People on the move: Shoosmiths; KBL Solicitors; NCS IT; Countrywide Grounds Maintenance; UCLan

Emma Burns, Anthony Nutting, Laura-Louisa Betts and Vaqas Farooq

Shoosmiths further strengthened its national plot sales offering by appointing a new plot sales team based in the Manchester office, which will offer a seamless end-to-end service to residential developers in the region.

The move is also the logical next step in the extension of the firm’s rapidly-growing residential development practice – which acts for many of the UK’s best-known housebuilders – to cover all parts of the UK.

Heading up the new team in Manchester is Tony Nutting.

Previously the head of Ward Hadaway’s Manchester plot sales team, Tony brings with him many years of experience in the North West property sector. He will be supported by conveyancers Laura-Louisa Betts and Emma Burns who are moving across from the firm’s real estate practice.

Mr Nutting said: “Shoosmiths is well known in the market for having a very strong national plot sales team.

“It is exciting to be joining a team with such an incredible depth of expertise and with a clear vision for the future. I am looking forward to taking things forward for the firm in the North West with Laura-Louisa and Emma.

“We also intend to grow the team rapidly and would be delighted to hear from experienced conveyancers.”

Advising housebuilders and developers, Shoosmiths’ national plot sales team currently handles around 10,000 completions a year and is led by partner and national head of plot sales, Melissa Barker.

Melissa said: “Our national team helps clients to achieve smooth and efficient sales of new homes to purchasers both where homes are being purchased as residences and where they are being acquired as an investment.

“We welcome the new team in Manchester and their expertise will complement Shoosmiths Manchester’s existing residential development capabilities, enabling the firm to deliver a cradle-to-grave service covering all aspects of residential development from planning and promotion complexities, through to acquisition, construction and disposal.”

Vaqas Farooq, head of Shoosmiths Manchester, said: “We are delighted about setting up yet another niche team in our Manchester office at the specific request of our clients.

“We have relationships with a large number of residential development clients here in Manchester providing new homes and I am delighted that we are now able to offer this service locally, further cementing our reputation as a market-leader in the residential real estate sector.”

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KBL Solicitors have added fresh talent to its employment law team with the appointment of a new expert.

Sarah Collier, who qualified as a solicitor in 2009, has joined the North West-based practice and will work out of their Bolton and Blackburn offices.

Sarah specialises in employment law and has extensive experience in advising SME and OMB’s.

She said: “Joining the team at KBL is an exciting development in my career. Having lived and worked in the area for some time I was aware of KBL’s reputation for its excellent quality of work and professionalism.”

Sarah Collier

Graduating from the University of Liverpool in 2005, Sarah completed her LPC at Manchester Metropolitan University, gaining a distinction. She then spent six years at Gorvins before moving to Napthens in 2016.

Sarah, who heads up the employment department, will be advising in all areas of employment law primarily for employers. She’ll also work closely with the corporate team on a broad range of business transactions for corporate and individual clients.

Michael Slater, partner, said: “I’m always delighted when we can successfully attract somebody like Sarah who is sought after, has a proven track record and is technically competent.

“Sarah is already proving to be a real asset to the firm, I know that she is excited by the variety of work that she will be involved in and I am looking forward to working with her.”

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Rossendale-based NCS IT has welcomed a number of new recruits to its expanding team of engineers.

Daryn Craine, Anthony Grime Jason Biell

Anthony Grime and Daryn Craine have joined as field engineers, mostly working with customers on-site providing support for networks and servers, as well as advanced troubleshooting and upgrading IT systems.

Jason Biell has also joined the in-house helpdesk team.

Andrew Charlesworth, technical director at NCS IT, said: “Each of our new recruits bring a wealth of experience with them and we are very happy to welcome them to the NCS team.”

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Countrywide Grounds Maintenance, of Cheadle, has appointed James Kelly as its new chief operating officer.

Part of the Dwyer Group family of brands, James will be responsible for managing the business and will continue to support the growth and expansion of the brand across the UK.

As part of his remit, he will also increase the presence of the business, which was acquired more than a year ago, and provide the best professional solution for landscape maintenance and management.

Since joining Countrywide in 2009, James has held a number of high profile positions, first joining as a commercial manager before being promoted to commercial director in 2014.

He has played an integral role in the growth of Countrywide, a previously family-owned business, and brings his vast experience and in-depth knowledge to this new role.

James Kelly

Speaking on his appointment he said: “Countrywide has never been more compelling and I am thrilled to take on the COO role and see how the business will continue to grow under the Dwyer umbrella.

“I am incredibly energised to help lead and extend our network of franchises further, improve the support we provide our great team and to contributing even more towards the continuing profitable growth of Countrywide.”

Jeff Meyers, vice president of international operations, said: “Countrywide has three decades of experience in grounds maintenance and has seen significant growth over recent years, particularly under the guidance and ownership of Dwyer Group.

“I am delighted to appoint James to lead the business as he has strong leadership skills, believes passionately in the Dwyer Group way and is the right person to drive the business forward.”

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The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has appointed Prof Ian Allison as its new executive Dean of Engineering and Digital Technology.

The experienced academic joins UCLan from the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) where he held the position of the Dean of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences. His role at UCLan will commence on November 1.

Prior to his role at UWS, the former software engineer and project manager was head of the School of Computing Science and Digital Media at Robert Gordon University (RGU).

Chair of the Digital Skills Partnership Board, he is also a board member of the Centre for Engineering Education and Development and is on the Scottish Government’s STEM strategy implementation advisory board.

In his new role at UCLan, he will provide strategic direction to the University’s Faculty of Science and Technology, enhancing its academic and professional reputation and strengthening academic provision, supporting the university’s plans for engineering, digital and creative industries.

Prof Ian Allison

He said: “I look forward to working with colleagues to create a fantastic, distributive learning and innovation environment to fulfil the ambition evident in the new Engineering Innovation Centre (EIC).

“As someone who is passionate about engaging with practice, I put students and employers at the centre of our approach to learning, skills development, technical innovation and the application of research to enable impact from all we do.”

Dr Lynne Livesey, deputy vice-chancellor (academic) at UCLan, said: “Ian’s vast experience combined with his knowledge and insight make him the perfect candidate to take this new role forward and support our strategic aims.

“His appointment comes at a time of significant investment into our engineering and digital technology offer, with progress being made on our new Engineering Innovation Centre which is on course for completion in January 2019.”

The EIC, an integrated teaching and research space, will deliver a range of key objectives, including ensuring that local skills reflect social and economic needs and increasing the number of females in engineering careers.

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