The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 14: Winter 2019 | Page 26

SWLEP MEET MILSTED LANGDON’S IAN LLOYD & DAN KENYON Ian Lloyd General Practice Partner Ian Lloyd and Practice Manager Dan Kenyon are both based at the Bath office of independent chartered accountants Milsted Langdon (ML). We met them both to find out more about their successes of 2019, plans for 2020 and get the low down on their office ethos. What’s been your highlight of 2019? Dan Kenyon Ian: Moving to a larger office at the splendid 4 Queen Street to accommodate our growth over the last 12 months. Dan: Our new office provides us with a modern and open workspace which has allowed us to grow the team and host our colleagues from specialist teams including Insolvency, Forensic Accounting and Corporate Finance. In the last few months we’ve welcomed three team members to Bath; Danielle Damen (who relocated from our Yeovil office), Harriet Banks and Aimee Hynard. As well as their specialist expertise, they have brought a fantastic new dynamic to the office. I’m very proud of the team we’re building and the excellent work we’re providing to our clients. With the team expansion, we’ve seen a number of new clients join from all sectors. What’s been your biggest success for a client this year? Ian: In March one of our clients sold their business to a larger group for circa £5m. This client transferred their total affairs to ML three years ago. With our full support across a few of the ML specialisms, we have nurtured their objectives. Dan: A stand-out matter recently involved helping a client grow from £5million to £9million turnover. We helped them expand into bigger premises, find new sources of finance and were able to package up a seamless solution alongside our more typical accountancy and tax services. Clients are sometimes surprised at the breadth and depth of services we can provide! Have you got involved in the local community this year? Dan: Corporate Social Responsibility is always high on the agenda. We’ve been involved in lots of community projects and fundraising, for example last year we committed to raise £30,000 to for charity to celebrate the firm’s 30th anniversary. More recently we took part in Stone King’s Big Bath Litter Pick, donning our hi-vis jackets and marigold gloves to help keep Bath a clean and safe place to live and work. Do you have any favourite networking events? Dan: My favourite is Bath Rugby. ML has been a shirt sponsor for a number of years, so we get the chance to network with the club and other fellow sponsors. As a rugby fan, it’s perfect for me. Do you have any office camaraderie you can share with us? Ian: The team works in an open plan environment, so we can all interact on business matters and in sharing social stories. You chose your attitude when you wake up each morning. The ML Bath team we have created are positive and recruited on this basis. No energy vampires here! My approach is that we all work hard, look after each other, play hard and keep smiling. Dan: We are a very sociable team and we get on famously. Where sport or inter-office competitions are concerned, we can be very competitive with our colleagues in our other offices in Bristol, Taunton and Yeovil. On the other hand, if we need an extra player for a football or netball team we can count on them to help out and get involved. What do you like most about working with each other? Dan: I have a lot of respect for Ian. He is an excellent mentor and friend and a fantastic partner to work with – he truly has a wealth of experience that the whole team can learn from. As well as the technical accountancy and compliance side of things, he’s also an experienced business strategy and improvement facilitator, which means we are proactive and advisory in our dealings with clients. We look at the bigger picture and long-term goals – not 01225 904940 [email protected] www.milstedlangdon.co.uk 26 www.tbebathandsomerset.co.uk just the matter in hand. It also helps that Ian is a Bath Rugby fan too! Ian: Dan is like my son. We have that sort of relationship, in and out of work. We regularly communicate out of hours, just to support each other and to plan ahead for the next day. He has given me my youth back and I have given him my years of professional experience. If you could give one bit of accountancy advice, what would it be? Ian: To have a clear vison and plan for your business and personal goals, seeking external professional input. This would see me being a critical friend and asking ‘open/high-level questions’ - being challenging but adding-value. Dan: I pride myself on building great relationships with my clients and understanding their needs both business and personal. This helps me to help them achieve their objectives. I would also advise not to make important decisions, sometimes involving significant sums of money, based on stories in the press or what friends in the pub have said, without consulting a specialist. What are you looking forward to in 2020? Ian: Continuing to grow the ML office in Bath by attracting like-minded staff and clients. I hope that we are now the ‘go-to’ accountancy firm in Bath. Our referral network continues to recommend us to local businesses and charities. Dan: Personally, I’ll be looking closely at my leisure and hospitality sector clients and how the food and drink market develops. It’s been a tough time for the mid-tier chain restaurants but it’s not all doom and gloom on the restaurant scene. There are lots of opportunities for our local independents and I look forward to seeing how this develops. @MilstedLangdon