Pictured: David Chapman
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.