Sage Business Partner

Rainbows  Children’s Hospice

News > Our News >

Celebrations As Firm Hits Sixty Not Out

January 2011

You may not know it but this year Newby Castleman has something in common with the popular cultural figures from Alice in Wonderland, Dennis the Menace and The Archers in that we are all celebrating our 60th anniversary.

However whilst the characters from the much-loved Wonderland, Beanotown and Ambridge are works of fiction, the success of Newby Castleman during this time is very much a fact  and we remain as forward thinking as ever.

Over the past 60 years the firm has grown from just a handful of employees in one office to one of the leading chartered accountancy practices in the East Midlands with over 80 members of staff at our Leicester head office plus a further 25 at our two branches in Loughborough and Nottingham.

During this time we have seen British society change immeasurably with eight different Governments, 13 Prime Ministers, countless changes to financial policies and tax regulations and have also had to adapt to the fast paced growth in technology, but we have taken this all in our stride and emerged stronger than ever. As a result more and more businesses have selected us as they look for that accountancy firm which can lead the way personally.

The firm as we know it today was first formed as J Castleman & Co in 1951 and was based on King Street in Leicester. In the 1960s it merged with another Leicester-based company, Newby Dove & Rhodes to provide the firm with its current name, Newby Castleman.

We moved to alternate premises on West Walk and De Montfort Street as the company progressed before settling at our present head office on Regent Road in Leicester over 30 years ago.

Chris Castleman took over as Managing Partner in December 1997, following the death of his father and he, along with his brothers Stephen and Mike and the rest of the Partners, have overseen the continued development of the firm thanks to acquisition and organic growth.

More recently we took on a brand new look following a re-branding exercise which saw brand new interior and exterior signage featuring our fresh, innovative new logo installed at our head office on Regent Road, which also underwent an internal refurbishment to complement our new look. The re-branding of our two branches in Loughborough and Nottingham is also due to complete soon.

Chris Castleman comments, “We are delighted to be celebrating the firm’s 60th anniversary throughout 2011. Since it was established nearly 60 years ago it has certainly developed a solid pedigree within the region, which is something we look to build on. During this time we have strived to retain the caring and personal touch, not just amongst our clients but also our employees. This is clearly reflected in the long service provided by so many members of staff, some of whom have been with the firm for over forty years.”

“Whilst there is no substitute for experience we also place huge importance on recruiting and training young people and have, for a number of years, run our successful trainee scheme which allows talented and enthusiastic graduates and school leavers to watch and learn from our senior members of staff as they begin their careers in accountancy.”

He added, “Whilst looking back at these 60 years with pride we will continue to move forward with confidence and there’s no reason why Newby Castleman won’t be here in another 60 years.”