Yorkshire chartered accountants announces expansion plans ahead of 13th birthday

Plans for further expansion are already in motion for award-winning Yorkshire based 360 Chartered Accountants as the firm celebrates its 13th birthday.

Starting with just three members of staff in a serviced office in East Yorkshire, founder Andy Steele admits that while 360 has gone from strength to strength, there have been difficulties along the way: “It’s difficult to point to just one thing really. We operate in a highly regulated environment so we have loads of red tape to comply with.

“Our unqualified competitors (many people don’t realise absolutely anyone can call themselves an accountant as the description isn’t protected like it is in the medical and legal sectors) can cut corners which gives them a price advantage so demonstrating how our service is superior to theirs (and therefore more costly) can be a challenge.

“Building a value-aligned team has also been difficult and, as a result of Hull’s geographical location, we’ve had to ‘make our own’ accountants and develop an industry-leading apprentice programme which, on the whole, has been very successful.

“Like many expanding businesses our systems have creaked on a few occasions and needed updating or improving which can be a painful process to go through. What we can do, though, on the back of this, is to help our clients that are going through similar growing pains.”

Among the high points, buying its first offices in Albion Street in Hull City Centre, the appointment of 360’s very first apprentice, Sophie Holmes, as client services director last year, and the creation of the 360 Grassroots Sport Foundation to help financially disadvantaged young people with access to grassroots sport.

Andy Steele continued: “I love helping clients achieve their business goals and objectives but getting a boy or girl back out onto the football or rugby pitch tops even that.

“Opening our York office in January 2022 was another proud moment as it’s something we’ve wanted to do for some time thanks to our large client base there but never had the time or resources to do so.

“We’ve also opened a further office in Wakefield recently and have plans for one further geographical expansion in 2024. More news on that later in the year! 2023 will be a year of consolidation as we bed in new members of the team and help our clients navigate the choppy waters that will inevitably lie ahead for some of them.

“We are also beginning tentative steps to find our ‘forever home’ which will ideally be near our Albion Square roots but all options are open presently. We love our current HQ but it is over 230 years old and difficult to maintain and develop thanks to its listed status. One thing’s for sure, the next 13 years are likely to be as exciting as the first!”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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