Sedulo has appointed Andy Nixon as National Director of Operations and Tax plus Diccon Thornely as National Head of Audit
Leading business advisory group and investment powerhouse Sedulo has appointed Andy Nixon as National Director of Operations and Tax plus Diccon Thornely as National Head of Audit.
Andy and Diccon, who both arrive at Sedulo from Grant Thornton UK, have been hailed as game-changing appointments and a ‘major coup’.
Sedulo operates nationwide, boasting stunning offices across Manchester, London, Leeds and Liverpool, currently employing more than 175 staff as they approach the end of their 13th year in business.
Offering services in audit, accountancy, taxation, business consultancy, forensic accounting, financial planning, IT consultancy plus mergers and acquisitions, the group has recently seen annual growth of more than 25%, achieving an annual revenue of £13.2m in the year to October 2022, and expects to grow significantly in 2023 having recently made the Accountancy Age Mid-Tier Power Index, and been featured as an Accountancy Age, Top 75 UK firm.
In his role, Andy will work with the R&D team while Diccon will oversee all audit operations.
The R&D team within Sedulo, led by Josh Perry, has doubled in size during the past 12 months, from six team members in early 2022 to 14. Sedulo says continued investment in the team during 2022 led to “significant new client wins during the back end of the year, making a further senior appointment essential”.
Andy is an experienced technology and transformation leader, having started his career at ICL and subsequently AstraZeneca and IBM. Throughout his career Andy has worked for some of the biggest household names and global brands. Specialising in R&D since joining EY In 2014, Andy has also worked for Deloitte and most recently at Grant Thornton’s Innovation Incentives Team as an Associate Director, with national responsibilities for all technology-based R&D claims.
He has undertaken claims for some of the most sophisticated corporate organisations and well-known brands, including high street banks, semiconductor and software developers, specialists in defence and transportation, insurance companies, fintech, manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences. The specialist has also supported clients from global fashion houses to fast-fashion e-commerce retail brands, as well as in food development, production and distribution and well-known supermarkets.
Sedulo says “this ties in perfectly with their recent business development strategy of targeting larger businesses in the UK and it is anticipated that their R&D division will achieve growth in excess of 100% during 2023”.
Andy said: “It is a fantastic time to join Paul, Josh and the team at Sedulo. While the UK faces significant global economic headwinds, the changes to the regime in 2023 present a renewed opportunity to question; are you maximising your R&D claims? Are you working with an advisory partner that both values their team, and your team? Are you paying more and getting less from your provider? Does your existing provider genuinely take time to understand your business, requirements, and your values – all while providing a robust end to end R&D claims service.
“Innovation and doing things differently is part of my DNA, I started my career in IT back in 1994, and almost everything we take for granted that exists today was but a daydream back then. I absolutely love supporting clients with their R&D claims to provide investment to continue to innovate and grow.
“We are no strangers to innovation in Manchester, having been both the home of the Industrial Revolution and birthplace of computing back in 1948. However, it has not always been that way, which is why the UK government’s continued and enhanced commitment to drive and support companies undertaking genuine innovation activities through the R&D regime is pivotal to supporting the growth of our national economy to support our future generations.”
Meanwhile, the audit team within the company is also expected to grow significantly this year, as the firm aims to be a genuine alternative for larger organisations requiring audit services, but not wishing to be dealt with by a top 10 firm. It is also down to the fact major players in the financial services industry are shedding clients who don’t turnover more than £100 million per year – leaving a perfect gap for Sedulo to bring on “significant partners ahead of businesses that look at such clients as simply a number”.
Diccon joins the financial services group having spent the majority of his career, working at Grant Thornton UK, his last position being an RI in their London Audit & Assurance division, helping lead their Not-For-Profit team. He has extensive experience, with a specialism in providing audit services for all sizes of private, public and not-for-profit organisations. He trained and qualified (ACA) with Grant Thornton UK and has worked with clients in a number of sectors – reporting under UK GAAP, IFRS and SORPs.
The expert leaves Grant Thornton having been an active part of the organisation’s focus on Audit Quality which has seen them rise to the top of the FRC’s quality scoring and he looks forward to bringing this focus to Sedulo’s ambition to continue to develop a world class audit service over the next few years.
He said: “The fact I was at Grant Thornton for 15 years is testament to how much I enjoyed working there, although I wasn’t looking for a new position, when I was approached with the opportunity to be part of Sedulo’s ambitious targets not just for growth but for providing a world-class service, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
“I look forward to working with the current base of great clients and team members across all our offices. While clearly helping to grow our client base nationally, along with the ongoing development of our team across our current offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and London, I will be located in our wonderful new London office and will have a personal focus on London and the South.”
These latest appointments complete a recent hattrick of arrivals within Sedulo, following on from Sarah Richards who was appointed National UK Head of Tax in November.
Sedulo Group founder Paul Cheetham-Karcz added: “Josh Perry has performed brilliantly leading the R&D team during 2022, which has seen a significant rebuild and upskilling of the team. This strategy was effectively endorsed by the Chancellor in recent changes announced during the budget to the R&D scheme, meaning more sophisticated R&D projects for larger organisations will gain better relief incentives, whilst smaller claims will be subjected to lower levels of reliefs from April this year.
“The significant growth in R&D, as a result of execution of our plan, means we needed to bring someone in to lead the operational side of the division. Getting Andy was a major coup for us and we are delighted to have him on board. He brings a wealth of experience to the team, having worked on some of the largest R&D claims in the country.
“Diccon is also an important appointment for us. He adds an immense amount of experience to our Audit team, and by joining us it has cemented the standard of our holistic offering, by joining at a similar time to both Sarah, and Andy, in our Tax and R&D teams. 2023 is a big year for the group as a whole.
“We will continue to increase our capability to deal with the larger, and more sophisticated businesses, in the UK and beyond, while aiming to cement ourselves as a real alternative in the advisory market, to businesses that are looking outside of the top 10 for its advisory partner.”
