Moore Global History

Moore Stephens in London was the original firm within the Moore Global Network. The firm was founded in 1907 as an auditing, tax consulting and insolvency practice by Harold Moore and Albert Partridge under the name Moore, Partridge & Co. The firm’s offices were at 2 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall Street, by London’s Guildhall.
 
Harold Moore was a Major in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and instrumental in building the airport at Eastleigh, near Southampton, to support the military operations in France. After the War, he was elected Alderman of the Ward of Walbrook and Senior Sheriff of the City and became Sir Harold Moore in recognition of his services to the City.
 
In 1915, Albert Partridge left the firm and it adopted the name of Moore & Co. John Robinson Stephens managed the firm, while Major Moore continued with his Royal Flying Corps duties. At the end of the War in 1918, Moore, Stephens & Co was established as a partnership between the two and it continued under that name ever since, shortened however to Moore Stephens in 1986, until 2019 when the global network rebranded to Moore.
 
Moore Stephens, now Moore, has always had a philosophy of partner-led, personal service to clients, while at the same time developing market opportunities. It was, therefore, that in 1921, the firm opened an office in Glasgow and then in 1922 established Moore, Cross & Co. in Brazil with offices in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Santos.
 
From 1927, the firm started to develop close relations with the Greek Shipping community, firstly with the families of Rethymnis, Kulukundis and Mavroleon
 
In 1947, Sir Harold retired from the firm, as did John Stephens, and in 1948 his son Hobart became senior partner. Hobart Harold de Courcy Moore qualified as a chartered accountant in 1932, joined the firm in 1933 and became a partner in 1935.
 
It was Hobart Moore's vision that developed Moore Stephens into a firm with a significant portfolio of international clients. The initial drive internationally was based on the need to meet specific shipping client requirements. This led over a period of time to a range of Moore Stephens' offices being established overseas – Paris (1949), Monaco (1966), Bermuda (1967) where he was instrumental in the establishment of the Bermuda offshore legislation, and Piraeus (1968). The first local partner in Piraeus was Damianos Constantinou, the founder of Moore Stephens Greece. Over time, these offices diversified to offer services to a wide range of industries, but a substantial client base in the shipping industry means that this remains a major strength of the Moore network today.

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Photo: Hobart Moore

1968 saw the formal establishment of the then Moore Stephens international network. Member firms of Moore Stephens International were added across the globe and by 1979, Moore Stephens International had member firms in Canada, the USA, Hong Kong, the New Hebrides, Bermuda, Monaco, Cyprus, Greece, Australia, the Channel Islands, South Africa, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands and, of course, London.
 
Hobart Moore retired in 1980, but a third generation of the Moore family, Richard, was already a partner in the London firm. Richard joined Moore Stephens in 1968 and qualified in 1972. Having spent two years on secondment to the Moore Stephens member firms in New York, Sydney and Hong Kong, Richard Moore became a partner in 1975, managing partner in 1987 and senior partner in 1989. Richard became chairman of Moore Stephens International in 2004, which became Moore Global Network in 2019. Richard stepped down as chairman at the end of 2019. The network continues to grow its international footprint with the same philosophy of partner-led, personal service to clients.

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Photo: Richard Moore