Yorkshire-based accountants Brearley & Co have made another major acquisition by merging with Cameron Alexander accountants in Barnsley.
The deal brings Brearley’s total office acquisitions to five, adding Alexander’s team to their existing staff count of 56 and expanding the services available to both client bases.
Cameron Alexander was established in 2008 by Alex Walls, at their office on Western Street in Barnsley. This acquisition aligns with the ongoing growth strategy of Brearley & Co, which has steadily expanded its presence across Yorkshire since 1984.
Both firms bring expertise in sectors such as taxation, self-assessment tax returns, debt recovery, payroll, annual accounts, VAT services, auto-enrolment, and financial advice. The expansion is set to create significant opportunities for clients and employees, including potential recruitment as the firm continues to grow.
Walls said: “It’s a really exciting time to be merging with Brearley & Co accountants. The firm is now better positioned than ever before to meet the evolving needs of the accountancy sector and the needs of our clients.
“Alongside developing the team and driving growth with our combined expertise and services, I’m also looking forward to contributing to our focus on client success and addressing areas that are becoming increasingly vital within the industry.”
Director at Brearley, John Hesselden said: “The move will see key leaders from Cameron Alexander join our executive team, bringing decades of industry experience and further strengthening our leadership and service capabilities.”
Mark Smallman, Managing Director, said: “Cameron Alexander is a well-established practice in the centre of Barnsley. The merger of our existing Barnsley office into their office increases our footprint, enabling us to support the local business community. We are excited to be working with Alex Walls and his team.”
Tigers Rugby Union favourite James Norman recently joined his sponsor Sills & Betteridge Incorporating Acclaimed Family Law at the opening of their new Sheffield offices.
Further to their merger in January 2023, the firm has relocated to New Oxford House, Barker’s Pool in the regenerated ‘Heart of the City’ Quarter to enable their next period of growth. In Sheffield, they will operate as Sills & Betteridge Incorporating Acclaimed Family Law.
Matrimonial practice Acclaimed Family Law of Campo Lane joined full-service East Midlands firm Sills & Betteridge LLP to make available to their clients a wider range of personal and commercial services.
For Sills & Betteridge, the collaboration realised their aspiration to operate in Sheffield, a key ambition in their development plans for Yorkshire, seeing the firm’s Northern network grow to 5 offices since 2018.
Chief Executive Martyn Hall said: “We are ambitious for Sheffield. We look forward to further integration of our two practices and working together to develop various service expansion opportunities. The new office will enable us to accommodate additional strategic hires across a number of practice areas and support our future growth.”
Michelle Cooper, Partner and Founder of Acclaimed Family Law, said: “The relocation to larger, prestigious premises in such a high profile part of the city is an exciting move for the original Acclaimed Family team, especially as we will now join forces with colleagues from Sills & Betteridge. Clients will now have access to a full range of complementary services from experts so all their needs are met under one roof.
“Together, the merged practice will continue to offer the high quality matrimonial representation, with specialists in high value and complex cases on which Acclaimed built their formidable reputation, alongside family law representation for publicly funded clients, family mediation, residential property, private client work and corporate commercial legal services.”
The firm now has 18 offices across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the East Midlands employing over 430 people. 2024 has been a period of significant activity for the firm including its acquisition of Nottingham headquartered Campions Solicitors, significant refurbishment of its Boston premises and current relocation of its Northampton and Sleaford teams to larger premises.
Pictured left to right: Seated – Senior Partner Karen Bower-Brown, Sheffield Tigers player James Norman, Founder of Acclaimed Family Law Michelle Cooper and Chief Executive Martyn Hall. Standing – Sandra Russell, Sarah Rowe, Emma Lawler, Peter Dadswell, Philippa Smith and Leanne Barton.
Sixteen organisations have been awarded a share of £195,000 of grants from Ørsted’s East Coast Community Fund.
Imran Nawaz, Senior Advisor & Community Benefit Fund Manager for Ørsted, said: “Our community benefit funds are a powerful tool to deliver critically important funding to our communities. We included communities at the start of each fund, asking them to shape what the fund to be what they needed, and we have then evolved as we’ve listened to how to respond to new challenges of our time – e.g. covid. Thank you to everyone who has applied. We look forward to seeing their work.”
Organisations awarded grants are:
Sight Support Hull and East Yorkshire, Bridlington Day Group for the Visually Impaired, £4,008
The Boston Men’s Shed, Collection of Recycled Timber for use within the Boston Community, £1,403
Purfleet Trust, Volunteering and Workshops, £24,702
Linkage Community Trust, Oasis, Volunteer & Community Activity Hub at Weelsby Hall in Grimsby, £26,260
Make 2nds Count, Boston Support Group for Secondary Breast Cancer Patients, £2,387
All Things Good and Nice CIC, Wellbeing Canoe Trips, £5,000
Walpole St Peter Parish Hall, Rebuild of Walpole St Peter Parish Hall, £25,000
Withernsea Town Council, Valley Gardens, Withernsea Accessible Pathway, £8,868
Cornerstone Community Church of the Nazarene, Cornerstone Community Grimsby New Flooring, £4,500
Motor Neurone Disease Association Yorkshire Coast Group, Bridlington and Local Area – Provision of Therapist, £2,640
Sutton on Sea Social Club, Sutton Social Club Solar Power Project, £21,372
INTOUNI, IntoUniversity Grimsby Local Community Learning Centre, £23,482
R-evolution, North East Lincolnshire Community Cycle Hubs, £20,253
Climb 4 Limited, Family Inclusion Support- Grimsby, and Immingham, £18,625
Blue Cross (Grimsby), Blue Cross Grimsby Car Park Green Space, £1,500
We Are ONE (Outreach North East), Pilot Community Pantry 2024, £5,000
The East Coast Community Fund is part of the community engagement programme for Ørsted. Each year, until 2037, approximately £390,000 will be available from the main fund to support a wide range of community and environmental projects.
Lincoln-based Lindum Homes is to build an estate of two, three and four-bedroom ‘net zero’ properties off Station Road in Waddington Low Fields.
Each property will generate enough energy to offset the demand of its occupants, with each plot having Air Soured Heat Pumps. The development includes a system of solar panels on roofs.
The development will be called Heath View and will include 15 affordable homes, four of which will be available under the Government’s ‘First Homes’ scheme, which enables first-time buyers to purchase a home at 70% of its market value.
As part of wider plans for the site and in addition to the housing, developer LNT Group is working on plans for a 66-bed care home on the land, which could be built next year, subject to a separate planning approval.
Lindum Homes Director Mark Foster said: “We are excited to get started on site at Heath View, which will be one of the most environmentally friendly developments we’ve delivered.
“As well as the homes being carbon net zero once occupied, we will be implementing measures to increase biodiversity in the area, through the provision of landscaped open spaces, and through new planting off site.
“We are also really pleased to be delivering a number of First Homes, as this aligns with our desire to create sustainable communities and build schemes which truly meet the needs of the local area.”
Lindum Homes is part of the North Hykeham-based Lindum Group and specialises in delivering bespoke housing developments in and around the city of Lincoln.
The homes are designed by local architects, who focus on complementing the existing communities, and are delivered by local construction teams, including Lindum’s directly employed tradespeople, such as groundworkers, bricklayers and joiners.
Sheffield-based clean energy company ITM Power has signed a contract to supply 100MW of TRIDENT stacks and skids to the Shell Rheinland Energy and Chemicals Park in Germany as part of the REFHYNE II project.
REFHYNE II will use renewable electricity to produce up to 44,000 kilograms of renewable hydrogen daily, partially decarbonising fuel production at Shell’s Wesseling refinery. The electrolyser is scheduled to begin operating in 2027. Linde Engineering has been chosen as the EPC integrator and will collaborate closely with ITM. for the REFHYNE II project.
ITM CEO Dennis Schulz said: “Shell is a leading global energy company, and we are proud they have selected us for this prestigious project. The performance of our latest generation electrolyser stacks in the REFHYNE I plant played an important role in Shell’s proceeding to FID, as did their extensive due diligence on our technology and our capability to deliver this large-scale commercial project.”
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) for failing to report to the regulator their belief that London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) might be involved in fraudulent activity. This is the first time the FCA has fined an audit firm.
PwC encountered significant issues throughout their 2016 audit of LCF. A senior individual at LCF acted aggressively towards auditors, and the firm provided PwC with inaccurate and misleading information. PwC found the audit very complex, and it took considerably longer to complete than anticipated.
LCF’s actions, and PwC’s own work on the audit, led PwC to suspect that LCF might be involved in fraudulent activity. PwC was duty bound to report those suspicions to the FCA as soon as possible, but they failed to do so.
PwC eventually satisfied itself that LCF’s 2016 accounts were accurate. Whether or not its suspicions remained, it still had an obligation to report its previous concerns to the FCA.
LCF went into administration in January 2019 after the FCA ordered the firm to withdraw misleading promotional material for the sale of mini-bonds. Thousands of investors were misled because they were not given the full picture about the risks of the product. The Serious Fraud Office has an open criminal investigation into the failure of LCF.
Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said: “Auditors have a central role to play in keeping our markets clean. They have privileged access to information and they are required by law to report suspicions of fraud to the FCA.
“There were a number of red flags that led PwC to suspect fraud. They should have acted on them immediately. Their failure to do so deprived the FCA of potentially vital information.”
Doncaster has seen Yorkshire’s highest growth in the number of SMEs since the pandemic, with Hull and Sheffield coming in as second and third respectively, according to new research from business lender iwoca.
The survey reveals there are now 9,975 SMEs in Doncaster, an increase of over 1,000 since 2019. This business growth within Doncaster brings thousands of new jobs, with the number of available jobs up by 9.6% between 2019 and 2022. Recent data shows that the number of working people in Doncaster has increased by nearly 12,000 since 2019, to a total of 135,450.
Doncaster Chamber’ CEO, Dan Fell said: “This robust post-pandemic recovery in Doncaster suggests an entrepreneurial spirit within the local business community. This success, clearly, is down to the individual business leaders and their teams that have shown determination and entrepreneurial to start and sustain successful companies.
“However, it also highlights the strong business support and advocacy that exists locally within the city and has played a role in this success. This naturally includes the Chamber of Commerce but also the Council’s Business Doncaster team, organisations such as Finance for Enterprise, and learning institutions such as Doncaster College and Harrison College that are working hard to meet local skills needs.
“Last week brought the challenging news that international business Aalberts IPS (formerly Pegler) would likely be ceasing manufacturing in Doncaster. Today’s news demonstrates that, despite challenges in the global market, Doncaster’s economy – overall – is moving in the right direction that our city is recognised as a great place to start and scale a business.”
Research revealed that the transport and storage sector saw the largest growth in Doncaster, with an increase of 245 SMEs within the industry. With the imminent re-opening of the former HS2 College and Doncaster Sheffield Airport, small businesses in the city’s expanding transport sector could stand to benefit further. Pass Logistics is a prime example, having started as a sole trader with just a man and a van. Over seven years, the company has grown into a £7.5 million business, employing over 35 staff and securing major contracts across the UK.
Iwoca’s research is based on analysis of ONS data on business and employment and compared the number of SMEs in Yorkshire in 2019, with the total number in 2023. Their findings revealed significant growth of small businesses in Doncaster, with an 11.3% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In Hull the number of SMEs rose by 10.9%, from 5,980 in 2019 to 6,630 in 2023. In Sheffield the SME increase was 7%, increased by 16,935 between 2019 and 2023.
Barnsley business JK Machinery is developing a new type of security label which can be scanned by an app to quickly check if a product is authentic.
The company has already secured a patent for their innovative label design and is now ready to work on perfecting production of the prototype in bulk.
It has invested in a £9,000 printing press for this task – backed by a Business Productivity and Digitalisation Grant secured through Barnsley Council’s Enterprising Barnsley programme.
The grant is supported by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and part-funded by the government’s existing UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
JK Machinery technical director Jack Round said: “We’re very excited about developing this new type of security labelling for manufacturers and producers whose high-quality goods are often targeted by fraudsters trying to pass off their own fakes as the genuine article.
“The international trade in counterfeit goods has grown massively in recent years and we are keen to help our customers add more robust protection to their products.”
Security labels made by JK’s Machinery at its Claycliffe Business Park premises will feature complex embedded code behind the print and invisible to the naked eye, which can be scanned by an app. The concept is intended as a step up from encrypted QR codes, commonly used today, which can be seen and potentially copied. The aim to make it as easy as possible for buyers to check they have the real thing; and very difficult for fraudsters to crack the coding device and replicate it.
Jack, whose grandparents set up JK Machinery in 1989, said: “The Business Productivity Grant has come at a perfect time to help us to purchase this costly machine which will not only allow us to develop our new product and bring it to market quicker, but also help us to increase production efficiency across the board. Everything would have been slower to achieve without the grant.”
Business support advisor at Enterprising Barnsley Paul Johnson said: “JK Machinery is a great example of manufacturing business in Barnsley. Their commitment to advancement and innovation not only benefits their business, but also contributes to the fight against counterfeit goods on a global scale. Proving Barnsley is a fertile place where innovation and manufacturing can thrive.”
June was a strong month for UK trade, with goods exports to the EU experiencing a double-digit rise. Services growth was steady for the month, and throughout the last quarter.
William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The data reflects the strengths of the UK’s export portfolio in professional, travel, financial and business services as well as manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and transport goods.
“To keep up this momentum, we want to work with the Government on its forthcoming Trade Strategy. It must ensure the UK has the right framework in place to increase exports and improve the efficiency and security of its supply chains.
“This must include a focus on improving trading terms with the EU, to cut the costs of doing trade and sustain June’s welcome sales growth in our largest export market.”
The owner of a Spalding shop has been given a 13-month suspended sentence for selling illegal cigarettes in what the judge labelled a ‘vile trade’.
Ali Idris Khader, 52, of Ewetree Drive, Leicester, has pleaded guilty to offences relating to proceeds of crime, tobacco regulation offences, and trademark offences.
At Lincoln Magistrates Court he was sentenced to 13 months custody, suspended for 12 months; 25 hours of rehabilitation activity, and a curfew between 8pm and 6am daily for four months.
Officers from Lincolnshire Trading Standards had carried out test purchases at the store on Sheep Market in Spalding in February 2023. After being sold counterfeit illegal cigarettes, officers returned to raid the premises and seize the illegal products a few days later.
A second test purchase in May and further raid in June 2023 lead to the service applying for a closure order on the store in June 2023, shuttering the premises for three months.
Senior Lincolnshire Trading Standards officer Kimberley Marshall said: “We are committed to tackling the sale and supply of illicit tobacco. Some people may not fully realise the seriousness of this crime, and that these products are often unsafe knockoffs, made in unhygienic conditions, and can pose a real fire safety risk. The illicit tobacco trade can also fund other organised crime.
“People in Lincolnshire have died in house fires caused by these types of cigarettes, and shops selling threaten the livelihoods of legitimate law-abiding businesses.
“These are not shops that sell a few cigarettes or vapes ‘on the side’. Instead, they exist solely to supply illegal goods. The shops are operated by criminals and out-of-county organised crime groups.
“We will continue to work with Lincolnshire Police and other partner agencies to combat this illegal trade of counterfeit, unsafe products.”
In prosecuting, the judge noted that Mr Khader was knowingly selling the goods in a ‘vile trade’ that presented an increased risk of fire and risk to life. He said: “If you run a business that sells goods to the public it is your responsibility to make sure they are legitimate and fit for consumption. You were sourcing goods that were clearly not legit, and arranging for them to be sold as if they were.”
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