CHARLES Stanley & Co has expanded the team at its Ipswich office with the arrival of Celia Mason as a financial planner.

Celia joins the long established branch, one of the oldest in Charles Stanley’s 32-strong branch network, after a career as a finance director and pension fund trustee.

Mark Marshall, branch manager at Charles Stanley in Ipswich, welcomed Celia.

“As an independently-owned firm, we pride ourselves on constructing bespoke wealth management solutions for each individual client, so a financial planner is an excellent addition to our team.

“Celia brings a wealth of business experience, and enables us to offer our clients integrated advice on their overall financial situation. This includes tax-effective savings, pensions, annuities, and inheritance tax planning strategies,” he said.

Celia recently returned to her home in Suffolk, after a “mid-life gap year” which saw her, and her husband Anthony, sail 16,000 miles, including two crossings of the Atlantic. Before departing on her trip, she worked for businesses including Hay Group, Richard Ellis and Alphameric. She holds the Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning, the benchmark for financial advisers in the new post-RDR regulatory environment.

Celia said: “In today’s difficult conditions, it is important that all clients maximise the efficiency of their hard-earned savings, and feel confident that they have found the best ways of passing wealth down through the generations. At the same time, financial planning is about more than money; it is not just picking a package off the shelf. Planning has to be about understanding the client’s lifestyle, plans and aspirations, and working out what is the best solution for them and their family.”

: : EAST of England law firm Birketts LLP has announced that Stephen Wright and Susan Young have joined the firm’s private client team.

Stephen, who has been made an associate, joins the firm from Abbiss Cadres Solicitors while Susan joins as a solicitor from Gepp & Sons. Stephen has worked for leading city and regional law firms for more than 10 years and advises private and corporate clients on tax and trust matters including giving tax advice to offshore and non domiciled clients. Susan specialises in private client work including drafting wills, dealing with estate administration and tax planning advice.

Stephen said: “Birketts have a strong private client practice and have shown a real commitment to clients in the East of England which is what attracted me in the first place. I’m looking forward to working in a dedicated team with a huge pool of resources and an exceptionally caring attitude to clients.”

Susan said it was “an exciting opportunity”. “Birketts has developed an excellent reputation in the law world for the quality of its private client work, and joining the team here is a chance I couldn’t let pass,” she said.

Tim Galloway, who leads the private client division at Birketts, said: “I am delighted to welcome Stephen and Susan to the private client team. Their experience and extensive knowledge of the private client sector will allow us to maximise development opportunities for the firm. The strengthening of our team underlines our commitment to growing our private client base.”

: : NINE new recruits are starting their careers in accountancy with Lovewell Blake working at its offices across Norfolk and Suffolk.

“We’ve had tremendous interest in training with us and it’s one profession you can enter from either graduate or A level status,” said Keith Shorten, training partner with Lovewell Blake. “We’re again very impressed by the quality and potential of the recruits and we wish them well as they enter the profession.

“As our firm expands across the region, we need to ensure we have the highly qualified accountants, tax professionals and business advisers to serve business and private clients into the future.”

The graduates are Victoria Brooks who works at the Norwich office and is studying for ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales), and Lisa Cornwall who is at the firm’s new Bury St Edmunds premises and is studying for ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

Chelsey Ryder, Amy Hicks and Ben Gibbins are also working in the Norwich office, Jordan Coombes and Alex Durrant are at Great Yarmouth, Mercedes Bullman is at Lowestoft and Gemma Ward at Halesworth. They are studying for their Association of Accounting Technicians exams, one step towards ACCA or ICAEW qualification.

Chelsey commented: “I chose Lovewell Blake because of its strong professional reputation and for the work ethic everybody has — and I’ve found a friendly atmosphere here with everyone always willing to help.”

: : IPSWICH law firm Watkins Stewart & Ross has announced that Daniel Ager, pictured above right, has joined the firm as a solicitor within the firm’s thriving private client department.

Daniel brings with him a wealth of experience gained at established and well respected practices in East Anglia. He will use his expertise to advise clients in relation to wills, probates, trusts, tax planning, court of protection, powers of attorney and elderly client work.

: : BARCLAYS has appointed Duncan Childs as a new relationship director in the corporate banking team for Essex.

Duncan has re-joined Barclays having left in December 2001 to join RBS, where he has spent the last 10 years working in commercial and corporate teams in the financial services sector.

He will be based at Barclays’ offices in Priory Place, New London Road, Chelmsford and will look after clients in the Essex area, bringing with him his sector expertise in the areas of insurance and financial services from his previous roles.

“It’s a great opportunity to work with local companies whilst bringing sector expertise to the team. Having moved to Chelmsford three years ago, I know there is a great business community in the area and I look forward to building on the many valued client relationships we have,” he said.

Duncan lives in Chelmsford and outside of work enjoys playing and coaching football, golf and spending time with his family and sons.

: : COLCHESTER-based Healthcare Homes, a residential and nursing care home provider, has appointed experienced healthcare professional Fiona Kane as service development manager for both its residential and homecare services, with responsibility for identifying synergies between the domiciliary and residential care services with an aim to developing the group’s integrated care strategies.

She is responsible for working in partnership with Healthcare Homes’ operational support teams and regional managers to identify service enhancements that can be made, to ensure the quality of service delivered remains at its highest possible level.

Prior to joining Healthcare Homes, Fiona held various business development and operational management roles in the independent care sector including Care UK, Shaw Healthcare and The Freemantle Trust.

Chief operating officer David Bates said: “We are very happy to welcome Fiona Kane to the business as service development manager. She brings a huge amount of experience from the residential and homecare sectors, including specialist dementia-based services expertise. Fiona has a keen eye for detail and so it will be interesting to receive her ongoing guidance with regards to how our residential and domiciliary services can work in tandem, for the best interests of our current and future service users.”

Fiona said: “I am delighted to join Healthcare Homes, which has an excellent reputation for its residential, nursing and homecare services across the eastern counties. I look forward to working with the team to identify ways in which the existing care offer can be enhanced or extended, for the benefit of the elderly people who live at our residential homes or receive home-based care services via our Manorcourt Homecare division.”