Director
About me – I've always been interested in business and the art of standing on one's own two feet and making a go of it. Having left school and home at 16 to start my career in finance, I held various posts with Zurich Financial Services and then Ernst & Young LLP, earning my stripes as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor along the way. When I joined Scholes CA in 2003 I think there were eight of us crammed into the building at 37 Albert Street; it wasn't long before we had to move offices!
What I do at Scholes – I help our team to do great work; they advise and support an array of small businesses across the UK. I support our corporate clients with tailored, commercially pragmatic tax advice covering a range of routine and also more complex matters. I have experience assisting clients with designing and implementing share schemes (EMI, growth shares, alphabet shares etc); raising capital (e.g. under the SEIS and EIS schemes); and reorganisations (capital reduction demergers, valuation work); working often as part of a wider advisory team with other professionals (commercial lawyers, valuers etc) to help deliver optimal outcomes for clients. I also work with my colleagues to grow the business, nurture talent and improve and develop our advisory capabilities - all of which promote the long-term sustainability and resilience of the business.
More about me - I have scuba dived for many, many years, and I still get excited about exploring the historic shipwrecks around Orkney. It's a great adventure, every time. Occasionally I provide a bit of mentoring for students through ICAS Foundation, which exists to support and mentor talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds - a subject pretty close to my heart. I am married to Amy who is a teacher and (not entirely coincidentally) a scuba diver, and we have three daughters.
