BLB Advisory was set up in 2019 by director and owner Brett Barton, who will join PKF Smith Cooper as a director along with seven team members as part of the deal, bringing decades of experience and expertise in insolvency and recovery work. Fellow director of BLB, Louise Barton, has resigned.

Associate director at BLB Advisory, Louise Hookham, who has specialist experience in the engineering, leisure, building, property and hospitality sectors, and senior manager Lucy Garner, will also be joining the PKF team.

They will also retain the current three offices in Coventry, Hereford and Worcester, which will be rebranded under the PKF banner in due course.

Barton is an insolvency practitioner with nearly 30 years’ experience in helping businesses, specifically SMEs and owner managed firms across the west Midlands, and specialises in manufacturing, third sector, transport and haulage, retail and wholesale, and hospitality.

Before setting up BLB Advisory he was a partner at Begbies Traynor for nearly two years, having previously ran his own insolvency practice, Cranfield Business Recovery.

In his new role, Barton will continue to deliver his current range of services out of the existing BLB offices, in addition to supporting the firm’s business restructuring partners, Dean Nelson (head of business restructuring), Michael Roome and Nick Lee, in shaping and driving the firm’s ambitious expansion plans across the Midlands and UK.

Barton said: ‘I am excited to be joining the team at PKFSC and to expand their offering in the west Midlands.

‘There are many synergies between our businesses, and I believe that, within the PKFSC brand, I will be able to provide advice and guidance to businesses across the region that is unparalleled. PKFSC are an experienced team with a track record and passion for delivering solutions.’

Dean Nelson (pictured), head of business recovery and restructuring and partner at PKF Smith Cooper, said: ‘We are thrilled to welcome Brett and his team to PKF Smith Cooper as we embark on this new era for our business recovery services.

‘From initial conversations with Brett, it was clear he was aligned with our recovery first approach, and that his team shared our passion for helping business owners in distress to secure the best possible outcome for the future.

‘Acquiring BLB Advisory Limited has strengthened our team, increasing the breadth of our expertise, as well as our capacity to respond to the high demand for specialist support required from businesses struggling in the current climate.’