Professional Services Business Drives Forward with New Appointment

Swindon-based Optimum Professional Services has appointed a new head of its audit division as part of the firm’s ambitious growth plans.

Rob Stokes joins the company from Cheltenham accountancy practice Randall & Payne, where one of his specialisms was accounting and audit for a raft of academy schools and charities.

Optimum, based in Stratton, is unique in Swindon and the wider area for offering business advisory, accountancy and legal services under one roof. Rob’s appointment strengthens the audit division, which will also now offer services to academy schools and charities, alongside the corporate audit already offered.

“I am looking forward to the new opportunities that working with a firm offering advisory services,  together with regular accountancy and legal services, can bring,” said Rob. “My first task is to integrate the clients who I am bringing with me, then to develop our offering and team before increasing our reach further towards Cirencester. We will also be offering accountancy and auditing to academy schools.”

Rob, who hails from Gloucester, began his career in accountancy at a firm in Tewkesbury, where he became audit manager. He then joined a Newbury practice, where he rose to associate partner. After a spell in lease administration at RBS, he returned to Tewkesbury where the firm he joined eventually merged with Randall and Payne. Here, he became a partner.

Richard Mathews, CEO of Optimum, who created the business in 2017 as a way of bringing professional services together, said Rob’s was an important appointment for the company.

“Rob is an excellent addition to the team. He is highly experienced, brings with him some loyal clients, and his expertise will also allow us to offer services to academy schools,” said Richard. “This is an exciting development in Optimum’s journey and we are delighted to have Rob on board.”

Optimum provides a range of professional services. The accountancy team offer business planning, personal and business tax planning, audit, bookkeeping, and payroll; the legal team specialise in wills and probate, commercial and residential conveyancing, and associated services (such as equity release, powers of attorney, remortgaging, land acquisition and sale).

There have been further appointments at Optimum recently. Megan Williams joined at the start of the summer, as accounts senior and Dorothy Grafton has been appointed payroll clerk.

Optimum is also staging regular networking events, to support the local business community. The next is a breakfast on October 2, from 7.30-9am. All events are free to attend. There are also plans to organise an event to tie in with the Budget, once a date has been announced.

This year, the team have chosen two charities to support: MIND, which focuses on mental health, and children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent. Their next fundraiser is a quiz, on October 10, at The Village Hotel, Shaw Ridge, which is open to teams of four.

For more information, or to enter a team for the quiz, or to book on for the networking event on October 2, email [email protected], phone 01793 538 198 or visit https://www.optps.co.uk/.