Led by Paul Woolston, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Newcastle has longstanding roots in the region which can be traced back to 1912. The office in Sandyford Road employs more than 300 people, providing assurance, regulatory reporting, tax and advisory services to public and private companies, central and local governments, banks and private equity houses, private individuals and not-for-profit organisations. It continues to invest in small and medium-size companies. In Newcastle, performance improvement consulting, led by John Kilner, has doubled in size over the past year. Entrepreneurs and private clients also grew. Corporate finance, headed by Paul Mankin, advised on some of the largest deals in the region, including advising Pfizer on the sale of its Morpeth facility. The advisory team has won a number of awards. Assurance partner Bill MacLeod arrived from the Glasgow office and three people were promoted to director: Christopher Heatlie (transaction services), Andrew Fitton (tax) and Michael Jeffrey (assurance). Ian Lithgow became a human resource services director. And Assurance partner, Richard Bunter was appointed to UK chemicals leader for the firm. The firm recruited seven staff as the `Smart Services' team, an initiative recruiting local part-qualified accountants to support the assurance business. Graduates are recruited each year to study for qualifications. This year also saw the first year of graduates from a `Flying Start' BA Honours degree programme. The firm aims to be a key partner in the local community. This year it joined Business in the Community to offer the local homeless employability skills. * To find out about the firm, call Paul Woolston, Newcastle office senior partner on (0191) 201-4225 or visit www.pwc.co.uk | 
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