Midcheshire Independent Issue 180

17 JUNE 2025 Visit our website: www.independentnewspapers.co.uk Independent BUSINESS INDEPENDENT account- ing and business advisory firmHurst has welcomed a raft of new arrivals as its expansion gathers pace. Zeeshan Merchant has joined as a manager in the business services team and Joe Goscomb has joined as an associate manager in the tax team. Zeeshan has nine years’ experience in external audit and assurance work on behalf of listed and pri- vately-owned businesses. He trained at BDO then worked at firms including EY and Grant Thornton before join- ing Hurst. Joe has moved to Hurst from KPMG, where he worked for five years in the corporate tax team. Meanwhile, the latest grad- uate intake at Hurst sees six trainees with a variety of university degrees join the business services team. Matt Baldwin studied history at the University of Sheffield, Sophie Christian has a degree in maths and physics from the University of Exeter and a master’s degree in maths from the Univer- sity of Chester, while Nick Hughes graduated in busi- ness economics at Sheffield Hallam University. Lydia Pearson graduated in modern languages with business management at the University of Birmingham, Will Tierney has a degree in mechanical engineer- ing from Liverpool John Moores University, and Amy Williams studied bio- medical sciences at Newcas- tle University. Will Hidrey has joined Hurst as an apprentice from Aquinas College in Stockport. He has joined the firm’s dig- ital transformation and out- sourcing team, known as Host, and will be studying for his Association of Accounting Technicians qualification. Meanwhile Danielle Tier- ney has been promoted to manager with Hurst Corpo- rate Finance. She joined the firm in 2021 as a corporate finance executive from EY. Earlier this year, Hurst unveiled plans to double in size amid rapid expansion across the practice. It aims to become a £20m-turnover practice in 2028, fuelled by a growing national client base, extensive recruitment and new service lines to sup- port its ambitions, alongside a multimillion-pound invest- ment in technology. In spring 2024, it moved its headquarters to Stock- port Exchange to accommo- date its growing team. It occupies 11,000 sq ft at the flagship building, with scope to expand to 170 staff over the next few years. Partner Simon Brownbill, MADE Smarter has relaunched its highly suc- cessful Digital Technology Internship programme to help Greater Manchester manufacturers tackle the growing digital skills gap and accelerate innovation. The government funded scheme connects digi- tally capable students and recent graduates with SME manufacturers to work on real-world technology adop- tion projects. The reboot follows the over- whelming success of the first phase, which ran from 2019 until 2022, where nearly half of interns secured perma- nent jobs. UK manufacturers are facing unprecedented work- force pressures, with 92 per cent expecting skills gaps and over 52,000 job vacancies in the sector. The cost of inaction is mounting with an estimated £7.7billion a year in lost pro- ductivity. These challenges are compounded by reduced immigration, an ageing work- force, and underperforming training pipelines. Made Smarter’s Digital Internship programme helps manufacturers address immediate resource needs and long-term skills develop- ment, while offering students career-defining experience. Interns - ranging from second-year undergradu- ates to postgraduates and recent graduates in fields like data science, robotics, digital design, and engineer- ing - are matched with man- ufacturers undertaking live digital projects. These may include helping to develop digital roadmaps, or implementing software or hardware solutions. Internships are flexi- ble - part-time or full-time - paid and come with sup- port from Made Smarter’s expert advisers. Among the manufacturers to benefit from the internship programme is Arden Dies, a die-maker based in Stock- port. It took on two interns to develop additive manufac- turing (AM) projects. The experiences gave the company the confidence to invest in a 3D printer, backed by a Made Smarter technol- ogy grant. As a result, inte- grating AM into the firm’s rotary tooling operations has accelerated production by 75 per cent, increased in-house productivity, and reduced external costs. Arden has now even estab- lished a small AM depart- ment for R&D to prototype new ideas. Sarah Poynter, operations director, said: “Working with Made Smarter has high- lighted the importance of investing in people and skills to drive that technology and make us more efficient. “The digital interns that INDIVIDUALS saving into a defined contribu- tion pensions scheme are set to be the most impacted by the eco- nomic turmoil created by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to a new report. In the wake of the “eco- nomic turbulence” felt across the globe by the president’s actions, the Society of Pen- sion Professionals (SPP) has produced a study looking at the possible effects on people’s pension pots. It says: “Given the scale of the equity market falls since early April 2025, and the fall in government bond yields, it is possible that some DC (defined contribution) sav- ers may see a reduction in retirement income of up to 20 per cent.” And it adds: “Given the speed and volatility of such moves, those individuals may decide to delay taking their pension where possible. “This may be a sensible step if markets are to recover in the short term but unfor- tunately nobody knows if a short-term recovery is likely. Deferring retirement means the savings pot remains invested and has the potential to grow but the plan value can go down as well as up.” The impact on the UK’s 11 million-plus retirees will depend on how pensioners have funded their retirement. For the 1.2 million who rely on nothing but the state pen- sion, their incomes will not be affected. Likewise, those with a fixed annuity should not be affected by the current mar- ket turbulence because their income in guaranteed. However, the report adds: “DC savers who regularly sell a small portion of their invest- ments to fund their retire- ment (known as drawdown) will face a difficult decision. “Do they sell less today, resulting in less income, in the hope that their pension pot will recover in the future or do they keep drawing down the same amount, knowing that they may have less to depend on in the future?” “Withdrawing during a downturn is always likely to reduce funds faster, so taking independent financial advice on a flexible withdrawal strat- egy is strongly advised.” The SPP report provides reassurance to people in a Defined Benefit (DB) scheme – including Local Govern- ment Pension Schemes – saying they are likely to be largely unaffected. Simon Daniel, who chairs the SPP’s Investment Com- mittee, said: “The world is again enduring a period of financial turbulence and this has naturally created some uncertainty for UK savers and investors. “The overall message from this paper is that making sig- nificant, reactive changes to pensions and other savings is generally not ideal compared with keeping a cool head and planning carefully.” The SPP report adds: “The current volatility serves as a reminder of the importance of regular, long-term saving into a pension across a diversified portfolio of investments. “Diversification of assets adds genuine value through risk mitigation. Consequently, steps that limit investment freedom can be unhelpful. “Just as falling markets can provide challenges if you need to sell, they can also provide opportunities for investment targeting long-term growth. “The challenge is how indi- viduals can adapt their port- folio as they near retirement – a challenge that the pen- sions industry is continuing to tackle.” Counting the cost SME manufacturers benefit from funded tech talent Support: Sarah Poynter Made Smarter supported us with have really helped accelerate our adoption of 3D printing. “As emerging experts in their fields, they also intro- duced us to technology, processes and materials we weren’t aware of. “This enabled us to bring things to market a lot quicker than we would have done oth- erwise. They have also been able to mentor and share their skills across the business to embed that knowledge.” Donna Edwards, pro- gramme director for Made Smarter, said:””It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the impact our Digital Intern- ship Programme has had - bringing fresh energy, ideas, and digital know-how into manufacturing businesses across the North West.” New arrivals add up for accountancy firm Recruitment: (L-R) Nick Hughes, Sophie Christian, Matt Baldwin, Joe Goscomb, Lydia Pearson, Danielle Tierney, Zeeshan Merchant, AmyWilliams, Will Hidrey andWill Tierney the firm’s director of practice development, said: “We’re increasingly seeing interest in joining Hurst from can- didates at larger firms who tell us they are looking for a more dynamic, people-fo- cused environment where they can make a real impact. “We pride ourselves on offering the perfect balance of high-calibre work and a strong, supportive culture, and that is clearly resonating with ambitious professionals previously at Big Four firms. “We’ve welcomed people from a wide range of aca- demic backgrounds, not just finance or accounting, who are curious, collaborative and driven to make a differ- ence – qualities that align with our culture. “This is the latest chapter in delivering on the growth strategy that we recently set out. We’re continuing to invest in the next gener- ation of talent, bringing in people who are not only tech- nically strong but who also share our values and want to be part of a firm where they can grow and make a real impact.” He added: “Danielle’s promotion is thoroughly deserved. She consistently goes above and beyond for her clients and colleagues, and she embodies the values we’re proud of at HURST. Her drive, expertise and positive energy make a real impact and we’re delighted to see her stepping up into this next role.”