Saffery is a firm of chartered accountants in the United Kingdom. It has nine offices across the UK as well as offshore. The firm acts for clients across specialty sectors including private wealth, landed estates and rural businesses, not-for-profit, entrepreneurs, sports and entertainment.
Saffery is a member firm of Nexia International, a worldwide network of accounting and consulting firms. Matthew Burton is the firm's managing partner.
History
Saffery Champness was founded in 1855 by Joseph John Saffery at London's Guildhall chambers. In 1880, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) was formed. Saffery was a founding member of the first council and its president between 1889 and 1891.
On 1 July 1982, Safferys and Champness, Cowper & Co, founded by JH Champness, merged to practise as Saffery Champness. In 1986, the international network SC International was founded by the firm. This went on to merge with Nexia International in 2007 to create a global provider of audit and advisory services.
In 2010, Jonathan Fox became the firm's managing partner – the first non-accountant to lead a top 20 firm. On 1 October 2012, the firm announced the acquisition of the Film & TV Unit of RSM Tenon. The transaction enabled them to build their Sports and Entertainment Group.
In 2013, Saffery Champness was involved in developing and lobbying for the UK Tax Relief and were the advisers for the production's cultural test application. In May 2015, Rob Elliott became the firm's managing partner.
In 2016 the firm relocated its London office to 71 Queen Victoria Street in the heart of the City of London. In 2017 it was announced that James Sykes had been elected to a four-year term as chairman of the firm. In 2017, the firm opposed changes by the UK Government to require Scottish limited partnerships to disclose "persons of significant control", saying it was a "further erosion of privacy". In 2018, Matthew Burton became the firm's managing partner.
In 2021, the Financial Reporting Council opened an investigation into work done by Saffery Champness in auditing Greensill Capital's accounts between 2014 and 2019 after the company's collapse. The firm said it would cooperate fully with the FRC.
In May 2022, Saffery Champness registered fiduciaries acquired Cayman-based Holden Trust and established a Saffery Champness office in the Cayman Islands. In September 2023, Saffery Champness rebranded as Saffery.
Locations
Saffery has nine offices in the UK in Bournemouth, Bristol, Edinburgh, Harrogate, High Wycombe, Inverness, London, Manchester and Peterborough. They also have offices in Geneva, Guernsey, Dubai, Dublin and Zurich.