Pictured above: Bill Beaumont presents the Nicklins team with their award. (L-R) Joanne Baldwin, Bill Beaumont, Peter Kendrick, Mark Howell and Mark Northall.

Halesowen accountancy firm, Nicklin LLP, has scooped the top prize in a national competition to find the most ground-breaking and creative companies.

Nicklins won medium-sized firm of the year in the 2020 Group's annual awards, which took place last Thursday (October 8).

To win the award, Nicklins had to demonstrate that they added significant value to its clients, had introduced practices that have improved client focus, effectiveness and have won new clients. 

They were praised for the launch of Nicklin Business Finance - formed as a reaction to the recession - which is aimed at generating finance for small and medium-sized firms who cannot or do not want to borrow from the banks.

The development of their management information pack is another response to changing business environment. It helps small businesses ensure they have all the necessary information to present to financial institutions in order to obtain finance in the current climate. 

Nicklins have also installed a unique software system that benchmarks businesses against their competitors in key financial areas such as profits, turnover, borrowing and assets. It allows Nicklin to report on businesses' activities using a five-star rating - and tell firms how they can improve their rating.

Their newly updated website, which features web videos of the team talking about their work, also won acclaim.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have received this award, as it consolidates on all the hard work the whole team has put in over the last year," said Harvey Owen, managing partner at Nicklin LLP.

"These have been tough times for all businesses, and we are pleased we have been able to come up with some strategies to help our clients get through this difficult recession.

"We feel that this year and next year is a great opportunity. There are a lot of people who are doing very little and therefore we do see it as a great opportunity to get out there and attract new clients."