{ CHAMBER NEWS } CRAWLEY & GATWICK
A GREAT MONTH A Great Month for Members of Reeves Accountants and Rawlison Butler EASY MONEY, BY DAN SIBLEY, NATWEST
Clive Stephens and Shirley Smith from Kreston Reeves
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eeves accountancy firm, domicile of our President, Paul Roe, has strengthened its international offering through a rename reflecting the firm’s 30-year membership of Kreston International, the global network of independent accounting firms. The change to Kreston Reeves took effect on 2 February, 2015. Paul said, “Our priorities are not being altered in the least; we remain focussed on excellent client service and helping our clients to achieve their goals. We’re the same people; we wanted to emphasise how far we can reach geograpahically to help our clients”. In a very good month for news at Kreston Reeves, and following several years of various award wins, they also recently heard, at a sparkling dinner at Chamber Members’ Copthorne Effingham Hotel, of their success at the Insider Media Dealmakers South East (corporate finance) Awards. Nominated for their work on two deals, they won the Deal of the Year for transactions under £10m. The winning deal was announced as the Acquisition of G.Burley & Sons (one of Paul’s clients) by Business Growth Fund-Backed TC Landscapes. John Cowie, Kreston Reeves’ Corporate Finance Partner, advised on the deal. Members of the Chamber, Tim Sadka and John Kirkwood of Rawlison Butler, also advised the Burley family on this exceptional deal. For more information please contact Paul or Khin Warber on 01293 776152.
Squeeze on the ease. There was good news on the UK’s wages front. Regular pay grew by 1.8% y/y in the three months to November, the fastest pace since September 2012. Coupled with the fall in inflation, it means real wages have been growing for the first time since before the financial crisis. But it’s still a low figure on an historical basis. Between 2001 and 2008 wage growth averaged 4% y/y. So there’s plenty of room for improvement. Whitewash: Since August, two of the nine Monetary Policy Committee members had been voting for a rate rise. That changed in January. The plummeting oil price lowered inflation and convinced the whole Committee that rates should stay at 0.5%. The Bank of England now expects inflation to reach zero in March of this year, which means there is a 50:50 chance of the UK seeing deflation. But the Committee also expects lower oil prices, higher incomes and falling mortgage rates to boost growth. daniel.sibley@natwest.com
Skills Workshop: On-line Marketing for Your Business: 1. The issues you need to consider 2. Where you need to pay for expertise, and why 3. A brief overview of PPC, SEO, Display, and Re-targeting 4. Hiring an agency or support work for your on-line marketing plan Free to members - £10 for non-Chamber members Wed, 11th March, 2015, 8am - 10am Civic Hall (Crawley Borough Council Town Hall) The Boulevard, Crawley, RH10 1UZ For further details, and to reserve your place, e-mail Jose Evans at: jose@crawleychamber.co.uk
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBER BRIAN JOHNSTONE OF THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CENTRE A cost effective solution for growing businesses The Financial Management Centre is one of the UK’s leading national bookkeeping and management accountancy services for SMEs. The services offered by the team includes all aspects of an in-house finance department, such as bookkeeping, management accounts, payroll and credit control. By utilising technology and best management practice, we are competent in working with a number of desktop and online accounting packages such as Xero, Quickbooks, Sage and Kashflow to assist businesses with their finances. “Having been recommended to Brian, we explained what our business required. By working closely with our administration team and accountants, Brian put together a bespoke book-keeping service which assists the financial management of the business, giving a cost-effective alternative to employing our own accounts staff” commented Lynn Newman of Redwood Financial Advisors. Brian established the local team in 2012 and has built up a reliable reputation including excellent relationships with local accountancy firms. The team has over 30 years of experience working with a variety of businesses, from start-ups to companies with 50+ employees, within many industry sectors, all with differing needs including payroll, in-house bookkeeping and management reports. To find out more about The Financial Management Centre and to contact Brian please visit www.tfmcentre.co.uk/horsham. Upcoming Chamber events • Thursday Mar 5th 2015 - Bowling Evening - Holywood Bowl • Wednesday March 11th 2015 – Skills Workshop – 8.00am – Civic Hall Crawley • Friday Mar 27th 2015 – Sandman Signature Hotel – Presentations from both Henry Smith and Chris Oxlade – pre election
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