In 1934 Isaac Cedar, a Chartered Accountant, took a partnership in a small firm of Incorporated Accountants called Grossman & Co and the name was changed to Cedar Grossman & Co in January of that year.
The practice was carried on from premises in Devonshire Square EC2, then from 110 Bishopsgate ECS before moving down the road to 65 Bishopsgate EC2.
In July 1938 Mr Grossman retired from the practice and the practice became known as Cedar & Co Chartered Accountants.
At that time most of the firm’s clients were either in the fashion/textile business or the fruit & vegetable trade owing to its close proximity to Spitalfields Market. There were also a number of clients based in Hatton Garden.
Lionel Baker joined the firm as an Articled Clerk in 1937 and, after having an interruption in his career due to war service, qualified in 1942 before becoming a partner in 1947. The name of the firm remained unchanged as Cedar & Co until 1955 when it became Cedar Baker & Co.
By this time the character of the firm had changed and the client spread was much wider with clients in the West End and other towns around the country.
In 1955 Phillip Field joined the firm as an Articled Clerk, aged just 16. Phillip qualified in 1960 and then became a partner in 1964.
There were further additions to the hierarchy in the 70’s, with Jeffrey Zinkin joining the firm from Bright Grahame Murray in 1972 and Maurice Brodie coming on board from Blick Rothenberg in 1974. Both would become partners, with Jeffrey Zinkin still leading the way in 2018. Maurice retired and immigrated to Israel in 2014.
There were also significant departures in the 70’s, with Isaac Cedar retiring in 1970 and Lionel Baker retiring as a partner but continuing on as a consultant in 1975.
In 1978, it was considered that the firm needed to expand and a merger was entered into with Freeda Milston & Co, a firm based in Paddington W2.
Freeda & Co was established in 1955 by Raymond Freeda, soon after his Articles expired with H C Rudolf Limited. The firm was established as a result of several taxi drivers requesting Raymond’s help on their tax returns.
Raymond continued working in different roles with other accountancy firms and companies before committing himself, in January 1958, to practising full time in partnership with his wife Gloria. They set up their practice from home.
In its early years Freeda & Co had built up a large connection with the London Taxi trade owing to family connections in that area along with previous bookkeeping work for a Taxi Garage company.
They soon moved and operated in an office at the rear of an Art Studio in Great Russell Street WC1 for about a year before then moving into an office on Old Compton Street, Soho W1, and hired their first employee.
The practice continued to grow and as such Jeffrey Milston was recruited as Raymond’s assistant in 1963, having begun his career at Auerbach Hope & Co. Jeffrey subsequently became a partner and the name of the firm was changed to Freeda Milston & Co, at which point the firm moved to larger offices in Paddington W2. Jeffrey recently retired and immigrated to Israel in January 2018.
The practice continued to grow and in time three more partners would join the ranks, being Frank Rabin, Andrew Iacovou and Nicos Anayiotos. Nicos joined in December 1974 from Sproull Goddard & Co and became a partner in 1978. Nicos is still with the firm today in his role as a consultant.
The two firms, Freeda Milston & Co and Cedar Baker & Co, completed the merger and moved into premises in Praed Street W2, practicing under the new name of Freeda Milston Cedar Baker. In time this would be shortened to ‘F M C B’.
At that point the partnership consisted of ten partners but following various discussions some partners took the decision to retire with some others opting to leave and form their own partnership.
In December 1988, due to escalating rents in Central London coupled with most of the partners living in the North London area, the firm decided to relocate and found its home at Hathaway House in Finchley Central, which is where it has remained ever since.
Suzanne Freeda, having trained at Stoy Hayward and after spending time working in America, joined the firm in 1990. Suzanne eventually became a partner in 1997. Gavin Zeiderman was the next significant addition, joining as an ACA trainee in 2000 before becoming a partner in 2006. Lastly, Daniel Pottesman joined as an ACA trainee in 2008 and became our most recent partner in 2016.
In 2026, in its 92nd year, F M C B continues to provide a high quality service across many areas to its widespread client base. Some of Freeda & Co’s very first clients remain clients today, which highlights the importance F M C B places in client care. The values of the firm remain just as strong today.
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