Who we are

Rob Sadler MIPA FABRP

Rob is a licensed insolvency practitioner, born and raised in the North West but living in Yorkshire for the majority of his working life.

Having trained in personal insolvency at Grant Thornton and corporate insolvency at Coopers & Lybrand, Rob joined Smith & Williamson in York, where he gained experience in helping individuals and businesses across the North of England and beyond.

Qualifying in 1999, Rob joined Begbies Traynor in 2001 to take insolvency and restructuring appointments in his own name. Over 17 years Rob took in excess of 1,700 formal appointments and numerous informal assignments, leading the firm’s Leeds and, latterly, York offices.

Now, in the two years after starting to trade as Sadlers, Rob has joined forces with the existing independent insolvency and restructuring team at Auker Rhodes Accounting in Bradford and together they trade as a fully integrated team of seven specialists who can handle assignments of far greater complexity than a sole practitioner would be able to. The two offices, giving the same high standards of service and quality of advice, continue to go from strength to strength.

Rob’s reputation as a technical practitioner with an ability to communicate at all levels is unparalleled and instructions are received from those who owe or are owed money and want to find a solution.

Away from the office, Rob is a father of four and a season ticket holder at Liverpool Football Club.

Emily Gee FCILEx

Emily is legally trained and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives.

Spending more than six years at Lupton Fawcett solicitors, where she gained invaluable experience within a leading regional insolvency department, Emily has worked with Rob on many assignments before taking the leap from advising insolvency practitioners to becoming one.

Emily is now actively involved in all aspects of both Sadlers and Auker Rhodes Accounting with a growing portfolio of her own cases. Well known in the York business community, Emily is working with Rob to bring a fresh new approach to advising businesses and individuals in financial difficulty. Emily also leads the drafting of technical precedents and supports Rob with integrating the IT systems that ensure that the Sadlers and Auker Rhodes Accounting team can carry on working from any location.

Raised in and around York, Emily is a keen hockey player, travelling all over the North of England to compete in the North Women’s Hockey League, East Pennine Division 1. When not playing hockey, Emily enjoys fitness, watching sport, playing and listening to music, travelling and spending time with her family.

Helen Young

A graduate of the University of York, Helen started her career at Deloittes in Leeds; working initially as a trainee Chartered Accountant in the audit department and then making the move into insolvency and becoming a member of the Institute of Credit Management.

After a number of years and following a six month sabbatical to travel the world, Helen joined one of the senior managers from Deloittes in helping to establish an insolvency practice at Gibson Booth in Barnsley, before joining Auker Rhodes Accounting in 2001.

Helen manages a large portfolio of her own cases, specialising in Members' Voluntary Liquidations. She manages cases from initial contact through to completion and has broad experience in many diverse industry sectors. In recent years she has also taken on responsibility for the role of cashier in the department.

In her free time, Helen has two (almost) grown-up children, enjoys keeping fit through running and badminton and is a life-long, avid supporter of Leeds United. She also loves walking, music, films and travelling as much as possible.

David Hodgson

Dave is an experienced insolvency case manager and achieved the Certificate of Proficiency in Insolvency (CPI) in 2009.

Having trained at Mazars LLP, Dave has since gained further invaluable practical experience whilst at Auker Rhodes Accounting Limited over the last eleven years. Dave undertakes all types of corporate and personal insolvency assignments and leads the creditor services team.

Outside of the office Dave enjoys playing football, walking and music. He is also the last Blackburn Rovers fan remaining from the support they gained when winning the FA Premier League in 1995.

Matty Lea

Matty is beginning his career as an apprentice insolvency administrator in insolvency and restructuring. Matty is a hard worker and will be a key member of the team in the coming years.

Unfortunately, no-one is perfect and Matty is a Manchester United fan. He also enjoys socialising with his friends, going to the gym and listening to music.

John Paul Sugden

John Paul joined the insolvency team at Grant Thornton (then known as Thornton Baker) Bradford some 40 years ago. He has since become a legend in the Yorkshire insolvency world and is well liked and respected in equal measure.

Upon joining Geoffrey Martin and Co in 1986 he obtained his licence to personally take insolvency appointments through the DTI in 1989. John Paul joined Auker Rhodes Chartered Accountants in 1999 and set up their Insolvency Department for the firm.

In 2015 the Insolvency Department separated from the general practice of the firm although keeping the name "Auker Rhodes Accounting". At the end of 2020 John Paul retired from the front line of practising and has taken up a consultancy role within the firm, as a sounding board for Rob and leading marketing initiatives.

John Paul enjoys playing golf, walking, socialising and, most importantly, is an avid Liverpool FC fan.

David Akester FCA

David is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

After training with KPMG he spent most of his career as a partner in a well known Bradford firm of Chartered Accountants and was, until recently, a director of Auker Rhodes Accounting Limited. Over the years he has accumulated a wealth of experience and knowledge in many aspects of business and finance dealing mainly with local family run companies.

Married with two grown up children, in his spare time he enjoys countryside walks, travelling and restoring and polishing his latest indulgence, a classic car. He is a keen Rotarian, having completed several stints as club Treasurer and one as President.