Two partners appointed at Begbies Traynor in Yorkshire

Louise Longley and Ian Royle have been promoted to the position of partner in the Yorkshire region by leading rescue and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor.

Having joined Begbies Traynor’s Leeds office in 2004 as an insolvency administrator, Louise qualified as an insolvency practitioner in 2011 and rose to the position of senior insolvency manager in 2016. She was promoted to insolvency director three years ago.

During her 19 years with Begbies Traynor, she has undertaken an 18-month formal secondment in the firm’s compliance and technical department with a focus on preparing the firm for the 2016 insolvency changes. Based in Leeds, she has also spent time working across other Begbies Traynor offices.

Louise has over 20 years’ experience in insolvency and restructuring and has dealt with all aspects of personal and corporate insolvency, working in  a variety of sectors. She has a strong record in bank-led administrations and more complex insolvencies.

Ian has also specialised in insolvency for more than 20 years, having started his career with Wilson Pitts in Leeds in 2000, prior to the firm joining Begbies Traynor Group in 2006. He passed the Certificate of Proficiency in Insolvency (CPI) in 2005 and the JIEB exams in 2008 to become a licensed Insolvency Practitioner. 

Ian has extensive experience in corporate insolvency with specific experience in the SME market, working across a range of sectors. He also has excellent knowledge of bank-driven restructuring, recovery and insolvency having spent two years on secondment with a major clearing bank where he was responsible for accelerating the disposal of distressed properties.

Rising through the ranks, Ian was promoted to director in 2016 and heads up the firm’s Teesside office.

Julian Pitts, managing partner for Begbies Traynor in Yorkshire, said: “It is always genuinely gratifying to see talented, hardworking members of the team rise through the firm and progress their careers with us. This is a brilliant achievement and testimony to Louise and Ian’s dedication.”

Louise commented: “After a period working as a legal secretary in a specialist insolvency department, I joined Begbies Traynor almost 20 years ago, and the firm has helped me to develop my skills, providing training, support and varied hands-on experience to enable me to rise to the position of partner.

“I am looking forward to continuing to work with our talented team to build Begbies Traynor’s presence across Yorkshire and the North East as we support businesses throughout the region with a full range of corporate and personal insolvency services during a very challenging time.”

Ian comments: “Having stumbled across insolvency over 23 years ago as a fresh-faced, 17-year-old office junior, I feel extremely privileged to have been able to forge a career with one of the UK’s leading professional services firms. I would like to pay tribute to Begbies Traynor which has enabled my progress on a clear career path and also to partner Dave Broadbent and regional managing partner, Julian Pitts, who have supported me every step of the way.

“And thank you to the team on Teesside – there is some incredible talent in the region and I feel lucky to share in our successes and now my appointment as partner.”

Begbies Traynor currently has ten offices and employs around 120 staff in Yorkshire, the Humber and the North East. It offers a full range of professional services including corporate recovery, investigations and risk, forensic accounting advice, corporate finance, property, funding, debt collection and personal insolvency.