People on the move: Robson & Liddle; Aberla; Sellick Partnership; Brazen; SCP
A firm of rural chartered surveyors in Penrith, Cumbria is investing in the future after taking on its latest student surveyor.
Jessica Heywood, has joined Robson & Liddle, where she will be assist the team in its work with farmers and landowners across the North of England and Southern Scotland.
Heywood, from Devon, is two years into the rural enterprise and land management course at Harper Adams university, which sees her take a year of work experience before returning to complete her degree.
She is Robson & Liddle’s third student surveyor and will be assisting with valuations, planning, landlord and tenant issues and estate visits.
Heywoodsaid: “It’s really interesting to be able to put my studies to practical use when visiting clients. I’m really enjoying estate management and the valuations, but there’s so much more that I can’t wait to learn about. This experience is really important for my future.”
Julie Liddle, a director of Robson & Liddle, said: “Investing in the next generation of professionals is something that’s important to us as a company. These placements enable students to get valuable hands on experience. It is great to have Jessica on board.”
Outside of work, Jessica is a keen young farmer, having grown up on sheep, dairy and game farms. When settled into her new role, Heywood is looking forward to joining the Caldbeck young farmers group.
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Paul McCarren has joined specialist energy and M&E contractor Aberla as managing director.
With a wealth of experience in the sector, including his previous roles as energy director at Forrest and project manager at British Gas, McCarren has been appointed to lead the management team and drive the strategy for growth.
The Warrington-based company was launched more than two years ago and has recently had new investor backing from Inspired Energy, Regent Gas and, on behalf of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, Maven Capital Partners which clearly demonstrates the potential sector growth.
McCarren said: “With the UK energy market certainly showing no signs of slowing down my appointment at Aberla is a really exciting opportunity.
“We are looking to grow turnover by targeting new sectors, diversifying into new technologies and increasing knowledge collaboration with our partners. In addition to our recent rebrand, and our new office relocation, we are currently recruiting a number of key roles within the organisation, so it really is all go.
“The business has immense potential and, working in partnership with our new investors, we now have the basis to make a real splash in the energy industry.”
Mike Fletcher, chairman at Aberla said: “I’ve known Paul for a number of years and am impressed by his entrepreneurial spirit. His appointment has already initiated new investment into the business and he also brings with him a new senior management team which will assist in the tactical growth plan.”
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Professional services recruitment specialist Sellick Partnership, based in Manchester, is continuing to build on its national success with the appointment of Mike Hoyle as finance director of the business.
Prior to this appointment, Hoyle was the financial controller at Sellick Partnership, having joined the business in January 2014.
Before joining Sellick Partnership he worked for BDO specialising in audit where he built up a high level of technical accounting knowledge across a wide range of sectors.
Hoyle will lead the internal finance team whilst working closely with managing director Jo Sellick and the board to drive the business forward.
Hoyle and his team provide support to approximately 90 Sellick Partnership staff, more than 550 clients, more than 700 contractors and deal with in excess of 250 permanent placements year-on-year.
He said; “I am looking forward to my new role as Finance Director at Sellick Partnership and working with the Board to ensure our future organic growth.
“In my new role I aim to maximise the quality of service provided by our internal finance team to all of our stakeholders by leading and enabling every member of our team to reach their full potential.
“Sellick Partnership is a market-leading recruitment firm in every sense and is respected throughout the UK, I hope with my input we can continue to set records for company financial performance and build on the company brand.”
Sellick said; “Mike is extremely focused on getting the right outcomes for our business and has demonstrated his ability to successfully lead people towards a common goal, which gives me great confidence.”
“Mike’s extensive knowledge of the recruitment sector, as well as his breadth of experience from his time in practice will be crucial as we continue to develop our recruitment offerings in the months and years to come.”
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Manchester-based PR and marketing agency Brazen has hired Amaze’s Lee Benecke to head up its growing social media division.
Benecke, who becomes head of social media, was social and content strategist at Amaze, where he spent four years working on campaigns for Lexus, Unilever, The Co-operative Group, Radisson Blu, The Saucy Fish Co and Pizza Hut. Before that he was Head of Social Media at Leeds’ Fuse8 Delete, and is a trained journalist having started his career at the Press Association.
Benecke role at Brazen, will see him head up a seven-strong team of social media specialists, to set client strategy and execute creative campaigns, both organically and within the paid-for space. He’ll also work hand-in-hand with the agency’s in-house content production division, Brazen LIVE, to produce top-notch, platform-native content.
Of his move, Benecke said: “Having watched Brazen from afar and being consistently impressed with the level of quality coming from the team, I am really looking forward to being on the inside and helping them to continue to pioneer within the social space.
“I’ve been incalculably lucky to work in social media for 10 years now and I still don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of its potential. With the caliber of team, clients and experience at Brazen behind me, I am very excited about the future.”
Brazen chief eecutive Nina Webb added: “As a PR & content marketing agency, our social media offer has been constantly evolving, and with the ever-changing digital landscape, we predict it will grow rapidly over the next three to five years.
“That’s why we launched our own in-house content production division, Brazen LIVE, earlier this year and why we’ve now recruited Lee. His expertise in the social space is second to none and he’s as Brazen as they come – fearless, ambitious, with a proper Northern charm. We’re looking forward to him getting cracking.”
Brazen currently runs major social media and content campaigns for clients including Wilko, Magnet, Lyons Coffee, Smithfield Foods, Mitchells & Butlers, Bacofoil and Great Northern Warehouse.
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SCP, the transport planning and infrastructure design consultancy, has announced Mark Devenish has joined the consultancy as an associate director in its Manchester office.
Devenish is a chartered engineer working predominantly in development planning on a wide range of projects across all sectors, assisting clients to gain planning consent and overcome technical highways and transportation issues.
He is both technically and commercially minded with 15 years’ experience working in consultancy on both sides of the Pennines and across the country. This has included a wide range of schemes from major urban extensions and retail parks to overcoming severe access constraints at smaller sites.
David Roberts, director at SCP added “Mark’s experience and style of working is a great fit for us, along with his knowledge of the issues and personalities both in the North West and Yorkshire and Humberside regions. Mark’s addition will allow us to enhance the service to our Clients in terms of the extra resource available to us whilst maintaining the high quality of work that our Clients expect and deserve.”
