Poached pair move out of Garrett & Co

Two partners have left the corporate department of Garrett & Co's Leeds office to join rival firm Hammond Suddards.

Richard James and Karen Jarvis have joined Hammond Suddards in Leeds just two years after joining Garrett & Co in a mass poaching of 12 partners from Simpson Curtis.

James said Garrett & Co was missing out on work referred by corporate finance accountancy practices because of its close association with accountancy giant Arthur Anderson.

"In the management buyout market, if you're not getting a supply of work introduced through an accountancy practice, you're not getting a lot of work through," he said.

He said he was also frustrated by the size of the small firm, as it was difficult to compete with City firms for work from major private and listed companies.

James approached Hammond Suddards in January and the firm headhunted Jarvis some weeks later. Jarvis, who was unavailable for comment, specialises in banking law.

Partner in Garrett & Co's corporate department, Roland Todd, said it was natural for disagreements to occur in the early stages of establishing a new office, but the firm was sorry to see James and Jarvis leave.

He said the department's work was not significantly inhibited by the Arthur Anderson association.

"There are pros and cons in that you get work from one source and you lose other sources," Todd said.