UK Firm James Cowper hits the high street
Thames Valley accountants and business advisers James Cowper has strengthened its Business Tax team with the appointment of Ben Wickham. Ben joined the Reading office of James Cowper on 26 August as a senior tax manager.
Ben brings to James Cowper a tremendous amount of top flight FTSE experience joining the firm from Marks and Spencer Plc, where he was a senior tax manager responsible for the UK tax compliance process. He also advised on group financing matters and on the company’s ongoing EU group relief litigation.
Prior to joining Marks and Spencer Ben worked in the tax team at British Plasterboard Plc providing advice on domestic and international tax planning matters until the company was acquired by Saint-Gobain. Ben has also worked for Avis Europe Plc and spent time on secondment with Amey Plc whilst working at Deloitte.
Commenting on his appointment Ben said: “James Cowper is widely recognised and respected as one of the region’s leading firms of accountants and business advisers. It has an enviable client base and advises on some complex tax matters. I am looking forward to furthering my own career at James Cowper and to contributing to the continued growth of the Reading office and of the firm.”
Ben’s role at James Cowper will be to help corporate clients of the firm develop comprehensive tax planning strategies and to cope with the increasingly complex tax regime in the UK.
Steve Clarke, James Cowper’s managing partner, adds: “We are delighted to welcome Ben. He has a terrific track record having worked with Deloitte and a number of FTSE 100 companies. He will be a real asset to James Cowper’s clients and we look forward to the contribution he will make.”
In July James Cowper added further expertise to its Business Tax team with the appointment of Amy Mossop, who joined from the high street opticians chain Specsavers, where as part of the corporate tax team she was responsible for structuring new businesses into the company’s franchise network.
Steve Clarke adds: “James Cowper has one of the strongest business tax capabilities across the Thames Valley and central southern England.”