When asked what the firm is likely to look like in another 25 years Julian replied “不同於它是如何的時刻。 我們都會說中文.
Julian was previously a partner in the Cambridge firm of Chater & Myhill which was taken over by KPMG. “Having trained in Ernst & Young and Deloittes, I had no wish to go back into a large firm so I decided to strike out on my own” says Julian Stafford.
The practice originally operated from a two-drawer filing cabinet in their house in Needingworth. Before long, the client files were taking up a full three drawers and eventually a whole shelf.
The time eventually came when a separate office was unavoidable so the practice located to a garret in St Barnabas Road. Further growth necessitated a move to Bateman Street and from there to Hills Road. In 2008 the firm became Staffords with the admission of Steve Ellis and Matthew Pettifer as partners and the firm moved once more to its present location in Capital Park.
“I am proud of the way the practice has grown over the years and it is unrecognisable compared with the old days” says Julian Stafford.
“What would I have done differently? I would have always put money aside for tax BEFORE it became due, not sacrificed profit for growth and bought a house which did not soak up money like a sponge. The rest I think we got about right.”
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