Westcotts
Background Summary
Westcotts is a leading firm of chartered accountants in the South West of England, who have been active in the region for over 30 years.
The group was founded by current chairman Richard Thomas, who started the firm in 1985. Currently it employs 275 staff including 35 partners and directors based in 17 offices across Devon and Somerset.
Thomas Westcott offers a range of services to its clients. Namely audit and assurance, VAT, financial planning, business recovery and insolvency and corporate finance.
It also offers a range of specialty services which include:
- ATOL: Assisting travel industry clients to meet the financial compliance requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
- Business Start Up Advice: Providing strategic business support, including personal and corporate tax advice and helping register the business for VAT purposes.
- Cash Flow Forecasting and Budgeting: Helps businesses plan ahead and forecast for the future.
- Company Secretarial: A service which helps companies reduce their risk of corporate identity fraud.
- Making Tax Digital: Helps clients keep their records digitally for VAT purposes only and also provide their VAT return information to HMRC through MTD functional compatible software.
- Valuation Services: Helps clients value their business in the event of business acquisitions or sales, and management buy-out or buy-in.
- Agricultural Consultancy Services: Provides independent business and technical advice to farmers.
- International clients: Advises on the best structure for expansion for UK tax purposes for UK businesses looking to expand overseas, transfer pricing, and a full tax and accounting compliance service for overseas businesses setting up in the UK.
- Trust and Probate: Helps clients deal with all aspects of handling a deceased’s estate.
- Trusts and Executorships: Helps clients liaise with solicitors in respect of drafting settlement deeds and the preparation of estate accounts.
- Cloud Accounting: Offers an integrated accounting software service and helps clients identify the software needs of their business.
Financials
For the financial year ended 30 April 2023, Westcotts reported a turnover of £13.8m and operating profit of £4.5m.
The average number of people employed throughout the year was 230, of which 34 are partners.
Recent Coverage
Recently, Westcotts has selected five new charities to support and fundraise for in 2024/2025, with each region of the firm’s office network nominating a charity, including the Exeter Leukaemia Fund, Spark UK, Hospiscare, Woodside Animal Welfare Trust, and Brainwave, while already engaging in various fundraising activities such as the Three Peaks Challenge and a skydive.
In December 2023, the firm promoted Veronique Walkey, director and head of professional services, and Matt Melksham, director, to partner, acknowledging their dedication to clients and their respective expertise, with Melksham bringing local knowledge in various industries and Walkey focusing on corporate and legal clients following her merger with Riley in Plymouth two years ago.
In November 2023, it appointed Alex Lannin as its new operations manager, bringing over 20 years of financial services experience to strengthen the firm’s financial planning arm, working alongside director Andrew Hammond to enhance client service and support team development.
In October 2023, it expanded its team with the appointment of 15 new staff members across six offices in the region, reflecting the firm’s commitment to recruiting, nurturing, and retaining talent to meet growing client demand while emphasizing career progression and training opportunities.
In July 2023, Westcotts Bridgwater promoted director Tara Bell to partner, recognising her impressive 20-year career in inheritance tax and capital gains tax, as well as her specialisation in advising landlords on stamp duty land tax, further strengthening the office’s expertise in personal, corporate, and tax management, particularly in supporting rural businesses and leveraging her strong connections within the agricultural community.