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Why Madeira chose Haines Watts

As the leading supplier of embroidery threads since 1919, Madeira is globally recognised for its strong innovation in quality products and continual improvement through quality-orientated leadership.

When Karen Burrows, Managing Director at Madeira UK was searching and selecting for new auditors, it was imperative the audit partner was part of the GGI Alliance, a prerequisite for Madeira HQ in Germany and their auditors. Further critical factors were they understood the business growth strategy, had the ability to develop strong relationships with the team members and to deliver a connected service with a personal touch.

“Haines Watts fitted this requirement. All of us find the Haines Watts team really approachable, friendly and professional. We get speedy responses to our requests and we’re not made to feel stupid if we ask questions. I think Haines Watts actually has a genuine interest in our business and our people because we have the continuity of the personnel as well.

Working with Haines Watts has actually saved us costs because it's a less expensive company to work with than our previous, more global auditors. Haines Watts have worked with us in streamlining our audit process, making it much more seamless and in many cases, paperless. We work closely together to ensure the correct information is provided in an effective and efficient way."

Karen Burrows

Managing Director

Madeira

Karen said, “Since working with Haines Watts, we’ve had three major issues to handle as a business - the change in status from Limited to LLP, BREXIT and of course the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.”

With the change in status, Haines Watts worked alongside our solicitor and were invaluable in helping us with the complicated tax and VAT advice when we moved from a limited company to an LLP." Karen added.

BREXIT of course brought its own challenges. Haines Watts supported Madeira in its preparation for the prolonged Brexit changes by endorsing business decisions made for the necessary stock investment and process changes.

When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, Madeira remained open as a key supplier to the supply chain for PPE, the NHS and other key worker uniforms. This was made possible because of previous investments made into voiceover IP and cloud-based IT systems, which enabled the smooth and efficient transition for home working for office staff.

"We have heard over the past 18 months how welcome our presence was in the marketplace and how reliable our service has been." Karen explained.

Haines Watts worked closely with Madeira to plan ahead with socially distanced stock takes and ensured all audit meetings worked effectively online and offline. Karen stated, "We kept everything within the deadlines required and Haines Watts simply made this an excellent and speedy process.”

Despite handling the two disruptive situations at the same time, Madeira ended the year in a far better position than expected.

Prior to the pandemic, Madeira UK was in the process of purchasing land to build a new 17,500sqft warehouse and offices to allow for further growth opportunities in their product portfolio, whilst enabling wider business development.

Despite the 12 month delay caused by the various lockdowns and their effects on processes and planning, the land is now bought and building should commence early in 2022. Haines Watts have provided valuable insights and advice during these proceedings.

Just recently, Madeira UK received two awards at the prestigious Professional Clothing Institute (PCIAW®) Award ceremony.

As world leaders gathered to discuss the global push towards acting more sustainably at COP26, Madeira UK was recognised by the professional clothing and uniforms industry. The first was the acclaimed Sustainability Award 2021, for sustainable product innovation by the Group and development in implementing sustainable solutions. The second was a Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Karen, for her contributions to the textile industry and her dedicated 30 years of commitment to Madeira’s progression.

Haines Watts is eager to work with companies with sustainable ethos and Karen added, "moving to Haines Watts was the best decision for Madeira moving forward to support their continual improvement of the business."

"We are very excited for the future.”