Begbies Traynor Group plc, the Manchester-based professional services consultancy, said it is expanding its operations in South Wales following the acquisition of Jones Giles & Clay as it seeks to consolidate its position “as the leading business recovery and insolvency practice in the region.”

“The deal sees Begbies Traynor welcome four experienced team members to the Cardiff-based team, including directors Susan Clay and Vaughan Jones, who were the principals of Jones Giles & Clay and operated as licensed insolvency practitioners,” said Begbies Traynor.

“Both Susan Clay and Vaughan Jones have over 38 years’ experience in both personal and corporate insolvency with Susan Clay bringing additional personal insolvency expertise and Vaughan Jones with experience across a wide range of businesses including the charity and third sectors.

“Nationally, the Begbies Traynor Group grew by 11% in the past financial year and the South Wales team is focussed on further expanding its operations through recruitment and strategic acquisition.”

Begbies Traynor Group executive chairman Ric Traynor said: “This is an important step for our practice, bringing in significant hires and increasing our capacity to work with larger clients on complex cases.

“Directors, Vaughan and Susan are well respected in the local business community and by combining our teams we are creating an exciting offering for the South Wales market.”

Clay said: “Begbies Traynor has established a reputation for providing a consistently high-quality offering across the UK, while retaining personal and friendly service at a local level.

“There has never been a more important time for businesses and individuals to have access to specialist expertise in this area, and Vaughan and I are looking forward to growing our practice with the Begbies Traynor team.”