Pullan Barnes was formed in 1992 when Keith Pullan left the partnership Robert Miller & Co, and formed a new partnership with Mike Barnes. They took over the Hetton le Hole office which Keith had been running since 1987, and the staff and clients acquired formed the nucleus of the new firm.

 

Keith and Mike had both served their training contracts at Tenon (then Jennings Johnson), but not at the same time, Mike being 10 years younger. Keith had left Tenon in 1982 to join Robert Miller & Co and became a partner in 1984; and Mike had joined the firm from Tenon in 1990.

 

Just over one year later an opportunity presented itself to acquire a small practice with premises in Framwellgate Moor in Durham. The acquisition of Chipchase Robson in August 1993 expanded the firm Pullan Barnes a good deal quicker than had been intended but turned out to be a superb investment as most of the turnover expansion over the following years came from the Durham office. In 1996 it became necessary to build an extension onto the premises. The office now houses 5 staff including the 2 who were ‘acquired’ in 1993.

 

Meanwhile at Hetton le Hole, team building continued as the firm’s reputation for a personal friendly service spread.

In 2004, new premises had to be sought as serious overcrowding had become a very real problem.
We didn’t have to look very far, which suited us as we didn’t want to move out of Hetton. An opportunity arose to acquire a building less than 200 yards from our existing office, which we gladly accepted. Much restoration work was required on the building which took best part of 6 months, but whilst we had a goal to work to, we were able to cope with the cramped conditions. We moved into Stephenson House on 1st October 2004, and sold Exchange Buildings.

 

In April 2005, Yasmin Bari became the third partner in Pullan Barnes. Yasmin had joined the firm in 1997 as a volunteer worker to gain some experience to put on her CV.

 

It didn’t take us long to recognise her talent and offer her the contract she sought. She became the first student to qualify as a Chartered Accountant with Pullan Barnes, and she was offered a partnership as soon as she had gained a practising certificate.

 

Pullan Barnes now has a team of 17 plus three partners, and ten of the team have an average of 14 years service with the firm.

 

It is clear that we have a loyal dedicated team that provides very strong support to the partners and continue the tradition of a friendly personal service to our clients.

Chartered Accountants