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| Additional information |
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| Booth Ainsworth LLP |
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History:
Booth Ainsworth in its present form started in 1959 when Frank Booth, who started his own practice above the Midland Bank in Cheadle in 1934, was joined by Peter Ainsworth and the practice to which he had succeeded on his father's death some three years earlier. In this move, Peter was accompanied by Stan Howard, his first articled clerk. In Manchester, the team had included Derek Bloor, who qualified early in 1958 and left in 1959 to join Philip Shirley in another small Manchester practice, H Julius Lunt & Co.
The initial Cheadle team comprised six people. In addition to the two partners, there were Matthew Dillon, senior unqualified clerk, Jim Hall, another articled clerk and Betty Bonner. Betty had joined Frank Booth as secretary in 1940 on leaving school. She stayed with the firm until she retired in 1985 at the age of fifty-nine, a remarkable record.
The origins of the Manchester firm went back before the establishment of the English Institute. Edward Lawton, Edward (Ted) Ainsworth's first boss, joined the Manchester Institute of Accountants in January 1879, and was a founder member of the new national Institute when it started on the grant of the Royal Charter in 1880. He practised then from Stafford Chambers at 14 Brown Street, the same office that Peter, Stan and Derek vacated on New Year's Eve 1958. In 1882 he was joined by his son, George Harry Lawton. Edward Lawton died in 1909 and George Harry carried on the practice. In 1904 he signed articles with Ted Ainsworth, Peter's father. We still have the certificate showing that he was placed second overall when he took his Intermediate Examination in 1907. He qualified in 1909 and joined the Institute in January 1910. On qualifying, he stayed with the firm and the members' handbook for 1910 shows him as "Clerk with Edward Lawton & Son" - obviously titles were more basic in those days! Football enthusiasts may be interested to note that GHL was chairman of Manchester United for two or three years from 1927.
The H Julius Lunt connection also goes back to the start of the English Institute, Joseph Lunt being another of the founder members who joined in 1880. His son HJL followed him into the profession after qualification in 1906. Having married HJL's daughter, Daphne, Philip Shirley joined his father-in-law's practice in 1948 and took over the practice when HJL died in 1954. Derek Bloor became a partner in the firm in 1963.
On qualifying, in 1960, Stan Howard joined Price Waterhouse in Manchester but returned to Cheadle as a partner towards the end of 1962. This was fortuitous because Frank Booth died, very suddenly and unexpectedly, in 1963. Having signed articles in 1961, his younger son, Andrew, qualified in 1966 - just two days before his 21st birthday! He too left for wider pastures - again with Price Waterhouse - but came back to the firm as a partner two years later. In October 1973 Philip Shirley and Derek Bloor moved their practice out to Cheadle and merged with the developing Booth Ainsworth.
When he started the Cheadle practice in 1934, Frank Booth rented two rooms over the Midland Bank. We still have his original cash book which shows that the rent was £4 7s. 6d. a quarter. More accommodation was taken over in 1959 and still more in 1961. Pressure on space remained, so the partners were relieved when they were able to acquire 12 Ashfield Road in 1963. Five years later the firm also rented the next door house. At that time the site of the present Ashfield House was occupied by the Sykes Memorial Hall, owned by Cheadle Parish Church and used for social and sporting activities. Ashfield House was built after the hall was demolished in 1971. The firm's first involvement with the property came in 1975 when the initial tenant of the ground floor vacated and Booth Ainsworth acquired the lease. By 1981 the tenants of the other floors had moved on and those leases were also taken over, making it possible to house everybody under one roof for the first time since 1962. By the end of the '80s, space was again a problem. This time a solution was found by leasing Borough Chambers, thus giving the firm a very tangible presence right in the heart of the Stockport business area. The client base began to develop quite rapidly and the name 'Booth Ainsworth' became synonymous with integrity and commitment. The firm established a good reputation in Stockport and the surrounding areas.
By the end of the '90's, the firm had nine partners and were branching out into consultancy with the creation of the Financial Controller Team. This would prove extremely lucrative for the firm, bringing into the fold key personnel. Due to the organic expansion of the firm and the natural progression of the business development functions, space again became a problem. But this time, the problem would be resolved finally and in grand style!
In the new millennium, Booth Ainsworth secured a brand new purpose-built office in the commercial centre of Stockport. The prestigious new offices signalled a revamping of Stockport and the Booth Ainsworth office could possibly be part of the largest development for fifteen years. Stan Howard and Peter Ainsworth retired, leaving the 75-strong workforce to move into Alpha House in Autumn 2002.
In 2005, Andrew Booth stepped down as Managing Partner to allow younger blood to take the reigns. David Powell took over in April of this year. Andrew became Senior Partner. David began his career as an articled clerk at Booth Ainsworth, which gives him something in common with three other of his partners, who all trained and qualified with the firm.
The firm continued to develop, with its payroll department and financial services taking on extra people to deal with the growth in clients. In April 2006, Jon Ward and David Hardman became partners. Jon Ward carried out his training at Booth Ainsworth and David Harman is ex-Stoy Hayward and PKF.
In September 2006, the firm recognised that the previous year had been a record breaking year for success and decided to take the team to Barcelona for a celebratory weekend. It turned out to be one of the best decisions ever - the following Monday staff came to work rejuvenated and highly charged having spent an incrediable weekend away with the firm. It was during a Saturday night meal in Barcelona that the announcement of a new partner was made to the unsuspecting group of people. Amir Malik became the ninth partner of the firm. Like many of the other partners, he carried out his training with Booth Ainsworth. Amir is a popular 'hands-on' partner and adds a lot of spark and motivation to the rest of the team. |
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