Yes. IB&Co Accountants works with businesses and individuals across Essex, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Brentwood, Basildon and Southend-on-Sea. We are accountants and tax advisers at Level 37, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf. Most work is done online, and you can meet us in person at Canary Wharf or at your premises, by appointment.
We work with sole traders, landlords, contractors and limited companies across the Essex County Council area and the two neighbouring unitary authorities that make up Greater Essex:
Places such as Romford, Ilford and Barking were historically in Essex but are now in Greater London. We already work with East London clients from our Canary Wharf office; this page is for the county and for Southend and Thurrock.
We do not have a branch in Essex. Day-to-day work is done online, through secure portals, cloud accounting and video calls. You can meet us in person at our office at One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, or at your premises, by appointment.
There are three straightforward rail routes, depending on where you are starting from.
The Elizabeth line runs through Brentwood and terminates at Shenfield, both of which are in Essex. Those trains do not go via Canary Wharf, so you change at Whitechapel, which is the interchange TfL recommends between the Shenfield branch and the Abbey Wood branch. From Whitechapel the Elizabeth line then runs directly to Canary Wharf.
Greater Anglia trains from Chelmsford, Colchester, Witham, Braintree (via Witham), Southend Victoria and other stations on the Great Eastern Main Line run into London Liverpool Street. The Elizabeth line also stops at Liverpool Street, and from there it is a short direct ride to Canary Wharf.
c2c runs between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness, serving south Essex stations including Basildon, Benfleet, Leigh-on-Sea, Southend Central, Tilbury Town, Grays and Stanford-le-Hope. Fenchurch Street is a short walk from Tower Gateway DLR and Tower Hill. The DLR runs from Tower Gateway to Canary Wharf.
Our address is Level 37, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AA. We are open Monday to Friday 9:00 to 18:30 and Saturday 10:30 to 16:30, so you can see us before or after work, or on a Saturday. Check National Rail and TfL for times on the day you travel.
If a meeting at your premises in Essex is more convenient, we can arrange that too. That is in keeping with how Ishmael Bangura started the practice: meeting small business owners when it suited them, not only in office hours.
Essex is a large and mixed economy. Chelmsford is a diversified county town and city, with a strong public-service, health, education and retail base. Colchester combines a university, healthcare and a visitor economy. Southend-on-Sea has tourism, retail, health and aviation-related activity. Thurrock is one of the country’s main logistics locations: the Port of Tilbury and DP World’s London Gateway deep-water container port, near Stanford-le-Hope, sit in the borough, with distribution and wholesale work around them. London Stansted Airport is in Uttlesford, and supports a cluster of transport, professional and support businesses along the M11. Across the county there are also many smaller firms, trades, landlords and people who commute into London.
We can help:
Most of your tax obligations are national: Self Assessment, Corporation Tax, VAT and payroll are all dealt with by HMRC. A few things are local.
Business rates. In the Essex County Council area, business rates are paid to your district, borough or city council, not to the county council. Essex County Council lists those 12 local councils as Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Tendring and Uttlesford. If your premises are in Southend-on-Sea, they are billed by Southend-on-Sea City Council. If they are in Thurrock, they are billed by Thurrock Council. Your council can also tell you about reductions and reliefs. If you move into or out of a commercial property, you need to tell the council that bills the rates.
Licences. Depending on what you do, you may need a licence from the same local council, for example for food, alcohol or street trading. We can point you to the right place and make sure licence costs are in your budget.
Rented property. Landlords have their own obligations alongside tax. For the tax side, including Making Tax Digital, see our Property Owners services and Making Tax Digital for landlords.
After a no-obligation Discovery Call we send a fixed, written proposal, agreed before any work starts.
For sole traders, our monthly fee starts from £59.99. Your exact fee depends on how complex the work is and is set out in your fixed, written proposal. Limited company accounts, payroll, VAT, CIS and other services are also charged as a fixed fee in your proposal, not from a public price list.
We can help with:
Our accountancy fees page explains what affects the cost.
Canary Wharf sits on the eastern side of London’s business district, towards Essex, which makes an in-person meeting a realistic option as well as the day-to-day online work. You get a named contact, replies within 48 hours, and fixed fees agreed in writing before any work starts. IB&Co Accountants is regulated by the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) and the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA). With 10+ years in practice, Ishmael Bangura FFA and the team have helped more than 950 clients.
Read what our clients say or find out more about us. Considering a change? See how switching accountants to IB&Co works.
We also work from our Canary Wharf office with businesses in Tower Hamlets and East London.
Yes. Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock are unitary authorities, but they are part of Greater Essex, and we work with businesses there on the same basis as in the Essex County Council area. Our office is in Canary Wharf, and most work is done online.
From Brentwood or Shenfield, take the Elizabeth line and change at Whitechapel for Canary Wharf. From Chelmsford, Colchester and other Greater Anglia stations, travel to Liverpool Street and continue on the Elizabeth line. From south Essex on c2c, travel to Fenchurch Street, which is a short walk from Tower Gateway DLR and Tower Hill, then continue to Canary Wharf.
Yes. We help landlords with Self Assessment, property records and Making Tax Digital when it applies, including joint owners. The scope and fee are set out in a written proposal. See our Making Tax Digital for landlords page.
If your premises are in the Essex County Council area, business rates are billed by your district, borough or city council. In Southend-on-Sea they are billed by Southend-on-Sea City Council, and in Thurrock by Thurrock Council. The billing council can also tell you about reductions and reliefs.
Book a Discovery Call. We will learn about your situation and then send you a written proposal before any work starts.
Call 020 7164 0225 or visit us at Level 37, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AA. Open Monday to Friday 9:00 to 18:30 and Saturday 10:30 to 16:30.
Checked on 13 November 2026. This page is general information and is not advice for your circumstances.
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