Grant Thornton in Birmingham has been appointed auditor and adviser to motorsport and technology firm Prodrive.
Based in Banbury, Prodrive operates across motorsport, automotive, aerospace, defence and marine sectors.
In the last 30 years the company has transformed from a motorsport team running Porsche rally cars to an international business employing over 500 people, with an annual turnover of around £50 million.
Its work includes the design and manufacture of the McLaren P1’s active aero system, working with Ben Ainsley Racing on the next America’s Cup yacht and running the Aston Martin Racing team in the World Endurance Championship.
Grant Thornton audit partner David White will lead the Birmingham-based team working with Prodrive, which includes entrepreneurial private client tax partner Dan Hartland, John Foskett, a director in corporate tax, and Anne Carter, a senior member of the audit team.
Mr White said: “Prodrive is a dynamic business which we believe has huge scope to capitalise even further on the culture of innovation that drives everything it does.
“We’ll be working closely with the senior team to help them unlock their ambitions for growth in the most commercially effective and tax-efficient ways.”
Tim Colchester, group finance director of Prodrive, said: “Grant Thornton’s track record of working alongside some of the country’s leading names in motorsport and automotive supply chain businesses speaks for itself.
“We are also acutely aware of the firm’s reputation of working alongside entrepreneurial mid-sized businesses such as ours, particularly the way it really gets to know and understand its clients.
“We’re looking forward very much to building that type of client-adviser relationship to take the business to the next level.”
In April Prodrive moved into a 110,000 sq ft headquarters alongside the M40, providing a new home to its motorsport business and its advanced technology division.
The company recently announced a partnership with Faradair Aerospace, the new UK hybrid aircraft manufacturer working on creating environmentally friendly aircraft.
