Reflecting on 2025: A Year of Growth, Change and Momentum

2025 was a year defined by progress, new opportunities and important milestones for both our team and our clients. The early part of the year brought change as Katherine began an inspiring sabbatical, travelling around the world with her bike, and we look forward to welcoming her back with stories from her extraordinary adventure.

During her absence, we were delighted to welcome Nicola Hawksley to the team as a Senior Business Partner, bringing a wealth of experience and providing continuity and leadership across our client work.

Team development has also been a major highlight. Daisy Luckett joined us as a school leaver and has made an impressive start to her professional journey, passing two exams as part of her CIMA qualification. We are equally proud of Dominic, who achieved a significant milestone this year by qualifying as a CIMA, strengthening the depth of expertise within the team.

Our client work throughout 2025 has been both diverse and highly rewarding. We helped lead the successful sale of Verve Developments Limited, the owner of Bedford Heights Business Park, to Bizspace, with a transaction value of circa £16 million. Elsewhere, John was appointed as a Non-Executive Director at Heronsgate Capital LLP, where he continues to provide strategic guidance and industry experience as the business evolves within the financial services sector. During this period, Nicola also assumed the role of Chair of the Finance Committee, bringing new insights and developments to the business.

At CFO & More, we take pride in supporting businesses through key growth phases. This was clearly demonstrated in 2025 as Quai Digital Group continued to expand and reached a stage where the appointment of a full-time, in-house CFO became both appropriate and sustainable. We supported Quai through the recruitment process and delivered a comprehensive handover, after which financial responsibility transitioned in-house. During the year, we were also delighted to support both a debt and equity financing for the business. John continues to advise the Board of Quai Investment Services Limited, providing ongoing governance, oversight and strategic input. 

A key project Stuart worked on was an accounting software migration for Tideway, the IFA Group, to allow the business to gain better insight over their management information and increase visibility and the opportunity for collaboration.

Alongside this work, we were delighted to commence engagements with two new businesses, operating within the legal services and financial services sectors. We look forward to developing these relationships further as we move into 2026.

As we begin this new year, we are grateful to our clients and team for their continued trust and commitment. With strong foundations in place and new opportunities on the horizon, we look forward with optimism and enthusiasm to everything 2026 has to bring.