Seeds of Success
In the early 1970s, a young Marcel Ulrich arrived in the UK from Switzerland, armed only with a knowledge of numbers and a fluidity in multiple European languages. This was enough to land him an accountancy job at a major London tour operator, where he oversaw all foreign operations. It was here that he gained his earliest experience in international accountancy, planting the first seeds of what was to come later.
Next, he went on to be the accountant for an ambitious firm of solicitors in central London. Thanks to their diverse portfolio of clients, Marcel gained experience in a variety of sectors, further widening his skillset as an international accountant.
By 1999, Marcel had achieved Chartered status with the ACCA. He had learned all he could learn from working with the solicitors; the time had come for him to go his own way.
Gower Street
He had the knowledge, the languages, the experience, and the chartered status. Setting-up shop on Gower Street in central London, Marcel set about pursuing his dream of helping small and emerging companies with all their accountancy needs, whether domestic or international.
As for naming the company, the bustling street on which it was based provided the solution. Gower was officially up and running.
As expected, there was a lot of accountancy competition in central London. Even from the prime location of Gower Street, it wasn’t going to be easy to become well established in the business circles of London.
However, due to the multilingual nature of the company, Gower was not just another London accountant. Their ability to communicate in various European languages gave them a defining edge, landing them a number of international clients as a result.
Going Global
Before long, Gower became the go-to accountant for international affairs, particularly for small businesses. As expected, the multilingual aspect of the company was proving to be very advantageous indeed, with European clients benefiting from a level of clarity that they could not get anywhere else in the UK.
In 2008, Darshan Gatecha joined Gower as an accountant at the lowest rung of the ladder. Within a year, however, he proved that he was capable of much more than junior accountancy. Working alongside Marcel, he eventually achieved a managerial position, and later bought into the company as a partner. Better still, Darshan was fluent in both Hindi and Gurajati, meaning Gower could now extend its reach to India as well as Europe.
Gower International
There were certainly obstacles to overcome, but as the years went by, Gower successfully developed as an international accountancy firm. It would eventually outgrow its home on Gower Street, moving instead to modern offices on Fleet Street, where the company is now currently based.
Marcel, Darshan and their team went from strength to strength helping a diverse range of international businesses to become established in the UK, supporting them with everything from company set-up to advanced tax planning. More multilingual talent was taken on board, until there were no less than seven languages spoken across the company.
But Gower has never been just about international accountancy. Back in 2006, Gower Leicester was set-up as a sister branch. Led by Javeed Baig, Gower Leicester has since grown to a team of five ACCA accredited accountants, servicing the various needs of owner-managed business across the East Midlands.
The company as a whole has taken Marcel’s ethos of “A Professional Service with a Personal Touch” very seriously throughout its existence, and strives always to uphold its values of quality service.
New Challenges…
With the challenges now presented by Brexit, international business owners looking to become established in the UK need the help of Gower International more than ever. Fortunately, Marcel, Darshan and the team remain at the top of their game, providing a multilingual service to help clients overcome any challenge.
Marcel started his journey in the UK alone, but now he has a full team of chartered accountants by his side, and an ever-growing family of both domestic and international clients to boot. Who knows what the future holds for Gower International – hopefully, it involves us helping your business.
Get in touch today to see what Gower can do for you!
