When Alastair Fish joined BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency (“BRI”) in May 2022, our Hitchin office was celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Since then, much has changed for the better for BRI staff, referrers and clients.
Teams within most of BRI’s offices have grown in recent years with Hitchin being no exception in this regard. The team grown from one staff member working four days per week and one staff member split across two offices to four full-time staff members (including Alastair) solely working out of Hitchin. This has resulted in us moving into a larger office within the same building.
This growth would not have been possible without the support/referrals from the local professionals that recognise the value we can add when helping their clients. As an office, Hitchin would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank all referrers recommending BRI to its client base. We continue to share your passion and, like you, aim to provide the best possible service to all clients at all times. We acknowledge and fully appreciate that directors, members and other individuals speak to us in some of the most challenging times that they have ever faced, both personally and financially. Many have put their heart and soul into their business which we recognise and empathise with.
In recognition of the growth of the office, Alastair was promoted to Associate in 2025, meaning that he is now accepting appointments in his own name. Prospective clients will be meeting the licensed insolvency practitioner who will be accepting the proposed appointment and has overall responsibility for delivering the quality service that they have come to expect.
However, Alastair recognises that no such promotion would have been possible without the support of a great team in Hitchin. In early December 2023, Robert Emsley joined the firm as a Senior Insolvency Administrator with over 25 years of personal and corporate insolvency experience. A further two Trainee Insolvency Administrators joined at the end of April 2024 (Kaiya Calderon) and in February 2025 year (Ioana Patrascu), respectively.
All three recruits have fitted in extremely well and are a great addition to the Hitchin team, together with the firm as a whole. Their ongoing commitment to making the office as successful as possible is greatly appreciated. The popular saying or idiom “No I in team” is as important here as it was in sports where this is believed to have originated.
BRI firmly believes that there is a great opportunity for all staff to grow and develop their career in insolvency with us. The requisite support and commitment from all line managers to achieve this is a key part of their role within the firm. In keeping with BRI’s underlying ethos and culture, Alastair fully recognises and appreciates that his progression would not have been possible without ongoing support and mentoring from all directors of BRI. Since joining, Alastair has worked particularly closely with Tom Guthrie (heads up our Milton Keynes & Banbury offices) and John Warburton (Managing Director based in Northampton). As part of his new role, Alastair will work even more closely with Lauren Auburn (Director in our Northampton office) and John Rimmer (Director in our Coventry office) as he accepts joint appointments. Going forward, Alastair is looking forward to providing help to the business community when finding their way through these challenging times.
When asked about the growth of the Hitchin office, Tom Guthrie responded it’s been an absolute pleasure working alongside Alastair and his team. They epitomise BRI’s core ethos and values in helping business owners navigate financial distress with practical and impartial advice. I love the fact they recognise the importance of providing the right advice to client irrespective whether this means this results in client for BRI, because being a trusted advisor will only cement our position in the minds of the local professional services community and ensure the Hitchin team continues to thrive.