About Us

Ben is Tax Director & Cloud Specialist, and joined Chedzoy Butterworth in 2018.

Ben is a cloud specialist having worked in general practice advising, supporting and training a range of clients as they migrate to the cloud in preparation for HMRC's making Tax digital. His specialist online software is Quickbooks online and was appointed to the national accountant council for Quickbooks online earlier in 2018. Ben also has experience in Xero and Sage one.

Ben believes that client interaction/support is vitally important but even more so during this period of technological change and the role of the accountant and business adviser is more important than ever.

Ben also specialises in tax where he manages a mixed portfolio of both personal and corporate tax. These include the self-employed, Directors of SME corporates and SME corporates. He deals with all aspects of tax compliance.

Outside of work Ben is very active in grassroots football and is the Chairman of his local football club Burnbridge Wanderers. In addition, he coaches the U18's and has been coaching in youth football for many seasons.

Ben is an avid Bristol city fan, following the team home and away year in year out. When not engrossed in football; Ben gets the wicket keeping gloves on, playing cricket for Burnham-on-sea CC throughout the summer.

Darren has over 25 years’ experience working as a financial planner; initially with a high street bank, then as a director/owner of a regional financial services and accountancy firm; and for the last 15 years running his own firm.

One of an elite group who hold both “Chartered Financial Planner” and “Certified Financial Planner” qualifications, Darren also has qualifications covering a wide range of disciplines: investment, pension, taxation, financial planning, legal and trusts.

He is Chairman of the Evidence Based Investment Study group (EBIS); an academic investment group which has attracted critical acclaim from the financial media and investment industry since its formation in 2008. He is also a founder member of “Segment7”, a national organisation of highly-qualified advisers who specialise in the complex financial & investment requirements of successful business owner managers & entrepreneurs.

Darren likes to keep fit and take part in various endurance/adventure, swimming and triathlon events - when not injured! A proud father of two fabulous children, he is a Governor of the local Maths & Computing Academy and a member of several business clubs. His passions are: his family, friends and getting the most out of life. His pet “soap box” topics are: pessimists, the “herd mentality” and most adverts on TV.

All Financial Services advice is provided by QED Wealth Management Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Registered in England No: 6059489

Jane is a general practitioner and originally joined Butterworth Jones in Taunton in 1988. She then moved to Chedzoy Butterworth in 1996 when it started. After leaving the firm for a brief period of time, Jane came back in 2002 and has worked as Adrian’s manager since.

Jane has a wealth of knowledge and specialises in larger corporate and non corporate clients, working alongside Adrian in helping him manage his portfolio. Jane also aids in training of clients on various accounting computer packages. Jane also has a good knowledge of Charities.

Jane is married with 2 children.

Ian has over 27 years’ experience in insolvency. As well as undertaking general appointments as bankruptcy trustee, administrator and liquidator, Ian has for the last thirteen years run a team specialising in fraud, investigation and asset recovery. In 2011, Ian was voted Insolvency Practitioner of the Year.

He is routinely involved in complex litigation as a liquidator, or as an office holder, to recover funds misappropriated by bankrupts, directors, advisors or other fraudulent individuals. His expertise also extends to the recovery of assets both locally and abroad. Previously he ran a team that was established to assess, investigate and pursue insolvency related claims, many on a conditional fee basis, to produce better returns to creditors. He is a veteran of multi-jurisdictional asset location and recovery efforts and has brought recovery actions worldwide.

Ian regularly provides both comment to, and has written articles for, the business press on insolvency related matters and specifically civil recovery matters. He has provided radio commentary and also lectures and trains others extensively.

Ian joined DDJ Insolvency in May 2014 after 13 years with Kingston Smith & Partners, having previously worked in Insolvency Service, an agency of the Department of Business Innovation and Skills for 14 years, where he qualified as a certified accountant, then as an insolvency practitioner. In 2017 DDJ Insolvency merged with CVR Global, which was formed in 2015 following the management buy out of the business recovery division of Chantrey Vellacott. In 2021 CVR Global merged with Begbies Traynor, where Ian is a partner.

Ian is a fellow of the ACCA, a fellow of the ICAEW and a licensed insolvency practitioner. He is also a fellow of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals.  He is an associate member of the Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association. Ian also sits on the Smaller Practices Group of R3, the R3 Fraud Panel, the Fraud Advisory Panel and the Economic Crime Prevention Group.

All Insolvency advice is provided by Begbies Traynor. Ian Defty is licensed as an insolvency practitioner in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Adrian is a general practitioner dealing predominantly with small to medium sized businesses with a turnover of up to £6 million, for corporate and non-corporate services. His main role is as a business adviser and aids clients to establish and develop their own business, as he has done with Chedzoy Butterworth. His experience means that he does not just provide a compliance service for accounting and taxation, but a very pro-active approach to all aspects of business and finance.

Adrian moved to the West Country in 1991, having trained in Salisbury. In 1998, he moved from Milsted Langdon Chartered Accountants and joined Butterworth Jones Chartered Accountants (now merged into Thomas Westcott Chartered Accountants in 2015). In 2000, he took over the managing of the associated firm’s Taunton office (Chedzoy Butterworth) as Principal Manager. He became the Managing Director in 2003. In 2012, Adrian became independent from Butterworth Jones and continued his practice as Chedzoy Butterworth.

Adrian has strong links with France and has hence found a specialist niche advising expatriates living in France and working in the UK, on business and taxation solutions.

Adrian is married, with 2 adult children. Adrian’s hobby is golf and spends as much time as he can on the course.

Hugh qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1990 with what is now one of the “big four” accountancy firms before moving to the West Country to work for a national firm. He started specialising in VAT in 1993 and in 1994 moved to Milsted Langdon, a local firm. He continued to develop a VAT role as well as run a varied portfolio of clients and in 2001, he qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser on the VAT route. In 2011, he founded High Path VAT Consultancy.

With 19 years experience of dealing with a wide range of clients, Hugh has built up a broad and deep knowledge of the common VAT issues that businesses face, as well as some of the more unusual problems. He has also provided general accountancy services to clients and so is used to seeing VAT in the context of business activities and the interaction with other taxes.

He is a member of the VAT Technical Committee of the Association of Tax Technicians and has written a VAT Update for the Tolley's Tax Digest.

Hugh lives in Somerset with his wife and two sons. In between family, work and trying to keep up a house and garden, he enjoys travel and has been known to support Yeovil Town.