People on the move: JMW; Cushman & Wakefield: MSIF; Merje; Whitecap Consulting; Berwick Partners; RSK; KAT; Context
Full service law firm JMW Solicitors has expanded its specialist cycling collisions offering with the recruitment of a new head of team Nadia Kerr in its Manchester office.
With more than 20 years’ personal injury experience, Kerr was formerly a partner and head of cycling and motorbike claims at Pannone and prior to joining JMW Solicitors, was a member of the senior management team at Minster Law.
She is also a visiting lecturer at BPP University. Several of her former clients have transferred their claims to JMW to be handled by the specialist cycling collisions team, which also operates under the separate brand, Twisted Spokes.
Kerr is also a founding member and part of the leadership group for TeamGlow, a women’s cycling group based in South Manchester. She is a director of BikeRight! Futures, a community interest company and a qualified ride leader, leading rides for TeamGlow and British Cycling.
Kerr said: “I’m delighted to be joining JMW Solicitors to lead the Twisted Spokes team. Both the personal injury department and the firm have a great reputation in Manchester and the North West, and this was a huge attraction for me.
“It’s also refreshing to see a firm appreciate the value and importance of having a specialist offering for injured cyclists, and I am pleased to be able to help our injured cycling clients.”
Kerr joins associate solicitor Alistair Ward and paralegal Ruth Pearson to expand the firm’s core cycling collisions specialist team, as well as partners Paul Breen, Gordon Cartwright, Andrew Lilley and Jason Harwood, who are positioned to handle catastrophic cycling claims.
Under Kerr, the team plans to expand its presence, having already exhibited at March’s Women on Wheels event at the UK National Cycle Centre which was developed by Transport for Greater Manchester in order to encourage more women to ride bikes.
The team will also develop its focus on commuter and leisure cyclists, helping those whose bikes have been damaged in a collision, get back on the road as soon as possible.
Kerr continued: “One of the biggest challenges for injured cyclists is ensuring they quickly have a serviceable bike to use after their accident, as more often than not, the bike they were riding will have been damaged or destroyed.
“For leisure or commuter cyclists, a collision can often mean having to completely re-think how they get around, as a bike may be their only or main form of transport. One of our goals is to make sure that the problems of not having access to a bike are minimised, and our clients are able to focus on their recovery without having to deal with this additional stress.”
Richard Powell, head of the personal injury department, said: “We’re happy to be able to welcome Nadia to the team as it continues to expand. Twisted Spokes has always worked hard to make sure that cyclists injured in a collision are able to claim the compensation they rightfully deserve and Nadia’s presence is a real boost to our offering.
“Her expertise in cycling claims is undisputed and her knowledge will ensure that our clients are getting the service they deserve.”
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Cushman & Wakefield has continued to grow its recently created UK Healthcare Advisory team, led by Martin Robb, by appointing Gary Yeardley as an associate.
Based in the firm’s Manchester office, Yeardley has a strong track record in the healthcare sector having previously worked for a number of the UK’s leading care providers, private operators and charities.
He has also advised mainstream lending institutions and restructuring firms in the sector.
Since its creation in 2016, the Cushman & Wakefield healthcare team has been mandated to advise on projects as diverse as private hospitals, diagnostic clinics, GP surgeries, elderly care homes, NHS Trusts, local authorities and specialist care facilities.
John Keyes, international partner and head of the Manchester office said: “I welcome Gary to the Manchester office and look forward to working with him to grow our healthcare offer in the region. We are now better able to meet client needs in the healthcare sector, serving both the public and private sectors. The appointment is a further broadening and strengthening of our Manchester team.”
Yeardley said: “With a keen interest and several years’ experience in the Healthcare sector, the opportunity to join such an experienced and dynamic team was one not to be missed. It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that I take up my position, widening the team’s regional coverage and contributing to their continued growth.”
Healthcare Advisory is part of Cushman & Wakefield’s UK Valuation & Advisory team. Comprising approximately 240 professionals in 10 locations, the team valued 59,000 properties worth a combined £549bn – including £18bn worth of alternative investments – in 2015 and retained its position as the market leader in several sectors including retail, Central London, business space, outlet malls and self-storage.
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Liverpool-based business funding provider MSIF has further expanded its investment team recruiting a new investment director.
Dr Andy Round has joined MSIF to bolster the senior investment team. Alongside Simon Thelwall-Jones he will oversee equity, early stage and larger loan investments through MSIF’s range of investing funds including the recently launched Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund through which MSIF will invest equity and loan products.
Round has extensive experience in investing and fund raising. Prior to joining MSIF he was a director at SPARK Impact which managed investments for the £30m North West Fund for Biomedical.
During his career he has created over 30 successful public and private sector spin-outs and raised and invested more than £40m.
He has sat on numerous boards for a wide range of businesses from early stage technology companies to multi-million service and manufacturing companies.
He has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Leeds where he developed a technology which was incorporated into an early stage biotechnology company which raised in excess of £40m and floated on the AIM stock market.
MSIF’s chief executive Lisa Greenhalgh said: “We are delighted to have Andy on board he’s got a fantastic track record in investing and fundraising.
“Through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund there is a remit for us to invest in early stage technology companies and Andy’s expertise in this area will be a great asset to us.
“We’re in the final stages of securing another new fund which we hope to launch later in the spring so we needed to strengthen our investment teams. We’ve grown considerably recently; Andy is the fourth new recruit during the last 12 months.
“As well as raising external new funds and managing third party funds we also have MSIF’s own fund which will also invest around £60m over the next 10 years.”
Round said: “MSIF are a well-respected, ambitious and growing fund manager in the North West region with significant funds to invest in local businesses. They’ve got a great team and I’m very excited to be joining them.
“The North West deals market is very active at the moment and with lots of new funding available, there are lots of opportunities for the region’s businesses to invest and grow.”
Since it was set up in 1994, MSIF has invested and leveraged almost £500m into businesses in the Liverpool City Region and across the North West.
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Merje, a niche recruitment consultancy based in Manchester and London, has announced the hiring of Tom Snow in the newly created position of PR and marketing manager.
Snow, 32, formally marketing manager for Financial Times Career Management, is a marketing and communications professional specialising in digital marketing and cross-platform campaigns and has worked across the recruitment, education, events and music industries.
As the first member of the MERJE team to provide an in-house marketing function, Tom will lead on new projects to acquire best-in-class candidates and clients across MERJE’s niche specialisms and sectors.
Snow’s appointment comes during a significant period of growth for the company. Since being founded in 2011 by Jonathan Abelson, Richard Abelson and Edward Manson, MERJE has seen its yearly turnover rise to £5.1m in 2016. They now employ over 30 members of staff and look to relocate their Manchester office from Bury to a new purpose built premises in Whitefield in early-2018.
Director Jonathan Abelson said: “We are happy to be welcoming Tom to the MERJE team during this period of growth and transformation. This is a key strategic hiring aimed at cementing MERJE’s position as one of the UK’s most successful independently owned recruitment consultancies.
“As a recruiter of high-quality talent in areas such as finance, compliance, fraud, audit, customer contact and wealth management, we are dealing daily with outstanding candidates looking to take their next step. Tom will help us reach and engage with these specialists in new and exciting ways, as well as support us in partnering with clients to understand their recruitment goals.”
Snow said, “I am thrilled to be joining MERJE during such a successful time. The team are more than recruiters, they are experts in their fields that focus on nurturing relationships and providing a tailored service. I look forward to working with them to deliver impactful brand marketing activity and campaigns that reflect their unique approach to recruitment.”
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Whitecap Consulting has opened a North West office and appointed Luke Freeman to head up its regional operation, which includes Liverpool and Preston, as part of a major expansion for the Leeds-based business.
Freeman is one of three new equity directors appointed to support the consultancy’s growing client base in the UK regions. The strategy consultancy, now in its sixth year, works mainly with mid-sized UK businesses with revenues of £10m to £300m and growth ambitions from organic and acquisitive growth, digital and technology-driven change and international expansion.
Freeman said: “Conditions in the North West are fantastic at the moment. We are seeing real opportunities in commercial and public sectors, with some emerging as a result of the broader devolution agenda in Manchester. FinTech is extremely strong on both sides of the Pennines – the North is an increasingly credible alternative to London in this fast growing market. And there is also the region’s strength in the creative and digital sector, partly triggered by MediaCity in Salford.
“The small and midcap business scene – with turnover up to £300m – is really exciting in the North West, including Liverpool. These businesses can’t necessarily afford a full-time strategy director – nor do they need one, but they occasionally need these skills and support. We quickly become an agile part of their senior team and introduce robust analysis and commercial processes to help grow their business.”
Formerly one of Whitecap’s team of 25 associates, Freeman works in Whitecap’s key client sectors including financial services, FinTech, technology, convenience and online retail, consumer goods, property and education sectors. Previous roles have included head of strategy at Co-operative Bank, Barclays strategy team and head of Commercial at Sage UK. High growth sectors and the importance of the regions were highlighted in the Government’s Industrial Strategy as key to the UK’s growth plans.
As part of the expansion, Whitecap has also opened an office in Milton Keynes and appointed two further equity directors – Lal Tawney will cover the Midlands and South from this office and Stefan Haase is a technology specialist covering the UK from the Leeds office.
Managing director Richard Coates said: “Over the next year we will be creating more consultant jobs in our regional offices – we are on our own fast track growth path and plan to double again in size over the next 12-18 months. Our new directors have sector specialisms, great regional networks and long experience as strategy advisers to meet client needs across the country.”
Coates said that clients tend to fall in two camps, “Many have got their heads down and are focused on driving business performance – as they should be. They don’t have the depth of resources or sometimes the head space to analyse customer needs and new markets, look at growth opportunities and impact of technology and then put all this into a pragmatic plan that will deliver profit quickly. We can provide the specialist expertise and senior management teams to help do this.”
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Executive search firm Berwick Partners has bolstered its Manchester office with the appointment of Basil leRoux, a partner who will head up the business’ nationwide HR practice.
In his new role at Berwick, leRoux will be focused on filling senior-level HR positions spanning both generalist and specialist appointments.
Basil has vast industry experience – having begun his career as a graduate trainee, he was appointed as a HR specialist regional director before being appointed as the managing director of Michael Page Japan, where he spent the past six years.
The appointment will enable Debbie Sutton, the firm’s previous HR lead to pursue her new role as the business’ chief of staff, where she will be focused on driving further growth through hiring and development into new and existing markets. Berwick has also recently appointed a principal researcher to the HR team, Lucy Rollings, who will be on hand to complete in-depth candidate screening and market research.
Basil leRoux, partner and head of the HR practice at Berwick Partners said: “With the politically-charged employment landscape demanding increased agility, now more than ever it’s vital that leading firms focus on securing top HR talent.
“Whether it’s ensuring worker satisfaction within the gig economy, developing industry-leading compensation schemes or striving to solve the UK’s productivity crisis, I’m focused on further strengthening Berwick Partners’ market leading position and remaining at the forefront of the strategic evolution of human resources.
“My time in the Japanese marketplace taught me a great deal about providing a genuine 360-degree service. Within this role at Berwick my aim is to build and maintain long-term relationships with clients and candidates alike, nurturing connections that will allow us to spot trends in their infancy and react to changing market conditions.”
Richard Love, managing director at Berwick Partners said: “Basil’s experience, perspective and approach make him an excellent addition to our senior team.
“His style and values resonate closely with ours. We’re confident that he will have an integral role to play as we cement our status as a leading retained search firm. This appointment underlines our commitment to the North West and the HR market.”
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RSK’s environmental impact assessment, planning and design (EPD) team is pleased to welcome new associate director Rob Edwards to its team in Manchester.
Chartered Environmentalist Edwards joins the team from agricultural and environmental consultancy ADAS, which RSK acquired in December 2016.
Edwards has 15 years’ experience in the industry across a range of sectors, including transport, energy, property, waste and minerals. He will lead the Manchester EPD team and help with managing existing projects and expanding their remit through taking on new work and clients.
His previous project experience includes influential roles on large-scale projects such as East West Rail, the Heysham to M6 link and Trans-Pennine rail improvement projects.
He has also worked on numerous housing and mixed-use developments in the North West and in Yorkshire and the Humber.
His first projects in his new role will include delivering a strategic environmental assessment of the Northern Ireland government’s new planning policy statements and an environmental assessment of the cable crossing under the Glaslyn Estuary in North Wales for Carillion.
Edwards was also a speaker at RSK’s ‘New insights into land development’ Knowledge Share event at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry on 30 March.
As RSK’s Manchester EPD team enters the new financial year, it is looking to expand its comprehensive services and experienced team.
Two graduate or year-in-industry roles will be advertised shortly and more positions are likely to become available throughout the year.
“I am really excited to have joined RSK, a business that I have long admired,” Edwards said. “I look forward to contributing to the growth and success of the Manchester team.”
RSK Manchester office and environmental impact assessment director Rob Domeney adds, “I am delighted to welcome Rob to the team. He is a significant addition and his experience and knowledge will greatly widen our environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment offering. We are about to embark on a series of major infrastructure projects across the UK, so Rob’s experience will be invaluable.”
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Macclesfield-based KAT has made a series of key personnel appointments as part of the manufacturer’s ambitious growth plans.
Peter Colclough has been recruited in a newly created role, operations director, to drive efficiency and excellence in all areas of the business.
Bringing a wealth of experience in the fenestration industry, Colclough has held a number of management level positions within the Mottram and Latium Groups and more recently at the Epwin Group.
At KAT, he will assume responsibility for customer services, purchasing, safety, quality & compliance as well as overseeing the dedicated Schuco manufacturing hub at Newhaven, Sussex.
Colclough said: “KAT is in a forerunning position in the market, with a comprehensive range of top quality products that is continually developing and growing. My job is to ensure the quality and service continues to evolve for our customers, through efficient customer relations and business improvement models. I look forward to adding my knowledge to KAT’s operations and being part of the ambitious growth plans.”
Also joining the KAT team are Alex Phillips and James Horner. Phillips has also assumed a new role as production and site manager at the Newhaven site, reporting to Colclough. His role will involve the development of the Schüco product range and increasing manufacturing efficiency and capacity. Having previously held positions in operations management and engineering, Alex has worked on projects including McLaren Engine Assembly, Buggatti and Ford component manufacture as well as Fox Hound Military Defence Vehicle Projects, to name but a few.
Horner has joined in the after sales care team, bringing building product experience and design education.
His role will increase capacity for after sales enquiries including technical advice, service requirement and spare part supply.
Chris Powell, managing director, KAT, said: “These additional key roles are not just a sign of our growth and success to date but a strategic move to ensure we are developing and improving every aspect of our business and can offer our customers the very best products anytime, anywhere in the UK and Ireland.
“We are delighted to welcome Peter, Alex and James on board and we look forward to the positive changes they will bring about to keep us at the forefront of the market.”
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Experienced PR consultant and former national press journalist Steve Kelly has joined Macclesfield-based technology PR agency Context to work for clients in the B2B and consumer tech sectors.
Kelly has 16 years’ experience across all levels of media and public relations, covering sectors including: technology, finance, health, publishing and education. He will be working across a range of clients in retail technology, IT security and telecoms.
Context managing director Frank Smith said: “Steve’s experience in national press journalism will be a great help in securing tier-one coverage for our clients, and we welcome him to the team.”
Context has signed on a number of new clients in recent months including government software provider PretaGov and Manchester-based Drupal specialist Ixis IT.
