Somerset financial experts Old Mill has promoted three of its Wealth Management team as part of the firm's plans to double in size and become the fastest growing practice in the West Country.

 As well as looking to recruit, a large part of Old Mill's growth strategy is to 'retain and promote' current staff, ensuring they are happy at work, and have the opportunity and support to progress and the firm is therefore pleased to announce the promotions of Becca Pullman, Suzy May and Lewis Dyer.

Becca, Suzy and Lewis have all been promoted from Client Manager to Trainee Financial Planners.

Becca joined Old Mill when she was 20. She had just returned home from abroad having spent three years working in hospitality and had no idea what she wanted to do. She enjoyed maths and had a natural way with people, so one of her mum's friends who works at Old Mill, suggested she try financial planning.

 "Back then I didn't even know what a pension was, but after only a month working in a great business, with supportive colleagues, in a role where I got to work closely with people and help them reach their goals, I knew this was the place for me," said Becca. "This promotion is testament that Old Mill believes in me too and I am keen to keep learning, keep developing and carve out a long and successful career at Old Mill."

Suzy, who joined Old Mill six years ago and works from the Wells office said: "There is definitely a strong desire to promote people from within the firm, so if you want it and put the work in, the opportunities are there. It has been my goal to be a financial planner for a few years now, so I feel really proud to have made it to this role, but it is also a little daunting. However, there is a lot of support and help within Old Mill - everyone wants you to succeed - so I am taking a lot of reassurance from that."

Lewis joined Old Mill three years ago, and says he was attracted to the firm because, despite its impressive growth, it had not lost its family culture. Lewis - who was promoted following a successful Adviser Assessment Day - says he is looking forward to working in a more client-facing role: "I learnt a lot in the more administrative role of Client Manager, but I have always preferred the client-facing side of work so was more than ready to start meeting with more clients. I have been keen to progress since I started and have gradually been taking on more and more responsibility so am delighted with my new role - I think it shows that, at Old Mill, even if you are quite new, if you work hard, the career opportunities are there.

"The next 6-12 months will be about building up my technical knowledge, attending as many meetings as possible and growing my client base so I am in a good position to take the next step in my career."

 Paula Hodge, Head of Wealth Management at Old Mill added: "When we announced the restructure, we talked about how it would enable quicker career progression for staff, so we are delighted to now be able to put this into practice, demonstrating how much we value Suzy, Lewis and Becca, and showcasing the fantastic career opportunities we have at Old Mill.

"We hope it will encourage more people to come into the business – either from a financial services background, or like Becca did, from a completely different sector - and see for themselves what a great career they can have with us."