James Lay

James has specialised in Corporate Finance since 2004, joining the partnership in 2014 and in 2020 was appointed Chairman. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds the ICAEW Corporate Finance qualification. James has vast experience across multiple industries, working closely with clients to help them buy, sell and value SME businesses.

As an accredited and award-winning Mindshop business advisor, Motivational Maps practitioner, NLP practitioner and Mental Health First Aider, James also works as a performance coach, helping people achieve their professional and personal goals. This is also the subject of a fun and informative weekly podcast, Leadership & Life Chat, which James co-founded and co-hosted for a number of years.

James was educated in Norfolk and studied at Aston University before returning to East Anglia to join Larking Gowen in 1998.