The Location Chairman of the Sidcup office of Vantis, the AIM listed leading accounting, tax and business recovery and advisory group, this week bids a fond farewell to the office’s longest standing client, Locksbottom-based L G Abbott & Sons, as the owners retire following a lifelong career in the trade.
Brothers Roger and Richard Abbott, who took over the family-run plastering business from their father Lawrence during the 1970s, will be closing their business accounts to retire, following a 36-year long relationship with their accountants, of Vantis in Sidcup.
Well-renowned in the community for their genuine work ethic and high quality, traditional style of plastering, at 67 and 65 years of age, the Abbott brothers decided it was time to shut up shop when Richard discovered that he needed a hip operation earlier this year.
Richard, who to this day lives in Locksbottom in the house next door to his parents’ former home, from where the business began operating over six decades ago, is now looking forward to a more relaxed pace of life in his retirement. Having spent much of his spare time over the last few months handcrafting a wooden rocking horse from scratch, Richard anticipates dedicating more time to his newfound hobby in the near future, as he turns in his trowel and picks up his pension.
L G Abbott’s plastering business was the first ever client of John McBride, who established the Sidcup office as McBrides in 1973, prior to it becoming part of the Vantis group in 2004. John, who is now the Location Chairman at Vantis in Sidcup, reminisces fondly of the day he first met Lawrence Abbott 36 years ago:
“I remember first meeting Lawrence Abbott in his sitting room at the family home in Locksbottom,” John recalls. “Our office had only been open a few weeks at the time. Lawrence said he’d seen the plastic sign in our window and gave me a call because he was looking to change accountants.”
John continues: “His sons Richard and Roger, who have been running the business since their father’s gradual retirement, were in the kitchen on that day; two young men who were just getting into the plastering trade. It’s amazing to think how much has changed in the world since then, yet we’ve been looking after their business accounts all along – for 36 years!”
Roger, who is looking forward to spending his additional time in retirement with the Orpington & Bromley Football League, of which he is President, says:
“Although I can’t say I’ll miss the early mornings, I must confess I’m a little sad to close the books on L G Abbott & Sons – not least because I’ll miss the friends I’ve made over the years, both with the Client Partners at Vantis and with all my loyal clients. I’ve had a lot of fun over the years and not everybody can say that of their job, so I’m very thankful that I can retire happily.”
For further information, or to discuss any of the points above, please contact John McBride on +44 (0)20 8309 0011. Alternatively, please complete and submit the online form below.