NW Masters: Vote for your top Advisor

REGIONAL big hitters will contest the North West Advisory category with niche practices for this year’s coveted North West Business Masters award.

Our 11 excellent candidates will be trimmed by to a final shortlist of five by you – the readers of TheBusinessDesk.com. Voting for the Masters opened this week and the five contenders with the most support on March 22 – after two weeks of polling  -will join the final shortlist. 

The contenders are:

Addleshaw Goddard – Representing the legal heavyweight is Keith Johnston is a senior corporate finance partner and head of the North West market.. Heavily involved in the regional business community, Mr Johnston is a board member of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and a past President.
Addleshaw Goddard, in its various forms, has been part of the North West business community for more than 100 years, and counts many leading companies and public sector organisations among its clients. In recent months it advised on PZCussons’  £62m acquisition of  St Tropez, ITV’s move to client Peel Group’s MediaCityUK development and the sale of Blackburn Rovers FC.

Big Pond Aviation –  Founded in 1999 by David Bentley, Big Pond is a niche consultancy supplying information and analysis to the air transport sector.
It works with governments and businesses in aviation  to make critical business decisions. Clients have included  the likes of Goldman Sachs, the Civil Aviation Authority, McKinsey, HSBC and Nomura.
Oldham-based Mr Bentley, who in his spare time writes and edits the industry guide Airport Investor Monthly, is an expert on airport privatisation.
Prior to launching his own business Mr Bentley worked in business development and marketing for a number of airlines including British Airways.

Cobbetts – Kevin Jaquiss is a public services partner who is a leading authority on the creation of new structures for community enterprises in sport, housing, care, utilities and leisure sectors. His expertise in advising governments and regulators has earned him recognition and the title of Innovative Lawyer of the Year from the Financial Times.
He is working with football club FC United of Manchester, a community benefit society, which is seeking to raise £1.5m to build a new stadoium. Kevin’s  clients also include large retail co-operatives and schools.

Deloitte – Paul Lupton is one of the North West’s prolific dealmakers. He is head of corporate finance for the UK regions at the firm. In a 20-year career he has advised shareholders and corporates on a wide range of transactions in the North West and beyond. Recent deals include the refinancing of Windcat Workboats BV, the sale of a gas storage opportunity for British Salt to EDF Energy plc, the acquisition of High & Mighty for Manchester-based home shopping group N Brown, the acquisition of Greenstar Holdings by Biffa Group and the sale of British Salt to Northwich-based Brunner Mond.

DLA Piper – Tim Buckingham. The Manchester based lawyer has established himself as a global authority on the legal issues surrounding payment processing
He was actively involved in advising one of the big four banks on the impact of, and implementation of, Chip and PIN technology to the payment processing arena when it was launched just over five years ago. He is now using this expertise to help his US counterparts at DLA Piper on the  proposed introduction of Chip and Pin technology there.
Closer to home he is working with UK banks and the Metropolitan Police in respect of potential ticketing fraud connected to the London Olympics in 2012. He is a regular speaker at global industry forums – and has already spoken at major conferences in Singapore, Barcelona, Orlando, San Diego and Johannesburg in the last year.

Equilibrium – Colin Lawson. Colin is founder and managing partner of Cheshire wealth management company Equilibrium Asset Management. A self-made entrepreneur Colin left school with just one O-Level and over the last 15 years has created a 26-strong business managing £150m of assets for more than 300 clients.
An ambitious innovator he has invested between £600,000 and £1m in the last two years on developing improved services for clients of the Wilmslow-based firm. In the next decade he wants to grow funds under management to £1bn, which means a a £100m goal for new business in the next three years. To help Equilibrium meet its goals the company is looking to expand its services to cover more of the local area, and also has an open mind with regard to mergers and acquisitions.

George Davies Solicitors – Mark Hovell. Mark’s status as a leading sports lawyer is evidenced by his recent 18-day stint in Delhi, where he was a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the Commonwealth Games. His sports expertise has also seen him work  closely with The Professional Footballers’ Association, particularly on matters relating to football club restructurings. including the administrations of Portsmouth FC and Crystal Palace.
Not content with his fee-earning role, Mark is also managing partner at the Manchester-based firm, a role he has held since 2007. As a leader he has implemented a monthly performance review for all staff and fostered an entrepreneurial culture, so that even junior fee-earners become involved in business development.

JMW Solicitors – Bill Jones has re-invented Manchester law firm JMW over the last three years. The founder of Jones Maidment Wilson in 1978 remains at the helm of the 30-partner practice and was recently honoured for his contribution to the Manchester legal scene with a Lifetime Achievement award from Manchester Law Society.
His bold refocusing of JMW saw the firm withdraw from the criminal and Legal Aid markets and launching new commercial departments such as corporate recovery and insolvency, IP, media and sports law. Other innovations he has driven include the development of ML Solutions 4U a unique, specialist anti money-laundering service for law firms. Last year, despite continued investment in building the JMW brand, the firm was able to produce record fees and profits.

Mace & Jones – Martin Edwards is recognised as one of the leading employment law experts in his field.  An Oxford graduate with more than 30 years’ experience in the law, Martin’s career has seen him act on employment matters in areas as diverse as corporate mergers to international football transfers. The respected Legal 500 title describes him as: “one of the leading employment law solicitors in the country”.
As well as his distinguished legal career Martin is enjoying considerable success with his ‘second’ career – that of a crime writer.  He has has no fewer than 14 novels published and has won a number of awards for his fiction.

Turner Parkinson – Nick Davenport is the innovative and engaging senior partner of Manchester law firm Turner Parkinson. His digital drive – a corporate deals newsletter website called TP Deals – has boosted the firm’s profile, attracted new business and won Turner Parkinson a clutch of industry awards. A corporate lawyer with particular strength in pension and tax, Mr Davenport still wins new business for the firm in his own right.Since December 2010 he has been President of Manchester Law Society, a role he has taken with customary enthusiasm. In support of his nomination Fran Eccles-Bech, executive director of Manchester Law Society, says: “His energy, optimism and commitment are infectious.”

Shipley IP – Mark Shipley is founder of the Liverpool-based niche legal firm which bears his name. The 10-strong practice formed five years ago, specialises in working with businesses to protect their Intellectual Property. Shipley IP aims to bridge the gap between the needs of businesses and the services provided by conventional law firms. Its clients include international fashion labels, professional athletes and household brands. Passionate and committed to client service Mr Shipley describes his business as “unconventional” in its commercial approach to IP work. In recent months Shipley has expanded with three key appointments aimed at growing the business and raising its profile. They are  business development director Graham Morgan, senior solicitor Duncan Vaughn and communications officer Sophie Cubbin.

Click here to cast your vote. Winners of will be announced at a high profile awards lunch at The Point at Lancashire County Cricket Club on April 7.