People on the move: I Want Plants; Kennedys; Platform81; JMW Solicitors; Acuity Fund

Four new team members have joined the North West’s horticulture display specialists, I Want Plants, following high-profile contract wins and the launch of a new service.

The family-run business, based in Hale, which provides inspirational green interiors and exteriors for offices, hotels and restaurants, has taken on two new office staff, an external landscaper and a new installation team member.

Joanne Wallwork joins the team as PA to the managing director, as well as assisting with new business enquiries and running the firm’s social media accounts.

Joining Joanne in the office is administrator Lisa Caine who will be co-ordinating stock levels while liaising with suppliers and both the I Want Plants’ interior and exterior teams.

Cat McAleer becomes the newest member of the interiors team, while David Allen is the latest addition to the exteriors team.

It brings the total number of staff to 29.

It comes as the independent business launches a new service, plant maintenance.

Previously I Want Plants had maintained rental plants supplied solely by them. However, the firm now waters, prunes, cleans and performs regular maintenance on plants they haven’t installed.

Manchester’s highest restaurant, 20 Storeys, is the first client in this burgeoning sector.

The firm has also won new high-profile clients including Victors, Hale Country Club and Bol Foods and is continuing its work with Living Ventures, New World Trading Group and office-lettings giant Bruntwood.

I Want Plants managing director Richard Rowlands said: “We have worked hard to secure our spot as leaders in horticulture displays for both the hospitality and office sectors, while continuing to install privacy trees for our high-end residential clients.

“As we continue to grow and expand we need to bring in more experts to assist with servicing contracts across the country.”

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Law firm Kennedys has strengthened its commercial lines insurance capabilities with the appointment of a team to its Manchester office led by Nick Bond, who joins as partner, and Robert Steele as consultant.

Formerly of BLM, Nick and Robert – who are joined by two solicitors – have almost 40 years’ experience between them, acting for insurers, brokers, local authorities and a variety of commercial organisations.

Joining next month, the team will deal with a broad range of disputes, with particular emphasis on property damage (liability defence), construction, policy coverage, policy drafting, product liability and recall.

The team will also provide a subrogated recovery service, ranging from high value multi-jurisdictional matters, to designing and managing bespoke property damage recovery schemes.

The new team will complement Kennedys’ existing insurance and claims practice in Manchester, which currently has a strong focus on professional indemnity and personal injury.

This latest development will add to the growth of the firm’s Manchester office, which was strengthened last year when the firm merged with Berg – one of the city’s most respected commercial litigation law firms.

Nick Thomas, senior partner at Kennedys, said: “The appointment of Nick, Robert and their team marks another phase of our strategic plan to expand the range of services we can deliver from Manchester.

“We feel there is strong demand in the North West for insurance and commercial advice of the quality Kennedys can deliver, and this development follows on nicely from our merger with Berg.”

Nick Bond adds: “Kennedys offers us the platform to use our expertise, market knowledge and local contacts to build our client offering.

“Its reach and commitment to clients means I am confident we will rapidly go from strength to strength. We share the same vision and I am particularly attracted to Kennedys’ values and innovation drive.”

Kennedys opened its Manchester office in 2008 and, in October 2017, moved into larger premises in the city to accommodate growth in the region. The office now comprises 114 people, 10 of whom are partners.

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Platform81, the Stockport-based digital marketing and creative agency, is set for its most successful year to date following a string of new business wins, team growth and awards recognition.

The company, which is celebrating its 10th year in business, has seen a 23% uplift in turnover in the first six months of the year when compared with 2017 figures.

Recent growth has fuelled the expansion of its workforce, currently 14-strong, with the appointment of two new team members.

Oliver Southward and Bridie Daniels

Bridie Daniels, previously of creative agency Jelly, has been hired as a digital marketing executive, while website developer Oliver Southward has joined from Digital Next.

In addition, Platform81 is creating a new apprenticeship role which is being developed in conjunction with Juice Academy and will see another new starter this month.

Nick Wroe, director at Platform81, said: “2018 has already been an incredibly exciting year for the Platform81 team – we have won a fantastic array of new contracts with some really great brands, strengthened the team with a number of key appointments and have been shortlisted for no less than four high profile industry awards.

“We are very proud of what we have achieved in the past 10 years and look forward to continuing to implement our growth strategy and supporting like-minded business to help them achieve their goals.”

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JMW Solicitors has expanded its specialist fertility and surrogacy team, now the largest in the North West.

The team is well-established in Manchester, led by Cara Nuttall, and has now also launched in Liverpool with Beverley Jones at the helm, making it one of the largest specialist teams in the North.

Cara Nuttall

Combining the forces of Cara Nuttall and Beverley Jones, both partners at JMW and specialists in fertility and surrogacy law, the team advises both individuals and couples on fertility and surrogacy issues, providing support and guidance and ensuring that the right legal protection is in place.

Beverley said: “Surrogacy and fertility is an evolving area of law, so it’s important to seek the advice of a specialist who understands it implicitly and has the knowledge and experience to make the process as smooth and stress-free as possible.

“Having supported the LGBT community in Liverpool for many years, we hope that the availability of a specialist team here in the city will give people the confidence to approach us in the knowledge that they’ll receive the very best advice and support.”

Cara said: “Historically the North has been at the cutting edge of advances in assisted reproduction techniques – 40 years after the breakthrough birth of IVF baby, Louise Brown, it’s fitting that some of the most experienced legal experts in this field are based here in the North.

“Our team is committed to championing the recognition of new family units, and we look forward to continuing to support our clients in navigating what is a challenging area of law that continues to change along with advances in medical science.”

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Stephen Jarman, partner at North West law firm Bermans, has been appointed as non-executive director of Acuity Private Fund.

His role will include providing independent oversight and provoking constructive dialogue to the board, while bringing a degree of objectivity to board deliberations and monitoring executive management in helping the fund achieve its purpose.

The award-winning fund (voted most recently the Most Innovative European SME PE Fund at the Wealth and Finance Alternative Investment Awards) has revolutionised private equity and claims to have created a unique type of alternative fund to participate in what has been described as “the Greatest Transfer of Wealth in the History of the World.”

Acuity provides both the debt and equity to fund the buyouts of mature SME’s, providing a solution to a funding gap in a demographic mega-trend and giving access to investors to the returns from this mature SME asset class.

The fund aims to target business owners born between 1946-1964, also known as the “baby boomer” generation (a generation which is ageing), and aims to give this demographic an exit route while involving, in many cases, their loyal and long standing management team who make a small equity contribution.

Stephen Jarman

The culture is to engage with senior managers and employees via co-ownership to remove the ‘them and us’ syndrome and create a solid foundation for long-term and predictable dividend flow.

Mr Jarman said: “Because of the financial crisis beginning in 2008, and the lack of acquisition finance available for SME buyouts, many of the baby boomers have been unable to realise the value in their businesses.

“Acuity’s methodology allows them to do this whilst trusting their managers who have helped them develop the business to take the enterprise further.

“Such was the brake on SME buyouts following 2008, The European Commission has estimated that, across Europe, 690,000 mature SME businesses need to be transferred to new owners every year between now and 2025, with an estimated value of €27 trillion.”

Acuity said: “It is a privilege to have Steve Jarman on the board of the Acuity Fund. He has exceptional knowledge of corporate law in SME M&A and has been prolificly successful for decades in this specialist market.”