Accountancy firm strengthens Gloucestershire's position as a hotspot of ethical businesses
A firm of accountants that works closely with scores of Gloucestershire firms has become the latest pin-up for a growing movement that is making the county a hot spot for ethical businesses.
Dear reader,
After a spell away from posting we return this week with news of a special win for one of the Founding Partners of The Raikes Journal, which has joined a movement that speaks volumes for the kind of county Gloucestershire is.
We are entering a new phase for Raikes, hence the quiet period recently, as planning gets underway for 2026 and some potentially big changes. As a result, we are slimming down our output each week until Christmas.
Subscribers now number almost 1,000 - growth from zero over the last 20 months - and readership of editions is more than 12,000 a month. If you think that each edition usually contains six to eight stories, feel free to times the eyes on stories by that number.
If you did, it would make this small operation, an outlier because it is the only Gloucestershire-headquartered platform leading by delivering journalism, a winner in terms of figures.
Raikes has built what it believes is the most credible business news website covering Gloucestershire, a quiet space away from the roar of marketing noise fast-flowing through the social media channels.
It seems it’s delivering something an increasing number of people want.
We have our Founding Partners and supporters to thank for this. If you would like to join them, please do get in touch.
Very best regards,
Andrew Merrell (editor).
*The Raikes Journal is the only independent news outlet in Gloucestershire approved to use the copy of the BBC local government reporting service.
* It is a digital magazine and community interest company whose supporters believe, like us, that journalism about Gloucestershire is worth keeping alive. Everything you read here - original stories about our county - is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne; our sponsors, Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
If you upgrade to paid you’ll be part of this CIC too. We’re dedicated to championing the county, its businesses, charities, education and training providers, and to creating an even stronger community. And you’ll be able to see past the paywalls often put on our 2cnd and 3rd email editions of the week, that lock our archive and our Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series. You’ll be able to comment on our stories too.
Usually you can sign up to support The Raikes Journal and make what we do possible (real journalism about Gloucestershire) for just £2.30 a week - or £1.80 a week if two or more people sign up at once. Or you can go all in and become one of our Founding Partners or Founding Members!
New chief executive officer for leading business group
Business West today announces that Douglas Ure will become chief executive officer from January.
Ure joins from Marsh McLennan, a global professional services firm, where he held various leadership positions in the UK and Asia.
He will take over from Phil Smith, who retires after more than 30 years at the organisation.
Colin Skellett, chairman of Business West, said: “His (Ure’s) experience and vision will help Business West grow and evolve, while staying true to its commitment to driving prosperity for businesses and our region.”
Skellet thanked Smith for what he called “his outstanding contribution over three decades”.
Ure said: “I see this role as an opportunity to bring my skills, passion and experience to help South West businesses and the region to prosper.”
Accountancy firm strengthens Gloucestershire’s position as a hotspot of ethical businesses
A team accountants that works closely with scores of Gloucestershire firms has become the latest pin-up for a growing movement that is making the county a hot spot for ethical businesses.
By Andrew Merrell.
It’s a badge of honour an increasing number of businesses aspire to, and not an easy feat to obtain, but the number of firms achieving it in the UK is making the nation the world’s number one hotspot for ethical businesses.
And the latest firm to receive B Corp accreditation from the world-wide watcher, judge and jury of such things, B Lab, is another Gloucestershire firm, Randall & Payne.
It further underlines the county as a major UK hotspot for businesses outside of London prepared to undergo the rigorous process and prove a commitment to “doing well by doing good”.
It’s a journey that involves them declaring themselves legally committed to serving all their stakeholders, not just making as much profit as possible for their shareholders.
Firms have to meet demanding criteria across seven categories, which include purpose and stakeholder governance, diversity and inclusion, fair work, human rights, justice, equity, climate action, environmental stewardship, circularity, government affairs and collective action.
Achieving the Holy Grail of ethical honours is a high bar, one that is proving beyond many corporates so often keen to hang their hat on such accolades to wash reputations.
Only six per cent of British B Corps are curently larger firms with at least 250 staff - a figure that is seen to give even more credit to those who make the grade.
For Randall & Payne, which Raikes has been watching closely, the effort has been such that the grand reveal proved an emotional moment.
“For 146 years, we’ve been trusted advisers to local businesses,” said Tim Watkins, managing partner at the Shurdington-headquartered firm of experts.
“Becoming a B Corp reflects what’s always been at the heart of what we do - helping people and businesses thrive in a way that creates positive impact for our community and beyond.”
Back in July this year, when Raikes helped mark Stonehouse-based online learning expert Nimble E Learning’s celebrations as it too achieved the B Corp status, there were 55 such firms that had become part of the movement.
Randall & Payne is the 78th to join the growing community, 3,500-strong nationally, and one of only 26 accountancy firms.
The Gloucestershire business is proud to be the first accountancy firm it knows of in Gloucestershire to achieve the status too.
“Our clients rely on us to guide them through complex decisions. Being a B Corp means we’re holding ourselves to the same high standards we encourage them to aspire to,” added Shaun Pegler, a partner at Randall & Payne.
“We’re proud to stand alongside so many inspiring Gloucestershire businesses who are proving that doing good and doing well can go hand in hand.”
Victoria Petkovic-Short, co-chair of B Local Gloucestershire, which represents the growing army of ethical businesses in the county, and also managing director of Cheltenham-headquartered APT Marketing + PR, said: “It’s great to see such a big Gloucestershire business certify as B Corp, just as B Corp UK celebrates its’ 10th anniversary, bringing together over 2,600 UK businesses with a combined turnover of more than £38 billion.
“Gloucestershire is one of the UK’s leading counties for B Corp certification, currently seventh in the rankings outside of London, and we’re on the cusp of leapfrogging into fifth or even fourth place with just a few more certifications.
“This highlights the value that is placed on sustainability, ethics, and social value in the county, and stands Gloucestershire as an excellent place to do good business.
“B Corp certification is tough to attain, and Randall & Payne should be ecstatic. Congratulations from everyone at B Local Gloucestershire.”
Randall & Payne said its certification was the culmination of years of improvements across all areas of the business within the five impact areas.
After judging a Green and Sustainability Business Award category last summer, Peglar realised how far the firm had come, and with robust systems and a strong ethos and culture in place, felt Randall & Payne could demonstrate having adopted the B Corp way.
The firm has held its ISO 14001 certification, the international standard for establishing an environmental management system since 2022 and a Zero to Landfill certificate with Printwaste for over a decade.
Key metrics are tracked to target a reduction in areas such as energy usage and general waste, as well as making improvements to their office building such as installing LED lighting and sensors and low-flush cisterns.
Randall & Payne’s employee benefits package, social area and overall focus on their team’s wellbeing show they care about their people who get involved with awareness days and charitable activities for their chosen corporate charity.
Peglar said: “This isn’t the end of the journey — it’s the beginning of an exciting new chapter.
“We’re proud to show that accountancy and advisory can be a force for good.”
There are currently an estimated 10,000 B Corps across 102 countries which the movement will tell you are working towards building an economy that is friendly to people and to the planet.
While outside of London Gloucestershire punches well above its weight per head of the population, inside the M25 there are more than 1,000 B Corps.
Few are backed by venture capital. Despite that, the UK army of B Corps spans 120 industries and generates annual revenues estimated to be in excess of £38 billion - a total which BLab says is growing by 20 per cent a year, many times faster than the growth rate of the British economy and of comparable companies that are not B Corps.
And they employ an estimated 200,000 people, a total growing by 11 per cent a year.
Regular readers of Raikes will perhaps recall the article we did on an event staged by one of our other Founding Partners, leadership development specialists QuoLux.
The firm works with some of the most dynamic small medium-sized businesses in the UK and beyond and is itself a B Corp business.
Its figures and data that underpin its concept of Good Dividends reflects the same potential for growth - more proof that purpose-led businesses pull away from the pack and begin to experience growth in turnover, profit and people above their peers.
You can read more on that here: Gloucestershire businesses as a force for good.
And here: Gloucestershire’s new emerging economy.
B Corp was conceived in the United States of America by Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan and Andrew Kassoy, three friends who had become dissatisfied with their conventional corporate jobs and set out to build a model for a better form of capitalism.
According to a recent study 63 per cent of the British public use certifications like B Corp to inform their shopping decisions, and public awarness of the B Corp brand has now risen above 51 per cent, up from just over 30 per cent back in 2022.