People on the Move: CBRE; Moneysupermarket; Appleyard Lees; PM+M; Visualsoft

CBRE’s North West planning and development team welcomes two new recruits following its success and high profile business wins across the region.

Rhian Davitt-Jones joins as associate director and Hannah Baker is appointed as senior planner.

Rhian Davitt-Jones joins CBRE from Cushman & Wakefield where she worked for five years as a senior planning consultant. Hannah Baker joins the company from Indigo Planning where she was a senior planner for more than two years.

Rhian and Hannah will support the team on a number of new development projects across Manchester and the UK.

Rhian Davitt-Jones said: “I’m looking forward to working on key development projects across the country and providing commercial planning advice to a wide range of market-leading clients.”

Hannah Baker added: “I’m excited to join CBRE and look forward to working as part of a busy and talented team. My new role will enable me to progress my skills as a town planner, whilst working across a number of new development projects in Manchester and the wider North West.”

Iain Jenkinson, national head of planning & development at CBRE, said: “The expansion of our UK regional business continues and I am delighted to welcome Rhian and Hannah, two incredibly talented town planners, to the growing team in the North of England.

“We are fortunate to be working on some of the most significant development projects in Manchester, Salford, Liverpool and Leeds, including a new football stadium for Everton Football Club, the £800m Salford Crescent development proposal, as well as Leeds’ largest office development for a decade, Wellington Place.”

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Moneysupermarket Group has announced the appointment of Andy Hancock as chief customer officer, effective from April 23.

Hancock has been with Moneysupermarket Group since 2014. He will now take on an expanded role leading marketing and customer services, in addition to his existing responsibility for driving the digitisation of mortgages through the group’s joint venture, Podium, and his role as managing director of MoneySavingExpert Publishing.

He will continue to be a member of Moneysupermarket Group’s executive management team.

Andy Hancock said: “This is an incredibly exciting time to become chief customer officer, as we enter the second year of our Reinvent strategy and start to deliver on our brand promise to make our services more proactive, personalised and painless for our customers.

Andy Hancock

“MoneySuperMarket’s recent brand relaunch has given us a fresh platform to engage customers with new services, such as credit monitoring and bill management, alongside traditional switching and saving.

“I’m really looking forward to working with our talented team in London, Manchester and Ewloe to deliver the next wave of innovation in price comparison.”

Hancock is currently managing director of Money and MoneySavingExpert Publishing.

He was previously managing director of MoneySavingExpert. Prior to joining Moneysupermarket Group he was director of e-commerce, trading and commercial at DMG Media and before that he held various senior roles within the travel industry.

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Intellectual property firm, Appleyard Lees, has announced the internal promotion of Dr Adam Tindall, who progresses from senior associate to partner.

Continuing his practice in Appleyard Lees’ founding office, Adam is a patent and design attorney specialising in engineering, with expertise in automotive, aerospace, medical and consumer products.

Dr Adam Tindall

Having worked as an engineer with Rolls-Royce, the Ford Motor Company, Harland and Wolff and Shell Research UK, Adam’s lengthy experience of design and manufacturing prior to his years as a patent attorney gives him the credentials to work in most engineering fields and to provide high-quality intellectual property services.

Managing director Joanne King said: “Adam’s promotion is a testament to his commitment to providing outstanding service to our clients.

“Adam is a true expert in his field and always ensures that we deliver the highest quality legal expertise, advice and support with a flexible client-focused approach.

“We are thrilled that Adam will continue to grow his practice by working with leading innovative businesses in the engineering sector.”

Adam added: “It’s a great compliment to be invited to join the partnership. Appleyard Lees is trusted in the UK and around the world by a glittering array of household names, and it’s a pleasure to be part of the team keeping our clients happy.”

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Blackburn-based PM+M – the chartered accountancy, business advisory and wealth management group – has added to its tax team with the appointment of Alison Brown who has joined the business as a VAT manager.

Alison will be advising the firm’s clients on a range of VAT matters and transactions including property and partial exemption.

She will also be offering VAT health-checks to ensure clients are managing their VAT in line with current laws, as well as assisting clients with handling HMRC compliance checks.

Jane Parry, left, and Alison Brown

Alison worked for HMRC as a VAT specialist for 29 years before joining PM+M.

Jane Parry, managing partner at PM+M, said: “Alison brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience around VAT that complements our wider tax offering, so we are delighted that she is now part of the team.”

Alison added: “I enjoyed working at HMRC, but I was ready to move to a firm where I knew I could develop my career.

“PM+M really stood out and I’m now looking forward to working with my colleagues and helping to deliver great service to our clients.”

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Manchester-based e-commerce and digital agency, Visualsoft, has announced a new head of paid search – Craig Murphy – the company’s newest appointment within the PPC team.

Prior to taking up this role, Craig held senior positions as head of PPC strategy at MediaCom North and head of paid media at Latitude Digital Marketing.

At Visualsoft he will be tasked with ensuring that its paid search offering remains at the forefront of the industry and adapts as and when needed.

Craig’s ultimate purpose will be to offer the best and most appropriate PPC strategy to clients to maximise their growth.

Craig Murphy

Paid search is of growing importance to the e-commerce market. Recent studies show that Google Shopping adverts are driving three-quarters (76%) of the global retail search advertising spend – a huge share.

It’s therefore vital that brands jump at the chance to make the most of this channel and the sales boost it can provide.

Visualsoft counts a team of 285 staff across three offices, all of whom specialise in the design, build, support and marketing of online stores for retailers. Currently, the company works with more than 1,200 UK clients, including Charles Clinkard, Little Mistress and The Lakes Distillery.

Craig said: “I want to grow the department to become the UK’s biggest and most successful PPC team. This isn’t simply in terms of revenue for the business, but also by ensuring that our client product offering is of the absolute highest quality.”

Gavin Lowther, head of digital at Visualsoft, added: “Craig will play a key part in our re-evaluation of Visualsoft’s current PPC best practice and strategy.

“Our strength has always been our ability to adapt to changing market conditions – so, just as quickly as paid search evolves, we will be driving innovation for our clients to build their business. We look forward to benefiting from Craig’s vast experience and knowledge in this area.”