People on the move: Paul Crowley & Co; Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Credit Union; Amicus Property Finance; Marks & Clerk; Door4; Kirwans
Paul Crowley & Co solicitors has bolstered its crime department with the appointment of Lyndsay Clark.
The Liverpool-based firm, which has offices in Anfield and the city centre, has appointed Lyndsay Clark to its growing specialist motor offence team.
With extensive knowledge in road traffic legalisation and personal injury, Clark brings a wealth of experience to the firm.
Clark is police station accredited and also acts as duty solicitor at both the Liverpool and South Sefton Magistrates’ Court.
The motor offence department at Paul Crowley & Co has seen significant growth, in particular due to the recent changes in the law and much stricter penalties.
The team deals with all motor offence matters from speeding right through to causing death by dangerous driving.
The firm’s continued growth follows a raft of new appointments to the property, clinical negligence and personal injury teams within the last twelve months.
Senior partner Paul Crowley said: “We are pleased to welcome Lyndsay to our crime department, and I am confident that she will be a great addition to the growing motor offence team.
Clark added: “I am delighted to be joining the team at Paul Crowley & Co. With many new driving laws introduced in 2017, including tougher speeding fines and changes to child car seat regulations, it’s really important that the public know their rights and seek expert legal advice.
“I’m looking forward to working with the motor offence team and delivering expert advice and representation for our clients.”
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Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Credit Union has announced the addition of two new members to its board.
Michael Vincent and Joseph Tantram will help oversee BFWCU operations and support borrowers and savers in the town, after being invited to join the board for their professional skills, local connections and specialist knowledge.
Born and raised on the Fylde Coast, Vincent is a founding partner at Blackpool-based MJV & Co Solicitors, where he specialises in civil litigation including employment law and consumer matters.
He has been a Wyre Borough councillor since 2007 and currently chairs the overview and scrutiny committee, as well as volunteering for the Citizens Advice Bureau, providing legal advice to those who cannot afford to pay for it.
Tantram is a qualified chartered accountant and partner at Rawcliffe & Co, which has offices in Blackpool and Poulton. He is a specialist in business development and recovery, provides expert advice for start-ups, and is also an active member of the finance committee for his local church in Poulton.
The appointments bring the total number of board members to 12 and will provide crucial support for the governance of BFWCU, a not-for-profit organisation offering safe savings accounts and affordable loans to anyone living or working on the Fylde Coast and in Preston.
Board chairman Ron Bell said: “More people than ever are experiencing money worries, including a growing number of working families struggling to access fair and affordable credit from banks, who find themselves at the mercy of high street and doorstep lenders.
“Our board is made up of a committed group of highly knowledgeable people who want to share their experience and expertise for the good of the community. As the organisation expands, so do our requirements and we are in the process of recruiting a number of new board members who can bring a greater depth of understanding to the various aspects of the business and support our work as we grow.
“In Michael and Joseph, we have found two highly qualified and community-minded members with a wealth of business, financial and legal expertise, and we look forward to benefiting from their specialist insight as well as their strong local links, which will help us to deepen our relationship with the community.
“We’re now keen to hear from others interested in joining our dedicated board, committed to providing an ethical and safe approach to banking and helping to keep the pound within the local economy. As well as business professionals, we would also like to welcome some community representatives to the board as it’s important we have input from the people the credit union is set up to serve.”
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Amicus Property Finance has appointed Alan Dorrington, Mark Heckels and Derek Wells as senior underwriters in its Manchester team.
The announcement marks the latest in a raft of senior appointments from the specialist property lender, after Matthew Anderson was appointed to the role of head of servicing & portfolio management in June.
Amicus Property Finance experienced a strong first six months of 2017 having provided more than £500m of short term property loans last year, as it further expands its customer base among brokers, professional landlords and developers seeking finance for residential and commercial real estate assets.
The three new senior underwriters join a 15 strong Property Finance team in Manchester to drive the business’s growth plans in the region.
Dorrington, a chartered banker who has held individual delegated lending mandates of up to £15m, joins Amicus from Nationwide Building Society where he was senior lending manager in the commercial property finance team.
Prior roles have included senior positions at Dunbar Bank plc, Clydesdale Bank as part of NAB Group, Bank of Ireland and Bank of Scotland / HBOS.
Heckels joins Amicus from Nationwide Building Society where he was Lending Manager in the Business Development team with an individual mandate of £5 million. Prior roles include managing a team overseeing high risk property loans at Nationwide Building Society and Relationship Manager at Allied Irish Banks where Mark was responsible for £100 million of real estate lending and trading banking requirements.
Wells joins Amicus from 11 years spent with Bank of Ireland’s business banking team, focusing on real estate finance and managing high risk / non-performing connections relating to property funding. Prior to Bank of Ireland Derek spent between 1997 and 2006 working for HBOS Group, now Lloyds Banking Group, with the Group’s specialist property finance, corporate and private banking teams.
Yasin Patel, divisional director at Amicus Property Finance, said: “We have seen fantastic growth over recent periods, not least in the first six months of this year.
“This comes from investing in a highly-experienced team with knowledge of the local business community, and the right expertise to successfully partner with and deliver on our clients’ needs. Alan, Mark and Derek’s appointments reflect this approach and I’m confident in the skills and industry knowledge they bring to our team.
“With more than £500m to lend, we expect to be very busy across our key areas of auction, refurb and development, and anticipate a busy second half of the year.”
Amicus Property Finance aims to deliver outstanding lending solutions for clients, introducers and stakeholders through deeper relationships and a resolute belief in the power of collaboration.
The London-based company opened the doors of its Manchester Princess Street offices in December, 2016.
It is Amicus’ first regional centre offering a full range of services, including SME, asset, invoice and property financing. The company has other offices in the West End, the City of London, Guildford, and Peterborough.
Subject to authorisation, Amicus anticipates receiving its banking licence this year which will enable it to fulfil its long-term growth objectives by accessing an alternative and efficient source of funding.
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Marks & Clerk, a global international intellectual property service provider, has brought one of its Manchester associates into partnership.
Jonathan Stafford has worked in the patent profession for over nine years and is also a (UK) chartered and European patent attorney.
He handles patent and design matters in the chemistry and life-science sectors, with an emphasis on pharmaceuticals, industrial chemistry, materials, synthetic methods and medical and diagnostic devices.
Stafford has been brought into partnership alongside two other Marks & Clerk associates, Esther Ford, also a patent attorney based in the Cambridge office and John Ferdinand, a Trade Mark Attorney based in the Birmingham office.
David Ward, UK Managing Partner said: “We are delighted to welcome Jonathan, Esther and John into partnership. Each of them is widely celebrated for the quality of counsel they provide to clients and these promotions are both reflective of their contribution to the business and our ongoing commitment to investing in our people and the firm.”
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Burnley digital marketing agency Door4 has appointed Sean Dwyer as head of marketing operations, expanding the business to 18 members of staff.
With headquarters in Burnley Wharf and an office in Manchester, Door4 provides website design, development and customer experience, software and service development and strategic digital marketing to clients including Magnet Trade, at800, Duo, Napthens and Ego.
Formerly associate director at national media agency, Carat, Dwyer managed advertising and marketing for clients including Manchester Airport Group, Travelex, Barratt Homes CarShop, TalkTalk Business and Eurocamp.
Door4 managing director Leon Calverley said: “We’re delighted to have Sean on board. He adds considerable capability to our strong marketing team, and ensures that we have sufficient strategic resource, to help our clients to grow.
“His combination of commercial vision, marketing expertise and a great character fit with our team meant that his appointment made perfect sense, as we strive to deliver Digital with Purpose.”
Sean said: “It’s an absolute pleasure to have joined Door4, it’s an exciting new challenge for me to help build on the success they’ve had over the years. I hope to help deliver further growth across the business, with a keen focus on evolving and continually developing the digital marketing proposition we have here.”
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A law firm celebrating its 70th anniversary this year has awarded four of its legal clerks training contracts in a bid to nurture a new generation of solicitors.
Kirwans, which is one of the oldest legal firms in the region and has offices in Liverpool, Wirral and Southport, has provided contracts to employees across the Private Client, Crime and Family departments.
Carl Nadim, Amanda York, Gabrielle Kitchen and Hannah Bibby have joined Annie Thomas, who was awarded a training contract last year, in securing places on the highly contested scheme, with the potential to become qualified solicitors within Kirwans.
They follow in the footsteps of colleagues including criminal solicitor Thomas Hanlon, who qualified this year after completing his training contract with the firm, associate solicitor Danielle Hughes who trained and qualified with the organisation and partner Claire Currie, who began her legal career as a Kirwans’ trainee.
Managing partner David Kirwan said: “Just as it’s important to reflect on all that Kirwans has achieved as we mark our 70th year, it is also vital that we continue to plan for the future so that we can continue to offer our clients the quality service they expect from us. Our new trainees are a vital part of that planning.
“It is a joy to see these well-deserving internal candidates achieve this incredible next step in their career, and I look forward to seeing their progress as they work alongside senior colleagues in a wide range of areas over the next two years.”
