WORCESTER-based Rabjohns LLP will go head-to-head with major industry players at this year's LexisNexis Taxation Awards.

The College Yard firm has already beaten off competitors from across the country to make it to the final four of the hotly-contested Best General Tax Practice category.

The only company in the running with offices based solely in the Midlands, Rabjohns faces stiff competition from Leeds-based Sagars LLP, Irish FPM Accountants LLP and Cambridge-based Peters Elworthy & Moore.

The biggest in the industry calendar, the awards line-up international industry giants alongside smaller sector players, and this year has attracted a record number of entries.

Rabjohns achieved 92 per cent organic growth in the last nine years and chairman Ian Smith hailed its awards short-listing as good news for the Midlands as a whole.

He said: "As the credit crunch forces businesses to tighten their belts and ensure their finances are on order, companies are starting to query the costs of the bigger firms.

"The Taxation awards demonstrate that expertise exists outside of the Big Four and highlights to Midlands businesses that there are high-quality services right on their doorstep."

Taxation awards winners will be announced at the London Hilton on Thursday, May 22, in front of more than 750 top industry names.

Rabjohns, which employs 42 staff at its newly-refurbished grade II listed offices next to Worcester Cathedral, offers a range of corporate and personal tax, business and accountancy services.