Bishop Fleming has appointed former PwC partner Tom Ayerst as advisory partner in its Bristol office, where he will lead the firm’s transaction services team. Ayerst brings more than 30 years’ experience at PwC, where he led the regional transaction services and deals business from Bristol and was office senior partner for the West. He will drive growth in the firm’s due diligence offering, supporting businesses, advisers and lower and mid-market private equity investors across the region. Pictured: Tom Ayerst and Charles Davey, partner and head of advisory

Shaw Gibbs has appointed Jeremy Gardner as chief commercial officer to strengthen the senior leadership team. In his new role he will focus on driving growth, improving operational performance and supporting integration of acquired businesses at the private equity backed group. Gardner, former managing partner at Roffe Swayne, now Azets, brings more than 30 years of experience helping organisations scale sustainably with a focus on strategic planning, operational delivery, commercial decision-making and financial management. Previously he was partner and head of accounting & business advisory services for Azets south region, having originally trained at KPMG.

SRLV has promoted Jonathan Carter to partner in the entrepreneurs division team. He has been with the firm for over 25 years and has shaped its valuations services. Carter, who is a certified accountant (FCCA), started his SRLV career as a junior in 1999 and was appointed a director in its entrepreneurs division in 2019. He specialises in corporate advisory, business valuations and due diligence for an extensive portfolio of clients across real estate, premium hospitality, professional services and pharmaceuticals.

Gravita has appointed Chris Hawes as its first head of ethics to strengthen internal guidance and training, and support staff with judgements on ethical matters. Hawes brings 18 years of experience in ethics and independence, having spent his career becoming an expert in the discipline and worked through major revisions of the FRC Ethical Standard. His appointment follows the rapid expansion of the private equity backed firm since 2022. He joins from Grant Thornton, where he was ethics senior manager and led on technical ethics matters.

S&W has appointed Hari (Harinder) Soor as a partner in the business tax team, based in London. Soor is a capital allowances and tax incentives specialist with more than 25 years’ experience advising businesses on major capital projects and will play a key role in supporting businesses with specialist advice on capital allowances, tax depreciation and related incentives. Previously he was a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, and prior to that he spent more than two decades at KPMG, where he was an equity partner and led the UK capital allowances practice.

Dext has appointed former HMRC Making Tax Digital engagement lead Sam Wood as product domain expert at the accounting software provider, and Sendi Young as UK & Ireland general manager. Chartered accountant Woods joins from HMRC where he spent nearly seven years, working directly with tax agents and software developers to shape digital policy and MTD design. Prior to the tax authority he worked in practice as client finance director at Blu Sky Chartered Accountants. Young brings two decades of experience building and scaling commercial organisations across payments and fintech, from Mastercard to Ripple and Modulr. She will lead the UKI business with responsibility for the commercial team, growth and the future product roadmap. 

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced Lea Paterson CBE and Matthew Tobin have been appointed by the Treasury as non-executive directors, while deputy chief executive Sarah Pritchard has joined the board as an executive member. Paterson has a career spanning economics, financial journalism, public policy and regulation, and is chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body and a Civil Service commissioner. She previously held several senior roles at the Bank of England, including executive director for people and culture and director of independent evaluation. Tobin is a senior financing lawyer and former partner at Slaughter and May, with more than 20 years’ experience advising government, regulators and major financial institutions. His work has covered systemic risk, statutory schemes and significant interventions across banking, capital markets and lending.