Team to help manage the risks relating to SME's most valuable employees as their businesses grow.

Barclays plc's (LON:BARC) Corporate & Employer Solutions (C&ES), the division established last year to support businesses of all sizes look after their most important asset, has launched a Corporate Wealth Advisory team to complement its existing Employee Benefit Consulting team.

Whilst the Employee Benefit Consulting team is focused on larger corporate clients and helping them structure their benefits to attract, engage and retain employees, the Corporate Wealth Advisory team has been formed to support entrepreneurs and SMEs to manage the risks relating to their most valuable employees as their businesses grow. For example, the team will help to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect these smaller businesses from the loss of a pivotal member of their team.

The team will be led by Grant Hughes who brings over 15 years’ corporate financial planning experience and joins from RBS where he most recently headed a team of 10 corporate financial planners covering Wales and the Midlands.

Stephen White also joins from RBS where he was a corporate financial planning manager having previously worked for six years at HBSC. Shaz Hussain, who previously worked with Barclays Financial Planning, has gained experience at a number of corporate financial planning and advisory roles for some of the UK’s largest banks. Anthony Whittington joins from HSBC where he was an adviser in HSBC’s commercial team. Sam Lloyd joins from Towergate.

Grant Hughes will report to Paul Wilson, Director, Corporate & Employer Solutions, who said: "Small, growing businesses can have a disproportionate reliance on a small number of talented people and, under Grant’s leadership, the Corporate Wealth Advisory team will work with our clients ensuring that this risk is properly addressed and to help them to meet their growth ambitions."