - in recent years we have become less reliant on hard copy material and emailed more.  With access online via our website and now with our new app, we know that this will also have a positive impact on the environment,” said Gary.

Haines Watts sees the new app as only the beginning and will track downloads in the coming months.  The firm will then look to develop onto other platforms in the future.  If this proves to be a success, Haines Watts will invest in further app development to help business owners in their day-to-day business lives.

ENDS

About Haines Watts

Haines Watts is a top-20 firm of Chartered Accountants that specialises in the owner- managed business sector.  Haines Watts has a broad range of services, and more than 80 years experience in working with privately-owned businesses. From accountancy, tax, VAT, financial services, expense control, corporate finance and business advice, the firm has the market understanding and expertise to make a difference to business.

With over 50 offices around the UK, and over 30,000 UK clients, Haines Watts’ aim is to become the premier adviser to the owner-managed business sector. They are able to offer a comprehensive range of national services without losing the personal attention to detail at a local level. This combination makes the Haines Watts offering unique.

For further information contact:

Samantha Davies

National Marketing Manager

Haines Watts, Sterling House,97 Lichfield Street, Tamworth, Staffs, B79 7QF

Tel: 01827 61835

Email: sdavies@hwca.com

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

HAINES WATTS DRIVES DEFENSIVE COMPANIES INTO BUSINESS ATTACK.

HAINES WATTS

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

MANCHESTER AND PRESTON

PRESS RELEASE

November 25, 2010.

HAINES WATTS DRIVES DEFENSIVE COMPANIES INTO BUSINESS ATTACK.

North West owner managers have been so busy defending and protecting their businesses that many have taken their eye off the growth and development ball.

Manchester and Preston-based Haines Watts chartered accountants has responded by developing a series of seminars aimed at helping put businesses on the attack.

Called “Rise”, the seminars will cover key areas relating to the growth and development of owner-managed businesses. They’ll take place throughout January and February 2011.

David Fort of Haines Watts said: “Owner-managed businesses tell us the biggest challenge they face is achieving and sustaining business growth.

“Being an owner manager or managing director of your company can be a lonely place when trying to make that step change in your organisation.

“The people around you often don’t have the necessary knowledge, skills or experience to help you through this process. The seminar series is designed for people in just that position who are looking to grow their business.”

Consisting of six high-impact breakfast sessions that will provide focused information and cut through the woffle, elements include creating, retaining and extracting personal and family wealth in line with aspirations; sustaining growth against increasingly stiff competition in a changing market; leading the business in the right direction while reducing business and personal risks; recruiting, motivating and retaining the right people and exiting the wrong ones with low risk; establishing and maintaining effective and appropriate funding arrangements; providing the right operations and facilities to support the business without breaking the bank.

Key features of the events include access to experts in business growth acceleration, and are held in  a confidential environment in short sessions with practical not theoretical content in a discussion rather than lecturing environment.

Haines Watts is a UK top 20 chartered accountancy firm specialising in the owner-managed sector, providing a broad range of services out of its 50 offices. The firm has 80 years experience and 30,000 clients.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.hwca.com

http://www.hwca.com/offices/accountants-north-west.php

WE NEED MORE NORTH WEST STREET-SAVVY RISK TAKERS, NOT OVER-FORMULATED BUSINESS EDUCATION, SAYS ACCOUNTANT.

HAINES WATTS

PRESS RELEASE

July 26, 2010.

WE NEED MORE NORTH WEST STREET-SAVVY RISK TAKERS, NOT OVER-FORMULATED BUSINESS EDUCATION, SAYS ACCOUNTANT.

Video here.

Photos here.

Business needs more “street-savvy” risk-taking entrepreneurs to counter the massive rise in the number of graduates who have a formulated view of how to run a business.

David Fort, partner at UK top 20 chartered accountancy firm Haines Watts in Manchester and Preston, says business education training and funding should be switched from the public sector and into the hands of the employers (Watch video).

“In a Haines Watts survey of business owners, a common comment was ‘a degree does not a businessman make’. Businesses and the private sector need to develop education and training programmes which are not just specific to the skills they require, but also reflect the culture of that business,” he said.

“Accountants may have a reputation as being amongst the most risk-averse of professionals, but our view is that the North West needs more risk-takers – but harnessed and guided by private sector-run training to channel that raw commercial talent.

“More people than ever are going on to higher education, but people coming out of university are arriving in the jobs market with a much more formulated and samey structure in terms of their attitude to business,” he said.

“The rapid expansion in the numbers going through higher education may be good for the UK’s professions, but the owner-managed business sector is not seeing the benefits of the investment. Frankly, not many graduates are emerging as potential business leaders and owners. I question whether higher education is actually preparing graduates for the world of work.

“Our survey showed that a third of current North West business owners left school at 16, a further 22% with qualifications no higher than A-level; those who left school at 16 got out into the real world, taking risks, employing people – this is how we ended up in the UK with the likes of Richard Branson, Alan Sugar, John Caudwell and so on.

“Small owner-managed businesses are the powerhouse of the UK economy: of the 4.7 million businesses in the UK, 99.3% are small firms with fewer than 50 employees, yet most business training seems to be more about how to play a management role in steadying or maintaining the course of business monoliths rather than creating business and jobs through raw ambition and risk-taking,” said David Fort.

Of the 8,700 businesses invited to take the Haines Watts Business Owner Survey, 645 responded giving a response rate of 7.4%. A selection of business owners were further invited to take part in in-depth interviews.

Haines Watts is a UK top 20 chartered accountancy firm specialising in the owner-managed sector, providing a broad range of services out of its 50 offices. The firm has 80 years experience and 30,000 clients.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.hwca.com

http://www.hwca.com/offices/accountants-north-west.php

ONLY 16% OF NORTH WEST FAMILY BUSINESSES WILL STAY IN THE FAMILY.

HAINES WATTS

PRESS RELEASE

July 20, 2010.

ONLY 16% OF NORTH WEST FAMILY BUSINESSES WILL STAY IN THE FAMILY.

Watch video.

Download photo.

Only 16% of North West businesses owners will hand control to younger family members when they decide to retire or exit, and 42% of business owners are worried they’ll never extract capital or monetise their investment.

Those are some of the key findings of a survey of owner-managed businesses by UK top 20 chartered accountancy firm Haines Watts.

“Despite economic circumstances, there’s value to be maximised and money to be made provided a business owner has a plan – and I believe there’s a lot of businesses in the North West who are perhaps sitting on more value than they realise,” said David Fort, partner, Haines Watts Manchester and Preston (Watch video).

“But the thought that business owners will not get value out of their business come retirement is obviously a major issue, and while, historically, owner-managed businesses have been passed down to other family members, currently only 16% say they’ll now do that.

“I would say that the number of family businesses being passed on to other family members has decreased rapidly in the past five years, and that the traditional family firm is going to become a very rare beast.

“That’s not to say that there are not options for the 84% of business owners who won’t pass their business on, but it is crucial to take advice and put a plan in place that will take three to five years to drive through to fruition.

“Tax planning is vital, though, and what might seem to be pricey advice early in the process could save a fortune come exit time – for instance, one business owner made some unusual tax structure decisions aimed at mitigating the cost of school fees, but the arrangement wound up costing him several hundred thousand pounds more on the sale of the business than the saving he had made.”

Of the 8,700 businesses invited to take the Haines Watts Business Owner Survey, 645 responded giving a response rate of 7.4%. A selection of business owners were further invited to take part in in-depth interviews.

Haines Watts is a UK top 20 chartered accountancy firm specialising in the owner-managed sector, providing a broad range of services out of its 50 offices. The firm has 80 years experience and 30,000 clients.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

http://www.hwca.com/offices/accountants-north-west.php

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pressrelations/sets/72157624275784545/

North West business owners most likely to be asked for personal guarantees by banks

http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/27677-region-s-directors-more-likely-to-be-asked-for-pgs.html?news_section=4148

NORTH WEST BUSINESS OWNERS MORE LIKELY TO BE ASKED FOR PERSONAL GUARANTEES

HAINES WATTS

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

PRESS RELEASE

July 12, 2010.

NORTH WEST BUSINESS OWNERS MORE LIKELY TO BE ASKED FOR PERSONAL GUARANTEES.

Watch video.

One in three North West business owners are being asked by banks to provide personal guarantees to support their companies - higher than the UK average, and more than twice as many as in the East Midlands.

Chartered accountants Haines Watts surveyed 8,700 owner-managed businesses, and, from the responses received, found that 31.63% of company owners in the North West region had been asked by their banks to provide personal guarantees compared to 15.38% in the East Midlands, just over 17% in Scotland, 21.74% in the South East and 24.77% in the West Midlands. The national average is 25%.

“Small owner-managed businesses are the powerhouse of the UK economy: of the 4.7 million businesses in the UK, 99.3% are small firms with fewer than 50 employees, yet they feel they’re being forced to drive round with the handbrake on,” said David Fort, a Partner with Haines Watts Manchester. (Watch video, 1 min 36 secs.)

“People in business need access to finance, the banks have got to release the purse strings; 31% of business owners in the North West say they’ve been asked to provide personal guarantees, which is far higher than just about anywhere else in the country.”

But despite that handicap, David Fort says the signs are that the North West region is amongst the best placed in the UK to drive recovery.

“The North West is actually ideally placed; it has fantastic businesses, fantastic business leaders and a great workforce,” he said.

“But we do need more support from a government which should be looking at more ways of backing businesses, particularly with regard to releasing funding, taxation and how tax changes might give businesses an extra incentive to grow.

“On a basic level, we also have an excellent education system in the North West, it creates useful workers, but some graduates come out of university without the basic skills business requires, so companies should be encouraged to train their own staff so they gain relevant skills.”

Of the 8,700 businesses invited to take the Haines Watts Business Owner Survey, 645 responded giving a response rate of 7.4%. A selection of business owners were further invited to take part in in-depth interviews.

Haines Watts is a UK top 20 chartered accountancy firm specialising in the owner-managed sector, providing a broad range of services out of its 50 offices. The firm has 80 years experience and 30,000 clients.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.hwca.com

PRESTON ACCOUNTANT: NORTH WEST BUSINESS OWNERS MORE LIKELY TO BE ASKED FOR PERSONAL GUARANTEES

HAINES WATTS

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

PRESS RELEASE

July 12, 2010.

PRESTON ACCOUNTANT: NORTH WEST BUSINESS OWNERS MORE LIKELY TO BE ASKED FOR PERSONAL GUARANTEES.

Watch video.

One in three North West business owners are being asked by banks to provide personal guarantees to support their companies - higher than the UK average, and more than twice as many as in the East Midlands.

Chartered accountants Haines Watts, with offices in Preston, surveyed 8,700 owner-managed businesses, and, from the responses received, found that 31.63% of company owners in the North West region had been asked by their banks to provide personal guarantees compared to 15.38% in the East Midlands, just over 17% in Scotland, 21.74% in the South East and 24.77% in the West Midlands. The national average is 25%.

“Small owner-managed businesses are the powerhouse of the UK economy: of the 4.7 million businesses in the UK, 99.3% are small firms with fewer than 50 employees, yet they feel they’re being forced to drive round with the handbrake on,” said David Fort, a Partner with Haines Watts Preston. (Watch video, 1 min 36 secs.)

“People in business need access to finance, the banks have got to release the purse strings; 31% of business owners in the North West say they’ve been asked to provide personal guarantees, which is far higher than just about anywhere else in the country.”

But despite that handicap, David Fort says the signs are that the North West region is amongst the best placed in the UK to drive recovery.

“The North West is actually ideally placed; it has fantastic businesses, fantastic business leaders and a great workforce,” he said.

“But we do need more support from a government which should be looking at more ways of backing businesses, particularly with regard to releasing funding, taxation and how tax changes might give businesses an extra incentive to grow.

“On a basic level, we also have an excellent education system in the North West, it creates useful workers, but some graduates come out of university without the basic skills business requires, so companies should be encouraged to train their own staff so they gain relevant skills.”

Of the 8,700 businesses invited to take the Haines Watts Business Owner Survey, 645 responded giving a response rate of 7.4%. A selection of business owners were further invited to take part in in-depth interviews.

Haines Watts is a UK top 20 chartered accountancy firm specialising in the owner-managed sector, providing a broad range of services out of its 50 offices. The firm has 80 years experience and 30,000 clients.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

www.hwca.com