People on the move: Redrow; Palatine Private Equity; Deloitte Real Estate; Chancerygate; Boost4Health; Horwich Farrelly; Lichfields; SkinnyBrands

Katherine Ball

A major part of her job is to secure land for housebuilder Redrow, but the latest asset Katherine Ball has secured is a job promotion for herself.

Ball, 24, has been confirmed as land manager for Redrow’s Lancashire division, after 18 months’ preparation for the role as trainee land manager and, before that, a place on the company’s rotational graduate training programme.

Ball, part of the Redrow Homes (Lancashire) land team based at Buckshaw Village, Chorley, is delighted with both her promotion and the support she has received from Redrow throughout.

“You have to work hard and maintain a positive attitude,” she said. “But with that you get the rewards; and I am lucky to have done that and to have a good team of people around me with whom I really enjoy working.

“I am lucky too in terms of the training I have been given to support me in my role and the encouragement I have had to get the qualifications which will enable me to progress and further my career.”

Ball originally joined Redrow’s highly regarded graduate training programme after securing a BA in Human Geography from Leeds Metropolitan University.

Working across various disciplines she soon found a natural affinity with land and planning, but also enjoyed the interaction with other parts of the business that’s required to successfully pursue a land purchase.

Now, as land manager, she will control a range of land bids for the housebuilder, going through the process of identifying possible sites, negotiating with land owners, acquiring sites and taking them through the planning process.

Ball said: “It involves building good relationships with agents, land owners and consultants; and having a good understanding of Redrow’s portfolio and the sorts of development it wishes to pursue.”

She has recently taken a more major role in a number of land acquisitions which are still ‘under wraps’ but, working with land director Karl Longworth, she was also involved in the purchase of over 20 acres for 245 new homes on land at Garrett Hall, near Mosley Common, in Greater Manchester, where Redrow has begun building homes as part of its Bridgewater View development.

Karl Longworth, land director for Redrow Homes (Lancashire), said: “Katherine very quickly became a valued member of the team. She is eager to learn, hardworking and tenacious in her efforts to help secure the land sites which will become our future developments. Building excellent relationships around her, both inside and outside the company, she personifies Redrow’s reputation for quality and professionalism.”

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Palatine Private Equity has strengthened its offering in the responsible investment space with two new recruits to its returns-focused Impact Fund.

James Gregson joins the Manchester team as investment director, while Matt Coles has joined as investment manager in the London office.

Gregson joins from advisory firm BDO, where he spent 11 years, including seven in the mergers and acquisitons team advising clients on domestic and international transactions across a variety of sectors.

He has particular mid-market expertise, advising on deals generally between £5m and £20m in value.

Coles previously worked at PwC for seven years, with four of those spent in the firm’s mid-market transaction services team advising both corporate and private equity clients on a variety of transactions. He also has experience of working with smaller owner managed businesses.

Both Gregson and Coles will be responsible for originating and assessing new investment opportunities, executing transactions and subsequently working with investee companies to help deliver their growth plans.

The pair will be supporting partner Beth Houghton, who is leading the Impact Fund, and partner Zoe Clements.

Palatine had a first close of £50m in December 2016 and is currently working towards final closing with a fund target of £75m. The Fund will invest between £2m and £10m in companies that not only make a market rate financial return, but will also have a positive social or environmental impact.

Beth Houghton, partner at Palatine Private Equity, said: “We are delighted to welcome James and Matt as we start to make headway with this new Fund. The Fund will combine Palatine’s proven mid-market private equity approach with its longstanding, award-winning commitment to sustainable businesses. I’m really excited about working with the team towards our first investments.”

Gregson said: “Palatine is one of the most reputable firms in the UK mid-market and I am delighted to be on board. The establishment of the Impact Fund underlines Palatine’s commitment to responsible investment and I am looking forward to working with growth businesses that also make a difference from a social or environmental perspective.”

Coles said: “I am really excited to be joining Beth and the rest of the team on the new Impact Fund to work with businesses that are not only looking to grow financially, but also create a positive social or environmental impact.”

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Amy Kennedy, an assistant planner in Deloitte Real Estate’s Manchester team, has been selected as the UK’s sole real estate delegate at UNLEASH 2017, a global innovation convention aimed at ending poverty, fighting inequality and injustice, and tackling climate change by 2030.

Currently taking place in Copenhagen until August 21, UNLEASH is a global non-profit initiative that aims to create real, implementable and scalable solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Comprising a number of core partners from different countries and sectors, including the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, the Carlsberg Foundation, and MIT’s D-Lab, the convention brings young talent together to innovate and collaborate on new solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

Kennedy, who joined Deloitte Real Estate’s Planning Team in September, 2016, will facilitate the innovation lab on Urban Sustainability at UNLEASH and is the only person from across the real estate sector to be invited to attend the convention.

The invite reflects Amy’s growing reputation in the real estate community. She was recently shortlisted for the 2017 Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Research Excellence as a finalist in the Student Award category for her MSc research.

Kennedy said:“My interest in sustainability has been a significant motivating factor in my decision to pursue a career in Town Planning, and I’m looking forward to sharing what I learn in Denmark with my colleagues in Deloitte Real Estate in order to ensure that as a team we remain at the cutting edge of both sustainability and innovation in our industry.”

UNLEASH is supported by almost 200 partner organisations, including Microsoft and Deloitte, who are providing pro bono personnel to facilitate the event in August. Over 40 Deloitte personnel have been selected to take part, nine of which are from the UK firm.

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Industrial and logistics developer Chancerygate has boosted its North West team following the appointment of Daniel March who joins as a project manager.

March, who previously worked at Lambert Smith Hampton’s as a senior building surveyor, will be based at the company’s Warrington office.

Walker, development director of Chancerygate, said: “We are continuing to grow our portfolio throughout the North West and with a number of new acqusiitons and schemes in the pipeline, we needed to add to our Project Management team. Daniel has the skills and knowledge that we require and I believe he will prove to be a great complement to our team.”

March added: “Chanceryagte is one of the most dynamic and ambitious developers in the region and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”

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Northern Europe life science network Boost4Health, part of the Business Growth Hub, has appointed Lindsay Hallworth as its new innovation adviser in Greater Manchester.

Hallworth will support local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in, or diversifying into, the life science sector, helping them to meet European industry experts, tap into local knowledge and validate products in international markets.

The network aims to generate £20m in sales in the life sciences, a key priority growth sector for Greater Manchester and partner regions in Europe.

Previously part of the Hub’s life sciences business support team working in partnership with NHS innovation experts TRUSTECH in Manchester, Lindsay has held a number of senior national and international leadership roles with key industry players, including Johnson & Johnson Medical and Medtronic, and was instrumental in the growth and development of a number of smaller enterprises.

Lindsay said: “I am extremely proud to be an integral part of the Boost4Health programme here at the Business Growth Hub. We have partnered with a very experienced and cohesive team of support agencies in northern Europe, and beyond, who are all dedicated to improving both health economy and health outcomes, by aiding international market access for the life sciences SME community.”

The Business Growth Hub’s head of innovation Chris Greenhalgh said: “Lindsay brings a fresh and objective approach to the table, having worked in industry and the NHS. Her experience offers a very broad skill set to healthcare entrepreneurs working in both national and international markets.

“She has managed the roll out and subsequent adoption of a variety of ground-breaking devices in the fields of cardio and neurovascular surgery and neuromodulation therapies, which involved working closely with government agencies, including MHRA & NICE in the UK.”

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Horwich Farrelly, the specialist insurance law firm, continues to bolster the strength of its senior team with the announcement of two new partners and nine new associates.

The round of appointments takes the total number of partners across the firm’s six offices to 35 – the highest in the firm’s almost 50-year history – and comes after the practice revealed a 15% increase in turnover, to £39m, for 2016/17.
The new partners are Rick Preston and Michael Rimmer. The pair will be continuing in their roles as head of intelligence services and head of operations for counter fraud respectively at the firm’s Manchester HQ.

The nine new associate roles reflect the firm’s full range of services with promotions in costs, counter fraud, credit hire, intel services and the newly-renamed motor and casualty department. Seven of the new associates are based in Manchester with one promotion each in London and Liverpool.

Ronan McCann, Ppartner of Horwich Farrelly, said: “I am delighted to welcome Rick and Michael to the Partnership.

“Rick’s promotion reflects the increasingly important role the work of the Intelligence Services team is playing in identifying and fighting fraudulent claims.

“Michael’s achievements as head of operations for counter fraud over the past 14 months, as well as his active support and leading role in new business proposals and recent new contract wins make his another key promotion.

“We also congratulate the nine Associates whose hard work and commitment is recognised as central to the ongoing growth and success of Horwich Farrelly.”

Meanwhile, partner Patrick McCarthy will take on the role of head of volume litigation, motor and casualty, where he will be responsible for driving the development of consistent technical best practice for clients in the portal and fast track claims areas across all offices.

Paul Tattersall, previously defendant operations manager, assumes the role of head of volume litigation operations, motor and casualty, reporting to McCarthy. He will be responsible for ensuring consistent operational best practice and the full utilisation of the firm’s technology and process investments in these areas across all offices.

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Planning and development consultancy Lichfields has recognised the work and attributes of Manchester-based associate director Nathan Matta with promotion to planning director.

Nathan joined Lichfields in 2008, having previously worked in both the public and private sectors, and has been involved in some of the North West’s major developments.

These include Woodford Aerodrome, Stockport, the Manchester Town Hall complex transformation programme and the Co-operative Group HQ development, also in Manchester.

Matta, who also specialises in the environmental impact assessment process and is a member of IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment), said: “I look forward to continuing to contribute to the fantastic work that Lichfields has been doing across the North West.

“The company has gone from strength to strength both in the region and nationwide and I am really pleased to be part of such a dynamic and forward thinking planning consultancy.”

Michael Watts, senior director and head of Lichfields Manchester office, said: “Nathan is a real asset to the office. He has played a key role in securing planning permission for many regionally important schemes and adds real value to Lichfields planning offer in the North-West.

“We are delighted to be able to recognise his outstanding efforts with this promotion to the position of Planning Director.”

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Manchester-based SkinnyBrands has announced two new appointments – marketing director, Allan Moffat and operations director Anthony Carpenter – following a period of considerable growth for the alcohol manufacturer since its launch last year.

Moffatt joins the company with more than 20 years’ experience in sales and marketing within the retail sector, having worked to deliver media activation and retail strategies for brands such as Corona, Adidas and Samsung.

Carpenter joins the company with a decades experience within the operations sector, previously ensuring the effective operational management of a chain of women-only gyms, Ladyzone and TheWellnessSpace, which he co-founded in 2006.

Carpenter then went on to establish himself as a director and business consultant, advising on business systems and processes, improving efficiency, reducing administration and utilising software effectively before taking on his latest role at SkinnyBrands.

Moffatt said: “The future for SkinnyBrands is extremely exciting, with listings growing every day to meet customer demand, and enquiries from across the world coming in every week. In a sector that has lacked true innovation in the past, SkinnyBrands is establishing and leading the development of a new category and I’m looking forward to being part of it.”

Carpenter added: “It’s great to have joined SkinnyBrands at a time of rapid expansion. With listings building quickly it’s hugely important to ensure the back of house business is running in the most effective way possible, in order to deal with growing demand.”

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