Your independent customs team
We are a team of self-proclaimed customs enthusiasts! We love what we do, and we share a passion for helping businesses to flourish, in our own unique Bethan way – reliable, professional support delivered via a friendly and collaborative service.
With over 100 years’ combined experience, our team has accumulated a wealth of specialist knowledge and insight into different areas of customs legislation and supply chain logistics.
And we never stop learning – in this fast-paced industry we keep ahead of the curve to make sure you do too. We continuously monitor the import / export compliance landscape, and keep ourselves up-to-date with all the latest HMRC developments and updates.
Nicola Alexander
Managing Director
Drawing on a wealth of knowledge and experience, Bethan’s MD, Nicola Alexander, is passionate about working in partnership with businesses to guide them through their customs and compliance obligations.
Nicola has held a number of key roles during her career including Customs Supervisor and Customs Consultancy Manager. She established Bethan Customs Consultancy in 2015, driven by the conviction that there was a better way of helping businesses to navigate the ever-evolving world of importing and exporting.
Since then, Nicola has built a strong reputation for providing clear, practical and impartial advice to businesses in relation to their customs compliance and supply chain requirements.
Nicola’s sweet tooth is the stuff of legend – her dedication to customs legislation is exceeded only by her love of awesome tunes and sweeties!
Aby Wilson
Office Manager
Aby joined the team in 2017, initially as a Customs Administrator, before taking up her current role. Before this Aby studied law in Edinburgh, and gained valuable experience across a number of roles in the oil and gas, and other private sectors.
Aby’s role at Bethan is essentially to ensure the smooth running of the business. She acts as the first point of contact, dealing with correspondence and phone calls, keeps detailed records for invoicing purposes and arranges our training courses. This crisp-sandwich aficionado also dabbles, very successfully it has to be said, in social media, establishing and maintaining our presence online and across a number of social platforms.
Aby is also very proud to be a trustee for a national children’s charity.
Stuart Wood
Account Manager / HSEQ Representative
New Pitsligo born Stuart became part of the team in 2018. A strong industry background in a number of disciplines, combined with his customs and logistics experience, has made Stuart indispensable to our clients.
Stuart’s role involves carrying out reviews of supply chain procedures to ensure that they comply with the legislative requirements, identifying cost-saving customs regimes, managing client customs records to HMRC expectations, and assisting clients in their direct or written communication with customs.
When he’s not wrestling with the demands of customs compliance, Stuart is a huge fan of professional wrestling, but would secretly love to play for Aberdeen Football Club!
Stephanie Gillespie
Compliance Executive
Having joined Bethan in 2021 as a Customs Administrator, Stephanie was rapidly promoted to the role of Compliance Executive.
Her role sees her supporting clients’ requirements, ensuring that they are confident and compliant with their customs obligations. With 10 years’ experience in finance roles across a number of listed energy companies, Stephanie is highly knowledgeable in the fields of Customs and VAT legislation.
If she’s not listening to her guilty pleasure, Gold Radio, Stephanie is thinking of her dream holiday destination: a spa retreat in Bali… Can we come too?
Fiona Watt
Customs Administrator
Customs Administrator Fiona came on board in March 2021. She provides customs administrative assistance to the team, supporting them to deliver the top-notch service our clients have come to expect.
Fiona has spent the last 34 years working for HM Revenue & Customs, latterly as a VAT adviser specifically for overseas businesses. Fiona’s in-depth knowledge and vast experience means she is exceptionally well-placed to support our team and their clients.
With a menagerie of pets to keep her busy, Fiona’s dream superpower of talking to animals could prove very useful!
Diane Watt
Customs Administrator
Customs administrator Diane has been with Bethan since 2022. Successfully applying her administrative skillset from her previous roles in the private and public sectors, Diane supports the team to consistently deliver Bethan’s high standards of service to our clients.
Diane was attracted to Bethan as we are a local, home-grown family business, grounded in the values of honesty, integrity, and reliability. She also thrives in a small, close-knit team so Bethan is the perfect fit!
Diane’s love of travel runs in her family. She recently waved goodbye to her daughter as she embarked on a trip around Australia – a proud moment, although she misses her like mad!
April Michie
Customs Administrator
April joined team Bethan in 2022, after being drawn to the company by the prospect of a new challenge and the ever-evolving nature of the customs and compliance sector. April’s most recent role as a product set-up technician required exceptional attention to detail – a skill we highly value here at Bethan!
April’s main role is to support the team in an administrative capacity, facilitating the fantastic relationships between us and our clients.
April is very much a people person, and spends a great deal of her free time volunteering with several local community groups and organisations.
A highlight of her year so far (apart from starting at Bethan of course!) was watching her little girl take her first steps. Given the opportunity, April would love to time travel or maybe just travel to her dream holiday destination of Santorini!
Michelle St Leger
Accounts Assistant
As Accounts Assistant, Michelle provides accounts support to the operations and admin team.
Having worked as an Insurance Broker before taking a career break to raise her family, Michelle brings a wealth of accounting experience and an expert eye for detail. Michelle is passionate about our ethos of placing clients at the heart of everything we do.
Mum to two boys and Harry the Jack Russell, Michelle also has an excellent line in banter – a must for any member of Team Bethan!
Although we’re not sure we’d get much conversation out of her while Love Island is on!
Tammy Lindsay
Commercial Administrator
Tammy, joined the team as an administrator in 2021. Tammy’s role is to provide administrative support, including co-ordinating, developing and running various company records files and data. She exercises her creative side by designing our social graphics and supporting the maintenance of our website.
Tammy has a background in research with a global consulting firm, and experience in data analysis with a large South African bank. She also recently designed and built a website for a local business.
While growing up in South Africa, Tammy’s childhood dream was to become a vet. So it’s fitting that she now she has her own menagerie of animals complete with 5 x dogs and 2 x horses!
THE BETHAN STORY
Following a career working in supply chain, logistics and customs consultancy settings, Nicola Alexander established Bethan Customs Consultancy from her spare bedroom in 2015.
Since then, Bethan (as it’s affectionately known) has grown considerably – both in scale and reputation. The team has expanded to meet demand, and long since moved from a spare room to a stunning, purpose-built office in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire.
The Bethan team have worked hard to build a stellar reputation for providing clear and practical advice, as well as training and on-going support to businesses in relation to their customs compliance and supply chain requirements. It’s a track record that has secured them UK-wide contracts with clients across a diverse range of sectors, from oil and gas to food and drink.
From the outset Nicola was determined to provide independent customs advice and support, and Bethan remains true to that vision, offering completely impartial, unbiased advice driven solely by your best interests.
Teamwork is also a cornerstone of the Bethan philosophy. Staff members work closely with each other to support and advise clients. They also work in partnership with those clients – after all, getting to know a business and its people is the best way to determine the most suitable customs and supply chain solutions.
How We Work
We are first and foremost a family business. Everything we do is underpinned by the core values that go hand-in-hand with that – honesty, integrity and reliability. Our relationships are based on mutual trust and professionalism.
Working in partnership with our clients, delivering the service you need in the style that best suits your business – that’s our tried-and-tested formula for success.
We work closely with you on a day-to-day basis – think of us as an extension to your team. So whatever your challenge or customs requirement, we’re on hand to help you along the way.
From the outset, our independent status has been a source of pride. It sets us apart. It means we can offer you completely independent and impartial advice and guidance, based solely on the best interests of your business.
Every service we provide is tailored to the needs of each individual client. Need support with a one-off customs authorisation application? We can help. Or longer-term customs support? That’s our bag too. From in-house secondments and remote support, and even our training courses - they can all be customised to suit you.
We approach each and every project with a forward-thinking, solution-driven mindset. Whether we are helping you to ensure compliance with HMRC regulations by streamlining customs processes to minimise risk, or applying for HMRC authorisations, we actively look for the most efficient and proactive solutions.
FAQs
In a word, yes! We have a strong track record of designing training courses and packages that are tailored to the individual needs of businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Yes, we are happy to work on a bank of hours basis – we always deliver our services in the format that suits our clients best.
Yes, as a family business that is very much part of the community, we are committed to supporting a number of local charities which are close to our hearts. Our founder and MD, Nicola Alexander is a trustee of Kayleigh’s Wee Stars, which provides financial support for families where a child has a terminal diagnosis. We also support A Bear Named Buttony, which helps children and young people who have a stoma, and the Junior Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF), which funds medical research into Type 1 diabetes.
This is not a service that we provide. However, we work with a number of reputable agents who do offer this service.
No, this is outwith the remit of Bethan.
No, this is outwith the remit of Bethan.
We’d love to chat – drop us a line at info@bethancc.com or call us on +44 (0)1651 269980.
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Upcoming Training Events
We offer a range of general customs related online courses throughout the year, as well as bespoke training packages designed around the topics that best suit your team.
Points to ponder as we reach the end of the deferment period
Since the 1st January 2021, HMRC have allowed UK businesses to defer making import declarations, in a bid to help them adapt to our new trading relationship with the EU and the inherent additional requirements.