Leicester accountant set to make his ‘Mark’ on business

A Leicestershire entrepreneur is using his business expertise to help clients at a city accountancy firm.

Mark Faulknall, 48, from Hinckley, has joined the Leicester office of MacIntyre Hudson chartered accountants and business advisers.

Mark, previously of Market Bosworth, has a wealth of business experience, running his own accountancy practice before becoming a shareholding director of a Midlands manufacturing firm. And he is looking forward to sharing that knowledge with the Leicestershire business community.

“My background is in owner-managed business, which is the key focus of MacIntyre Hudson,” said Mark, who joined the firm, based on the Meridian Business Park, as a Principal, at the end of June. “The team here is conscientious, motivated and dedicated, and provide the service I’d be delighted to receive if I were a client.”

Mark, an FCA, has previously held positions with accountancy firms Grant Thornton in Coventry and Moore Stephens in Birmingham has contacts across the region. But it is his experience as a sole practitioner, and as a business director, which has made him an invaluable source of business experience and advice. He became financial director of Cabcare which makes vandal-proof cab protection guards for cranes and earthmoving plant, after assisting the Staffordshire-based firm’s owner on an equity release deal.

But Mark is far from most people’s image of a sober-suited accountant – he also has a degree in archaeology from Leicester University where he studies as a mature student. “I have always loved history and I fancied a change!” he said. “You’d be hard pushed to find a subject more different from accountancy, but that was the attraction. I am fascinated by social and industrial history – and when you are able to uncover the past by digging in the ground, it makes it even more interesting.” While following the course, Mark worked on digs in Leicester’s Vine Street near the former St Margaret's Baths, and in Abbey Park. And he is continuing his studies with a distance learning Master’s degree.

But it is his role at MacIntyre Hudson, which has nine offices across the Midlands and South East, which he is most excited about. “My ambition is to see MacIntyre Hudson recognised as first choice when it comes to procuring services for owner-managed business in Leicestershire. “The whole culture at MacIntyre Hudson is ‘friendly and approachable’ - built around understanding clients, building relationships, and helping them realise their business and personal goals. I really believe in what this firm is doing – after all, that is how I built my own practice. The benefit of me joining MacIntyre Hudson now is that I can offer my clients a gateway to the firm’s wide range of specialists that they need to help them grow their own businesses.”

Senior Principal Ian Betteridge said: “I’m delighted that Mark has joined us. He offers a spread of expertise, which is rarely found within the profession. He has not only built up and run his own practice, but has been successfully involved in commercial enterprise as a shareholding director. This experience will be invaluable to our clients.”