Press Releases
15 April 2011
John Beames to retire as Managing Partner of Wilkins Kennedy Winchester and Romsey offices
On 13th April 2011, Wilkins Kennedy Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers invited over 100 guests to a special event at prestigious Avington Park in honour of John Beames, former managing partner of Wilkins Kennedy who is retiring after 40 years at the firm.
John joined the firm, then known as Gledhill and Jordan, in the early 70s, having previously worked for IBM. He joined as an accounts assistant and worked alongside a team of fifteen staff. Under partners John Jordan and Colin Brookes, the accountancy firm was renamed Jordan Brookes and quickly grew to a two-office practice with seven partners and some forty staff with offices in Winchester and Romsey.
John was appointed Managing Partner of the firm in 2001 and is attributed with rapidly increasing the turnover and profits of the Hampshire offices post millennium. The recruitment of several specialist professional staff and marketing specialist Claire Peers enabled further expansion, attracting offers from a number of different firms and culminating in a merger with top 25 chartered accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy in 2007.
John has significant experience in due diligence reviews, forensic accounting and provides transaction support for the sale and acquisition of businesses. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators as an accredited commercial mediator.
John is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Christes Hospital School Foundation in Winchester and the St. John’s Winchester Educational Trust, and serves on the Board of Governors of Peter Symonds College, Winchester. He will remain as a consultant to Wilkins Kennedy for a further year to ensure a smooth handover of his client portfolio.
John says, “I would like to warmly congratulate my successor Ian Talbot and wish him every success for the future. The Hampshire region has always shown a prosperous, entrepreneurial spirit, even through the difficult times, and is a great place to live and do business. I would like to extend my gratitude to all my colleagues and clients for all the support they have shown me over the past forty years.”
For further information or a high-resolution image please contact:
Laura Hazell - PR Director
Oxwich Communications Ltd
Tel: 0845 226 7469
Email: laura@oxwichcommunications.com
Notes to Editors:
Wilkins Kennedy was established in 1882 and has grown to become one of the UK’s top 22 firms of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers with a turnover of almost £30 million.
The firm has 53 partners and over 300 staff in twelve offices across the South of England.
