West Country accountancy and financial planning practice Old Mill has further added to its thriving rural services team with the appointment of consultant Mark Shelton.

Although Mr Shelton will work out of Old Mill’s Wells office, he will cover the whole South West region, focussing on specialist expert witness and forensic accountancy work, as well as helping agri-food clients with finance and business planning.

“Mark has rich pedigree of experience in the farming and food sectors, with over 30 years’ experience,” said Andrew Vickery, head of rural services at Old Mill. “After 10 years in practical farming he qualified as an accountant with PwC in Reading in 1992 and then spent 10 years with Deloitte in Bristol.”

In recent years Mr Shelton had his own specialist accounting practice in Wells before working with other accountants and as an interim financial director for a growing food business. In 2012 he was also national chairman of the British Institute of Agricultural Consultants.

“Mark is an exciting addition to our team,” Mr Vickery added. “He fills a gap in our expertise around particular areas of specialist work and consultancy projects, enabling us to support the work of other professionals and lawyers, as well as our farming clients. We are finding that there is a considerable demand for focused skills in these areas, and Mark’s expertise and experience fills the gap exactly. He will enable us to take our service to the next level.”

Mr Shelton said he was very excited to be joining Old Mill, which already had a large and established base of farming and food business clients. “I am already seeing that there are considerable opportunities for me to use my specialist expertise for their benefit.”

• For more information contact Andrew Vickery on 01392 214635.