ForrestBrown’s festive adventure – Brussels, Mr Blobby, Belgian beer and chocolate

ForrestBrown is a tax firm with a twist. We like to surprise people with our personality. Despite our growth this year, we’ve held onto our exciting start-up culture. And our MD and founder, Simon Brown, is always keen to retain the energetic spirit that got us to where we are today.

It’s been a big year for ForrestBrown. We’ve hired 20 new staff, delivered over £50m in R&D tax credits to our clients and have won a handful of awards. The team has worked hard, so to mark the end of the year we wanted to do something special.

So how did we celebrate? Well, we don’t do things by halves. Each year, Simon and office manager Kerry Young plan a secret Christmas adventure for the team. This year the team donned heroes and villains fancy dress outfits and met at the office to find out where we were headed.  It felt a bit like being a kid on Christmas morning, all dressed up and excited for the surprises the day had in store! Here’s how the weekend went.

Day 1

06:00 – We arrive at the office in full fancy dress and high spirits, and climb aboard the coach – still unaware of where our adventure will take us.

12:00 – On the coach we’re given our tickets. We’re off to Brussels! All the guessing is finally over, and we hop onto the Eurostar to begin our European adventure.

15:00 – We arrive in Brussels. Our 50+ team of heroes and villains causes a stir in Brussels train station and we’re stopped for photos by the locals.

19:00 – After some free time exploring the city, we join forces for a lovely dinner nearby, still in fancy dress. Even Mr Blobby keeps going strong.

Day 2

10:00 – After some much needed sleep and a hearty breakfast, we brave the sub-zero temperatures and follow Kerry to another mystery activity.

11:00 – We’re Segwaying! We split into groups and whizz around Brussels on a guided tour seeing the sights. It’s a great way to see the city and all the delicious treats Brussels has to offer.

14:00 – After lunch we meet again for another surprise. There really is something for everyone as we embark on a chocolate and beer tasting tour of the city. The Belgian’s know how to live!

19:00 – After our beer tasting, we join together for an amazing dinner. We’ve got the room to ourselves, which works perfectly for our awards ceremony. One of our directors, Alex Price, takes the mic and conducts our annual awards ceremony. There are prizes for fancy dress, both for good and poor effort.

21:00 – Awards given out and food finished, we dance into the night.

Day 3

10:00 – After a bumper weekend full of surprises, our sleepy gang returns home on the Eurostar, full of chocolate and happy memories.

We’ve grown a lot this year. But trips like this give us a chance to bond as a team, reward the hard work and keep us fresh. We’re proud to be part of the ForrestBrown family and know that when we work hard to achieve our goals we can celebrate together.

We’re always on the lookout for new talent. If you’re a tax professional and thinking ‘where next?’, we’d love to hear from you.