Cannock accountants Rice and Co count down to move

GOOD luck to Cannock chartered accountants Rice and Co, who are preparing to move offices after half a century based in the same building in the town.

The firm is set to relocate from its current home in Mill Street, to newer, more modern offices a short distance away at the Rumer Hill business park.

The company started out 50 years ago as a one man business, and has now grown to include a second office in Uttoxeter, with more than 20 staff, and five partners –Chris Stonier, Kevin Preece, Colin Dalton, Steve Dale and Matthew Gibbs.

Mr Stonier, a partner at the firm for more than 30 years, said the move is necessary to cope with the company’s growth, and the many technological advancements in recent years, which has meant they have just outgrown their current space.

“Rice and Co’s name has been associated with Bank House for 50 years, since Arthur Rice set up in business in an office above the Westminster bank, but we want to reassure people we are not going too far away, and the only thing that is changing is our location,” he said.

“When the bank eventually moved out, we took over the building, but obviously, we didn’t have the computers or modern office equipment we do now, or the number of employees.

“We want to thank our existing clients for bearing with us through the move, though we are hoping it can be achieved with the minimum of disruption and without them really even noticing.

“It is only natural that there will be some sadness – it is the end of an era. But it is also the start of a new and exciting one for the company.

“ We are very much looking forward to that, and to welcoming our clients to our new offices, which are large and open-plan, and much more suitable for our business as it is now in the 21st century,” added Mr Stonier.

The firm is due to move on Friday( February 12). The Mill Street offices will close for the last time on Thursday, the 11th, and reopen in Rumer Hill on Monday, February 15.