Companions on learning curve.

Family businesses often have unique service needs, which is something few organisations understand better than Deloitte.

That is why the Newcastle office of the professional-services firm has an increasing number of family-based and owner-managed businesses as clients, including highly successful supply-teacher agency STC Consortium.

Established by Susan Moore and husband Peter three years ago, STC turned to Deloitte at the start-up phase. They were attracted by the skills and experience in the team and the guidance it was able to provide across the wide range of tax and finance issues that surround the setting-up, development and planning of a business.

The fledging Newcastle business was established when Susan left a successful teaching career to rectify the deficiencies in supply teaching she had experienced first hand.

Working in close partnership, Susan and Peter have used her experience to develop a bespoke service that utilises a tailored software system to match supply teacher with subject and school, ensuring the agency offers a consistently high-quality service.

Three years on, the business continues to go from strength to strength and provides 14,000 days of cover each year from 1,800 teachers.

Susan said: "STC has become incredibly successful since its inception and Deloitte has been on hand throughout that time, providing a personal service that complements the values of our company.

"We have really benefited from an extremely responsive service that has been tailored to our specific needs. Knowing that all the right policies and procedures are in place gives us peace of mind. We know we are protected for any eventuality, which means all we have to worry about is the day-to-day running of the business."

Stephen Hall, who is a director in the tax department at Deloitte, works closely with the Moores. He said: "Susan and Peter have shown a great understanding of the needs of the teaching profession within the region and through their hard work and hands-on experience have been able to capitalise on the opportunities available.

"Over time, STC has seen significant and constant growth and we've been involved every step of the way. We always work hard to achieve a close working relationship with our clients and it's great to see that the Moores have found this of benefit. We're now looking forward to helping Susan and Peter expand STC even further in future."

In the Deloitte office in Newcastle a team of five senior tax experts spend their time focusing on the business issues faced by family and owner-managed businesses in the North-East. These include taper relief, gains, incentivising employees, tax planning, inheritance tax, exit and succession and tax investigations.

The team can also provide a business-evaluation service that helps identify areas in which a business can become more tax efficient.