Armstrong Watson upsizes Newcastle office

Armstrong Watson has expanded out of its original Quayside base in Newcastle, relocating the team to a larger office in the city’s City Quadrant.

The new premises forms part of the firm’s “ambitious” growth plans across the region, and comes as the business has grown “rapidly” since the opening of its first Newcastle office in October 2018.

The 153-year-old firm already has a strong foothold in the North, with 16 regional offices across the North of England and Scotland, including teams in Leeds, Glasgow, Carlisle and Hexham. Newcastle is the most recent addition to the portfolio.

The business has also continued a recruitment drive despite the pandemic, onboarding 26 new trainees, three new partners, whilst also moving its West Cumbrian offices to a larger premises

The Newcastle base houses specialists in audit and assurance, accountancy, financial planning and wealth management, tax, corporate finance and restructuring and insolvency. 

It also operates wider business services, including payroll and forensic accounting.

The Newcastle team is led by corporate finance partner Chris McCourt and Armstrong Watson’s head of tax, Jim Meakin. 

McCourt said: “We have ambitious plans for our Newcastle office. When I joined the firm in 2019 my first task was to find bigger premises for us as we were already bursting at the seams after hitting the ground running following our launch in the city the previous year. 

“While social distancing and lockdown rules might restrict the usual office environment, having a larger base in the city centre is essential to meet both our growing client and team needs.”

He added: “It was important for us that we chose a location that would not only offer a comfortable working environment for the 25 staff we envisage working from our Newcastle office in the next 2 to 3 years, but that the premises provides the best experience possible for our clients and reflects the high level of service we deliver.”