UHY Hacker Young has promoted Harriet Hodgson-Grove, Khiet Cheung and Tracey Moore to partners. Moore is head of the national charities and NFP group aand specialises in advising charities and not-for-profit organisations. Hodgson-Grove has been appointed as audit partner in the London office, where she has progressed through the ranks since joining as a graduate in 2011. She specialises in hospitality, property, natural resources and not-for-profit sectors. Cheung has become a technical & training partner in the London office, having joined UHY as a senior manager in January 2020. Previously, she spent nine years at Grant Thornton in the national audit technical department, having also worked at EY.

Dow Schofield Watts (DSW) has expanded its recently established Midlands corporate finance team with the appointment of Lucy Fairclough as associate director, based in Leicester. She will support the team in advising on deals including sales, management buyouts, acquisitions and equity and debt fundraising, working primarily with owner-managed and private equity-backed mid-market businesses. Fairclough spent over 15 years with PwC and KPMG in London.

Scrutton Bland has appointed John Perry as audit partner. He will be based across the Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds offices, working the firm’s client base in East Anglia. He will work primarily with owner-managed businesses and organisations in the not for profit sector and will further strengthen the firm’s ability to meet client demand in the audit space. He previously worked for top 10 accountancy firms in the UK and overseas, including BDO and KPMG.

Grant Thornton has hired 23 graduates in Belfast to strengthen the audit and advisory department and the tax division as it continues to expand to meet an exponential rise in demand. The most recent intake sees 15 added to the audit and advisory department while eight graduates join the tax division. The new graduates have joined the firm’s three-year training programme, designed to provide the skills and experience necessary to gain the required industry qualifications.

Kingswood Allotts has strengthened the senior management team with the appointment of tax specialist Luke James. He will head the specialist tax and compliance division and will be responsible for overseeing growth and development as well as delivering business and financial management services to private clients and owner-manged businesses. He joins from Hart Shaw Chartered Accountants where he was a senior manager.

Westcotts Chartered Financial Planners has appointed Alex Lannin as operations manager based in the Plymouth office. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services sector, joined the Westcotts group this month. He previously worked at PKF Francis Clark, where he worked his way up from paraplanner to senior digital project manager.

Stockton-based Baines Jewitt has appointed Alison Lambert as payroll manager. She has over 25 years’ experience in payroll related jobs, including working for manufacturing firms and an accountancy practice. She will provide a range of support to Tees Valley organisations, including sole traders, start-ups and large corporates.

Zedra has promoted Clare James to head of sole trustee services. She will act in a leadership role representing the Professional Corporate Sole Trustee (PCST) service, which spans the business and trustee team. She joined the firm in 2019 and has 30 years’ experience in the pensions industry. Previously she was a principal, scheme actuary and investment consultant at Punter Southall (now XPS).