Ian Biddington
Ian Biddington is a Director of Alextra Group Limited
We are a five-director practice based in Cheshire and Staffordshire. We have acquired three practices in Staffordshire in the last 18 months, moved to a new office building in the centre of Newcastle Under Lyme early in 2021 and rebranded our Staffordshire practice as Alextra Accountants (Staffordshire) Limited.
We have had success in recent years in acquiring practices from retiring accountants to help us increase our market share. Our most recent acquisition was in May this year.
Taking over practices from retiring accountants always has its challenges. Everybody has their own way of working and to on-board many clients into our way of working whilst giving them the same level of service/contact that they have received in the past has been challenging but also rewarding. So far, we have proved very successful at doing this with a lot of happy customers.
"We are always on the lookout for new clients, but we pride ourselves on adding value to our existing clients and growing alongside them."
Fortunately we invested in a hosted system in the weeks before the initial lockdown and that helped us to continue to work with our clients throughout the pandemic and also ensure that all of the team were able to safely work remotely. We tend to review all technology as it hits the marketplace and are firm believers in utilising any such tools to assist our clients and to enable us to offer them a cost-effective service.
"What I enjoy most about my job is meeting clients and showing them how Alextra can help them in their business journey."
My ability to establish long-standing relationships with all my clients from the inset to ensure that they feel valued at Alextra is vital, and becoming a shareholder in Alextra is my biggest career achievement so far.