Mike Melling became a TaxAssist Accountants franchisee in 2012, after purchasing a franchise resale covering Harpenden and St Albans – the first £1m+ resale for the network. Pleased with the results he was generating, he bought a second franchise resale covering the High Wycombe and Beaconsfield area in 2015.
Keen to continue growing the practices, Mike invested in staff, technology and client acquisition marketing, to build his practice to a 20-person team. He built the business up to serve nearly 2,000 small businesses, Directors and individual clients from six shops and offices.
On his reasons for deciding to join TaxAssist, Mike explains, “having completed significant due diligence, including meeting with the Directors, I was impressed with the growth of the business and development of the TaxAssist brand and the potential to build a substantial family owned business asset for the longer term.
“The more I found out about the success of the TaxAssist Accountants model and the more I talked to people at the Norwich Support Centre and around the network, I became convinced that this was the business I wanted to buy into, invest in and grow. I had every confidence that the comprehensive franchising package would be very effective, which it has proven to be.”
Prior to joining TaxAssist Accountants, Mike had developed extensive international business expertise through a 35-year career as a senior financial services executive in the UK, USA and Asia for American Express, GE Capital and Marsh & McLennan including board-level roles for subsidiary companies. He also served as UK President for operational consultancy Alexander Proudfoot Company serving large and mid-capitalisation businesses.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my International career and knew I could leverage my many years of corporate business experience with that as a TaxAssist franchisee in the UK to build a substantial business asset, supported by a terrific team of colleagues."
Indeed, so successful was Mike at building a team, that he was able to take a step back from the day to day operation of the practice, and on 1st February 2022, Mike was appointed as an Executive Director, on the TaxAssist Direct Group Board of Directors, becoming the first TaxAssist Accountants franchisee to serve as an Executive Director.
In May 2024, TaxAssist Direct Acquisitions Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of The TaxAssist Direct Group Limited, completed its first transaction, acquiring a majority stake in Mike's practice, the largest TaxAssist Accountants franchisee practice in its network. The TaxAssist Group now operates these three franchise territories – Harpenden, St Albans & Radlett, Beaconsfield & High Wycombe and Potters Bar, Welwyn Garden City & Hatfield. Mike Melling, while no longer a TaxAssist Accountants franchisee, continues to oversee these operations through his role as a Group Chief Operating Officer on the TaxAssist Group Board.
