Member Article

Newcastle's UNW LLP to 'scale further' following continued turnover growth

Chartered accountants and business advisory firm UNW LLP has reported a 10% rise in turnover, with its corporate finance team providing the cornerstone of its success so far this year.

In the six months to September 2015, the Newcastle-based firm delivered an annualised revenue rate of more than £8m.

UNW’s corporate finance team in particular reported a record-breaking first quarter, completing a multitude of deals totaling around £100m.

The firm also highlighted the success of its new services, such as its Strategic Talent, Forensics and Outsourcing divisions, which it believes with fuel further growth.

UNW LLP managing partner Andrew Wilson said: “We have grown in every single one of the last 10 years, despite the recession, but we have never chased revenue growth. For us, it’s about looking after our clients and our people and then growth has followed naturally.

“We have consistently managed to win work across all the traditional service lines but we have also heavily invested in new people and services too. This strategy has been driven by a desire to meet our clients’ needs

“We have done things like establish a Strategic Talent team so we can help our clients recruit and retain board and senior management team members. That’s not what some expect a chartered accountancy firm to do but it has worked because we have demonstrated a willingness to understand our clients’ businesses and support them with their plans.

“It’s all about working with our clients and delivering a UNW team with breadth, we never adopt a one-size-fits-all approach and tailor our offering to each client. We aspire to be the best at what we do, and are happy to be judged by our clients and team members in this regard.”

The St. James’ Boulevard-based business has recently completed a recruitment drive to bring its team over the 100 mark, whilst also developing its own in-house training, graduate and apprentice schemes.

Mr Wilson said: “In terms of future growth, our clients are certainly more optimistic than they have been for a while and have started to invest and develop more exciting business plans than at any stage in the last five years.

“So that’s exciting for us too because, generally speaking, when our clients are busy and considering expansion plans that creates more opportunities for us.

“But what we have always been interested in is long term, sustainable growth shown through our commitment to developing people, attracting and retaining talent, investing in the brand, IT and systems, solely to help us to serve our clients more efficiently and effectively.

“We believe we have a decent foundation here, and yes, we can scale it further. But we know that we will only do that by continuing to place personal relationships at the heart of everything we do and continuing to build a team that can really deliver to our clients.”

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