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Two new members come on board

We were delighted to welcome two new members to MGI during the last quarter of 2009. First to join, in early October, was Milsted Langdon, a firm based in the South-West of England, with 15 partners and 150 staff based at offices in Bristol, Taunton and Yeovil.

Being part of MGI will allow Milsted Langdon’s clients to benefit from the advice and assistance of overseas members. The firm will also be able to offer its own expertise to the association, including its IT consultancy, its experience in Initial Public Offerings and audits for listed companies, an extensive expertise in international tax planning, as well as a large corporate turnaround and insolvency department.

Partner Roger Isaacs said joining MGI marked an important stage in the firm’s development at a time when an increasing number of clients’ businesses had an international dimension.

He added: “We’re finding that more and more of our clients are working outside the UK, and need advice on overseas jurisdictions. In order to provide the service they require, we need help from accountants on the ground in the areas concerned, and joining an association was the obvious way to achieve this.

“MGI was the most impressive association we spoke to in terms of the competencies of its members, their focus on owner-managed businesses, their strong sense of independence and the extent of the association’s geographical coverage.

“We’re looking forward to being able to provide an enhanced service to existing clients, and we look forward to welcoming new clients who need the additional international expertise we can now offer them.”

The following month saw Harrison, Beale and Owen (HB&O) – one of the largest independent firms of chartered accountants and financial advisers in the West Midlands with offices in Coventry and Leamington Spa – become the latest member of MGI.

HB&O was formed from the merger of Harrison Beale and D A Owen & Co in 2004, and has since expanded to employ over 60 dedicated professionals, offering expert business advice and in-depth knowledge of finance and tax.

Rob Kendall, managing director at HB&O, said: “An increasing number of our clients have enquired about working outside the UK, largely due to companies seeking alternative streams of income during the economic downturn. As a result they would require guidance on international trading practice.

“We were keen to be able to meet our client’s needs, but in order to do that effectively on a large scale we needed help from accountants in the relevant countries, and joining an association was the obvious way to achieve this.

“We investigated a number of possible options but MGI stood out from the alternatives. The reputation of MGI’s members as well as the association’s wide geographical coverage made them an obvious choice.”

Milsted Langdon and HB&O are already providing valuable additions to the MGI family, and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.