Cheltenham-based accountants Randall & Payne invited staff and families for a gathering in the grounds of its HQ at Chargrove House on Saturday afternoon for a celebration to mark the firm's 145 years in business.

Randall & Payne was founded by John Randall and George Payne in 1879 and this gave the firm a good excuse for a summer celebration.

An 'afternoon tea' style spread with sandwiches and delicious cakes from Beau's Bakehouse was enjoyed, plus a sweet stall which went down very well with adults and kids alike!

Guests celebrated with fizz, jugs of Pimms and good old-fashioned pots of tea. They also enjoyed garden games with the centerpiece being a huge inflatable football darts board! An unusual highlight for the children was an office tour led by one of the firm's partners, Ryan.

Randall & Payne started out as a bookkeeping firm based at Rowcroft in Stroud for decades, and part of this history included a now famous member of staff. In 1931, Laurie Lee took a job as an errand boy for a short spell and went on to become the world-famous poet and author that we know today.

The firm later moved to Rodborough Court just outside Stroud in 1965 and fast forward 40-odd years to 2007 Randall & Payne had a short period of acquisition which resulted in offices in Stonehouse, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury. Then over a decade ago the firm relocated from the multiple offices across Gloucestershire into the one open plan office on the outskirts of Cheltenham with the lovely grounds which are admired by all who visit.

Tim Watkins has been managing partner for most of this time at Chargrove House and a few years ago celebrated his 40th work anniversary having started as an apprentice in 1981, with Will Abbott alongside him for 30 of those years. The reception team, Kaye and Mel, have been welcoming clients for an impressive 30 years too.

Many of Randall & Payne's current partners have grown up with the firm with Rob Case, Ollie Newbold, Shaun Pegler and Nikki Cairns having all started as trainees. Nowadays it may be considered unusual that only two of the eight partners, James Geary and Ryan Moore, joined from other firms, but explains the family feel there is at Randall & Payne without it being a traditional family-owned business.

Despite the firm's long history, Randall & Payne is relevant today thanks to the partners who understand the importance of being agile, embracing change and keeping up with advances in technology across all their different specialisms and areas of expertise. It's the most recent history which has seen the biggest shake-ups for the accounting sector with the introduction of cloud accounting and the Government's Making Tax Digital initiative.

Randall & Payne's strapline "We make your success our priority" applies to its wider team just as much as its clients and is evident on a day like Saturday, taking time to celebrate this milestone with staff and families.

Contact Randall & Payne on 01242 776000 or visit randall-payne.co.uk