UK-based private client accountants Saffery Champness has made Matthew Burton the head of its landed estates group. Mr Burton will succeed Martin Webster, who has headed the group since its inception.

Mr Burton has been with Saffery Champness since 2004. He was made a partner in 2006 and is qualified as both a rural practice chartered surveyor and a private client accountant and tax advisor.

Mr Burton provides financial and tax advice to a diverse landed estates client base. His clients range from traditional landed estates to commercial estates with diversified asset bases and income streams (including golf courses, hotels, pubs and visitor attractions).

The Saffery Champness landed estates group acts for landed estates comprising more than three million acres across the whole of the UK. The group is headed by a team of 15 partners who advise landowners, agricultural and rural businesses on financial and tax matters, particularly capital taxes and VAT.

The firm has 61 partners and partner equivalents and more than 450 staff, with nine offices in the UK and offices in Guernsey and, as of November 2008, Geneva. Saffery Champness has worldwide associations in over 100 countries through its membership of the global association Nexia international.