Howard Hackney

Howard escaped from Grant Thornton in 2008 and, throughout his career, has helped mid market family businesses, law firms and High Net Worth Individuals achieve their objects – often ones that they struggled to resolve without his experienced, independent input. His focus is on undertaking “Special Project “ work and “making it happen” on a range of issues including:

• Succession planning
• Wealth planning
• M&A, often as Lead Adviser, on the buy or sell side
• Strategic decision making for the future
• Tax planning and advice
• Fundraising
• Acting as retained adviser aiming to help business address “you don’t know what you don’t know” and being the “critical friend” on both hard and soft issues

Recent projects have included:

• Sale of a law firm
• Use of a series of SIPPS/SSAS for the purchase of commercial property used by the business
• Sale of a law firm to an Employee Ownership Trust
• Assisting a caravan park in its acquisition and funding of another park
• Advising on the exit of a non family director of a family service industry business
• “Brokering” a deal within the family for a substantial farm to pass to the children of one of two brothers with one brother retiring
• Introducing a new profit sharing and capital structure for a law firm allowing partners to withdraw surplus capital
• Fundraising to assist in the strategic direction of a business and the exit of a significant shareholder
• Establishment of a Family Investment Company and related suite of governance documents
• Conversion of a property investment partnership to a Limited Company

Howard set up his own advisory only (no audit or tax compliance) firm of Chartered Accountants in 2008 when, in an increasingly specialised profession he saw the market opportunity to provide an all-round integrated and holistic advisory service to mid-market businesses and professional practices who wish to have the personal advice and support of “their accountant”. He covers a range of disciplines including corporate finance, tax planning, strategic planning and personal financial planning and his aim was and continues to be to make every client think they are his only client.

Before escaping from a lengthy career as a full equity partner in Grant Thornton, based in North West England and London, he had a wide range of roles of relevance to the special project advisory work that he continues to provide clients including:

• Being an Office Managing Partner
• National Head of Family Businesses
• Being a Regional Marketing partner
• Being on the appointment panel appraising potential partners
• Head of the professional practices specialism in the North West

During his time at Grant Thornton Howard won the CBI’s Best Business Adviser Award and appeared regularly in the print and broadcast media.  He continues to speak at seminars and conferences and to provide training on a variety of matters of relevance to Law Firms and family businesses – most recently on Profit sharing regimes, Capital structures and succession planning and the use of Family Investment Companies.