A RISING international cycling star is being supported with her business affairs by the North-East advisors who have backed her from the earliest stages of her career.

Anna Kay is tipped for success in cyclocross following a series of strong performances around the world, recently winning silver at the U23 Cyclocross European Championships.

The 20-year-old, who hails from Gateshead, is the latest professional member of the Experza Pro CX team, and is mentored and coached by cyclocross legend Helen Wyman and her husband Stefan.

Now a professional UCI elite cyclist, Anna has been supported by North-East business Leathers in getting her business affairs in order.

Chartered accountants and business advisory firm Leathers – which is known for its love of cycling, and is continuing sponsor of Dame Sarah Storey’s team, Storey Racing – has supported Anna from the start of her cycling career.

She she has now turned to the team to help map out and manage her business affairs away from cycling.

Leathers has supported Anna with her accounts and management of her day-to-day affairs, as well as helping her with financial planning for the longer term as her career progresses.

Leathers are working with Anna, in conjunction with Metro Bank, to ensure she can access her business affairs wherever she is in the world, making things as simple as possible.

Anna said: “It has been a whirlwind few months since signing my contract with Experza Pro CX, with some fantastic successes in that time too, I am really excited about what the future holds.

“But once you become a professional cyclist there are many other financial matters you have to consider, as well as the need to plan for the future.

“As a 20-year-old just starting out, that can be quite a daunting prospect, but I was so pleased to be able to turn to Leathers.”

She added: “The team has supported me for several years now as I have progressed my career and has al-ways taken the time to understand my ambitions, both within cycling and outside.

“They have created exactly what I need for now, as well as helping me make provision for the future, and I am very grateful for their continued support of my career and life.”

Ryan Harrison, partner in Leathers, alongside trainee Lewis Lynn, supported Anna.

He said: “We have known Anna for many years and it has been fantastic to see her career grow and flour-ish.

“When she turned professional, we were only too pleased to help with her business affairs and were delighted she came to us. “Anna has a really tough training schedule so we organised our meetings around that, often outside of normal business hours, but that is the level of service we de-liver to our clients to ensure things are as easy as possible for them.”

He added: “Anna is now able to manage her business wherever she may be in the world and we will always be working in the background on her behalf.

“There are many different avenues for her to explore as her career develops and we look forward to working with her to achieve this.”