What’s your role here at A4G?

I founded A4G more than 30 years ago and was Managing Partner for three decades before stepping back from the day-to-day running of the firm in 2025.

During that time, I’ve had the privilege of working with hundreds of owner-managed businesses and seeing first-hand what helps some owners build successful, valuable businesses and what can leave others feeling trapped by the very business they’ve created.

That experience now shapes much of the work I do.

I lead A4G Freedom, helping business owners build businesses that are less dependent on them personally, create greater value and prepare properly for succession, sale or whatever they want the next stage of their life to look like.

It’s something I’ve experienced personally too. One of my proudest achievements has been making A4G less dependent on me and successfully stepping back after 30 years as Managing Partner.

I’m also incredibly proud of the recruitment and training programme we’ve built over the years. It’s helped countless trainees grow from school-leavers into fully qualified accountants and trusted advisers (and even Managing Partners!). In fact, we even beat McDonald’s to win School Leaver Employer of the Year once, and this year we’ve been shortlisted for Employer of the Year at the Accounting Excellence Awards.

What are your specialisms?

I work predominantly with established business owners who are thinking about what comes next. That might mean making the business less dependent on them, improving its value and saleability, building personal wealth outside the business, developing the management team, planning succession or preparing for an eventual exit.

I also run strategic planning sessions with business owners, helping them step away from the day-to-day and make clearer decisions about where the business, and the owner, are actually heading.

You’re an author too, tell us about your books

I’ve written three books, all exploring different aspects of something I’ve seen repeatedly throughout my career: how to build a successful business without allowing that business to take over your life.

  • Making Your Business Less Dependent on You – A guide to building a business that can run and grow without everything relying on you. It’s about freeing up your time, creating smoother operations, and preparing your business for growth or sale. 

  • Accidental Millionaires: The secret mindset successful business owners share with sporting legends – This book explores the mindset and habits shared by successful business owners with sporting legends. Many started as ordinary people and, step by step, built businesses that delivered extraordinary results, often without realising how they did it. 

  • The Secret Mindset of Top Estate Agents – Written specifically for estate agency owners, this book combines my experience of advising owner-managed businesses with lessons from Olympic medallists Steve Backley OBE and Roger Black MBE. It explores the mindset, decisions and habits involved in building a successful, valuable agency without allowing it to take over your life. 

What is the top tip you’d share with every business owner?

A business relying on people-based solutions will only get you so far. At some point, you must embrace systems.

Tell us a random fact about you

I would have loved to be the drummer in The Libertines!

Who inspires you?

I’m always looking for new inspiration, but Sir Bobby Robson’s decency, honesty, and continual desire to grow even into his 70s make him one of my heroes. Plus, I met him twice!