Mazars Midlands managing partner David Chapman has been on the road in India banging the drum for the region as the gateway into Europe.
Mazars in Birmingham has a strong relationship with Tata in India and works with Jaguar Land Rover in the Midlands.
Mr Chapman was accompanied by Jerry Green, International Commercial Manager, HSBC in making major presentations to chairman and chief executives of companies in Delhi and Mumbai.
“We were pushing the Midlands as the Gateway to Europe for companies on the Indian sub-continent who want to launch or grow the export side of their business.
“And we stressed that the global reach of both Mazars and HSBC meant that we were natural partners for those looking for a foothold in the European market,” he said.
He cited growing evidence of Indian interest in the Midlands as base for their European operations.
“We are a Gateway to Europe – 50 per cent of India’s investment in Europe goes to the UK – even before you take Tata into consideration. There has been a ten per cent increase in Indian companies choosing to locate their European headquarters in the UK,” he said.
Some 700 Indian companies have chosen to locate their businesses here and India is now the fourth largest investor in the UK, he pointed out.
And he noted: “Although British people of Indian origin account for just two per cent of the total UK population, they punch above that weight to generate five per cent of UK GDP.”
As well as managing Mazars’ Birmingham and Nottingham offices, Mr Chapman also has responsibility for growing the firm’s Indian business.
“India is a prime market for us as a global accountancy practice, and we now have over 500 staff there – a number which is growing at a rapid rate as we continue to win new business both in India and in the UK and Europe.
“Mazars is an international, integrated and independent organisation, specialising in audit, accountancy, tax, legal and advisory services with offices in 61 countries across five continents. Globally we directly employ nearly 13,000 professionals, so we are well placed to offer the complete package to companies with global ambitions,” said Mr Chapman.
In Birmingham and Nottingham, Mazars has this year won new business from clients such as Pertemps and Aviva, and already works for an expanding list of international and quoted clients including Alstom UK, Manganese Bronze Holdings, Portmeirion Group, Schneider Electric, GeoPost and Arval.
Since taking city centre offices at 45 Church Street in the heart of Birmingham’s professional quarter a year ago, Mazars has recruited 37 staff including eight graduates.
