THE Bury St Edmunds office of national accountants and business advisers Grant Thornton has been bought out by the local management team.

The office ceased trading as Grant Thornton at the close of business yesterday and will reopen on Monday under the new identity of Churchgate.

Grant Thornton, which has three other offices in the region, in Ipswich, Cambridge and Norwich, said the buy-out was the result of a regional strategic review and a consultation with staff in Bury.

A number of clients currently serviced from the Bury office would remain clients of Grant Thornton which would continue to offer its full range of services in the area, the firm added.

Richard Proctor, managing partner for Grant Thornton East Anglia, said: “I am really pleased with the result we have achieved.

“In negotiating a buy-out by local management, we believe we will see greater stability for employees, clear continuity for clients who wish to continue to be serviced from Bury, and a fresh start for an office that should really flourish as an independent business.”

Grant Thornton added that no redundancies had been made as a result of the buy-out.

Robin Jackson, principal at Churchgate, said: “We have a great team and a good client base to develop a strong, local business.

“While we all benefited from being part of Grant Thornton in many ways, it is clearly not the right model for this market.

“The next few months will be demanding as we establish our own systems and practices, but we’re really ready for the challenge of making Churchgate a feature of the Bury business scene.”