A journey of prosperity
2025 is a huge year for UHY Hacker Young as our London and Nottingham firm celebrate our centennial year. The journey of our UHY Hacker Young London office began in 1925, with a simple and yet impactful mission: to help people facing financial challenges get back on their feet with the right support and guidance. This formed the foundations of our purpose – helping you prosper – a purpose that has always been at the heart of everything we do.
Join us as we reflect on our amazing journey over the last 100 years and as we consider what lies ahead for the next 100 and beyond. Looking back over the past century, it’s clear that this commitment to people and communities has been integral to our success and longevity.
Our story begins with two school friends, Johnny Rubens and Mark Hacker, who founded Hacker Rubens & Co. on Chancery Lane in London in 1925. This venture between friends quickly gained a reputation for excellence, with a core focus on helping people and businesses navigate financial difficulties. This dedication of our founders is best showcased through their actions during the Blitz in World War Two when bomb damage threatened client documents. Despite the risks, Mark Hacker took immediate action and relocated vital records to Leicester, ensuring the safety and continuity of our clients’ businesses during this time of crisis.
This level of service and drive to put others at the heart of everything laid a solid foundation for the firm’s growth. In the years that followed, strategic mergers followed, bringing together areas of expertise, particularly in property and turnaround and recovery – areas that remain central to our services today. As we grew, we never lost sight of our mission to put people first and provide support and solutions in their time of need.
The 1960s marked a pivotal period in our evolution. In 1961, Stuart Young joined the partnership, bringing a new wave of energy and ideas that would help drive the firm forward. By 1973, the firm rebranded to Hacker Young, reflecting our broadened vision and expanding client base.
The opening of our Nottingham office in 1966 was another key milestone. This office became the cornerstone of our regional presence in the East Midlands, and today, it serves over 1,500 clients. This early expansion set the stage for what would eventually become the UHY UK network, laying the groundwork for national growth.
In 1968, we moved to St Alphage House in Moorgate, where we remained for 40 years. This move symbolised our ambition to continue evolving in a changing world.
In 1986, we took another monumental step forward, co-founding the international network of Urbach Hacker Young International (UHY) alongside Urbach Kahn & Werlin, a US-based firm from New York. The creation of UHY was driven by our clients’ growing global needs, and by 1989, the network had expanded to 16 countries, including Singapore, the Netherlands and Germany. Today, UHY is one of the top 20 global networks, with over 330 offices in nearly 100 countries, from California to Mongolia. This international reach has allowed us to offer a seamless, internationally connected service to our clients, no matter where in the world they do business.
A new millennium and a unified UHY UK network
As our international network expanded, so too did our presence in the UK. The early 2000s were a period of substantial growth, leading to a significant development in 2004: the adoption of a new corporate identity. By uniting all member firms under the UHY prefix, we strengthened our collaboration across the UK and internationally. This move ensured we were able to offer clients a consistent, integrated service across all offices, delivering expertise from across the globe.
Since the 1980s, our UK network has grown from just three offices to a comprehensive nationwide network today, with over 900 team members working together to help clients, teams and communities prosper. Our expertise spans a variety of sectors, including academy schools, charity and not-for-profit organisations, hospitality and property. UHY has become trusted advisers to businesses of all sizes, from publicly listed companies to owner-managed businesses and high-profile charities.
As we celebrate 100 years, we are proud of the firm we have become. While our foundations – putting people first, being ambitious and staying true to our values and behaviours – have remained constant, we are committed to living our purpose more fully than ever before. Our commitment to ESG, EDI and the wellbeing of our teams has not only enriched our culture but set us on a path for sustainable growth. All of this was best captured in an interview between Accountancy Age and Subarna Banerjee, managing partner of our London and Nottingham offices, and former international chairman, towards the end of 2024. It’s one you won’t want to miss, so click here to read the full conversation.
We commenced our 100th-anniversary celebrations in late October, with a party at the iconic Madame Tussauds in London. The event united clients, contacts and delegates from 60 countries attending the 2024 annual conference of UHY International. The evening was certainly one to remember; to look back on where we have been and to consider the promising paths ahead for the future.
October 2024 also saw us unveil our new brand identity as part of the global refresh across our UHY International network. Our UK and US firms were founding members of the network almost 40 years ago, and were part of the driving force behind the rebrand.
The new brand identity – including a bold new green colour scheme and logo – is a major departure from both our previous branding and the traditional branding that is commonly associated with the accountancy profession. The vibrant greens of the colour palette reflect our strength, prosperity and appetite for growth – not just of UHY, but our clients too. It also reflects our growing focus on ESG and sustainable practices. Click here to discover more about our fresh new look.
From a single office on Chancery Lane to a global network spanning nearly 100 countries, our journey over the past 100 years is a testament to the power of staying true to our purpose. We’re proud of the impact we’ve made, the clients we’ve supported and the communities we’ve helped. As we look to the next century, we remain committed to helping people prosper – just as we have since 1925.