People on the Move: Lloyds Banking Group; 74; Richborough Estates; Faith in Nature; Mills & Reeve

Elyn Corfield, a senior banking professional at Lloyds Banking Group, has been appointed as the group’s ambassador for the North of England – the purpose being to support social and economic prosperity across the region.

Elyn takes on the new role alongside her current position as Lloyds Bank’s managing director of consumer finance, where she is responsible for credit cards and unsecured personal loans, serving more than nine million customers across the UK.

As the group’s ambassador for the North Elyn will be based at the Lloyds Bank Cawley House site in Chester, heading up a team of senior banking professionals committed to driving the group’s purpose of helping Britain prosper at a local level.

They will build relationships with businesses and political leaders to better understand how they can support communities across the North of England with the local challenge and opportunities they are facing.

Elyn has already identified a number of areas that she and her team can lend their business expertise, including improving the digital skills of businesses, charities and young people, as well as championing access to banking through credit unions, fraud prevention initiatives and support for the homeless.

Having studied Business and Finance at Manchester Metropolitan University, Elyn has lived in Cheshire for more than two decades and is passionate about improving the lives of people living and working in the North.

She has more than 25 years of relevant experience spanning senior roles in the financial services sector and the motor industry. Before joining Lloyds Banking Group she was managing director at MBNA.

Elyn said: “The North is home to some of the country’s fastest-growing sectors and a wealth of business with ambitious plans for the future.

“I’m looking forward to working with businesses and communities across the region as they trade, build and grow, and working towards our collective goal of helping Britain prosper.”

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Manchester-based architects and designers, 74, have announced the appointment of Bianca Yousef as company associate, with immediate effect.

Bianca, a former senior interior designer at the practice, has been with the company for four years and has been part of, or led, a number of its key portfolio schemes, including the award-winning Hox Haus student clubhouse in Surrey for Moorfield Group, the interior design of student facility Elgin Place in Glasgow (also an award winner at Mixology ’17), and the architectural concept and interiors for Knight House in Sheffield.

“We are delighted to reward Bianca for her hard work and commitment in this way,” said company director and founder, David Holt.

“Over the last four years we’ve had the pleasure of seeing her creative ability and ideas grow in stature, along with her increasing ability to control and deliver entire projects.”

Bianca Yousef

74 is currently undergoing a period of growth, with further new additions to the team also being made, and a promising schedule of major projects on the drawing board, ranging from masterplanning and place-making to new-build architecture and interiors across the residential, workplace, hospitality and urban planning spectrum.

Bianca’s role will also include increased responsibility within the business in terms of project-running and resourcing as the company continues to grow in size and range.

“This is a really exciting opportunity for me to make a positive impact on the future of 74 and to get more involved in the running of the company, as well as overviewing project work and reviewing and critiquing the team’s designs as they evolve” said Bianca.

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Land promoter Richborough Estates has appointed Harry Jackson as dedicated regional manager for the North of England.

Harry, who joined Richborough in 2016, will focus on identifying suitable residential development sites and bringing them through the planning process to secure outline consent, before selling to a development partner who will deliver the homes.

Harry’s remit extends across the North of England from Manchester, Merseyside, Yorkshire, up to Cumbria and Northumberland.

He said: “Local authorities throughout the UK are under significant pressure to meet government housing targets in order to ensure a continued pipeline of new homes.

“This is putting additional pressure on housing developers who are already operating on slender margins. For us to be able to use our expertise to secure planning consents on a site and then bring it to the open market to find the right development partner provides significant benefits to developers, local authorities, and landowners.”

Harry Jackson

Specialist land promotion companies such as Richborough Estates have become an increasingly vital part of the housing supply process, it says, enabling developers to focus on the delivery of consented schemes.

Of the approximately 541,000 dwellings with outline planning permission on sites of more than 100 dwellings across England, around 41% of these – totalling 221,810 homes – have had outline planning consent secured by strategic land companies.

Harry added: “Throughout the process, we always have in mind the importance of ensuring that any extension to an existing conurbation is in keeping with the existing style and character of the area.

“These extensions act as the catalyst for an influx of new people into a community, it allows existing home owners to upsize or downsize, helps to support local businesses, and can have an exceedingly positive effect on the local area.

“Ideally we are looking for sites of six acres and upwards, which will be able to comfortably accommodate developments of around 50 homes.”

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Radcliffe-based natural beauty products brand, Faith in Nature, has appointed Patrick Turner (38) as sales director to spearhead the company’s growth into new retail channels in the UK and develop the company’s international markets.

Turner joins Faith in Nature following a career working with FMCG brands including Colgate Palmolive, Lee Stafford and nspa.

Patrick Turner

He said: “This is a really exciting time for Faith as we push into new markets and establish the brand in mainstream retail outlets.

“I was attracted to the brand owing to its strong ethical credentials and the team’s commitment to ambitious growth. This is a company with a 45-year history, but it has always shown adaptability and evolved to meet changing market needs.

“There is a real opportunity to grow the brand in a sustainable and consumer-focused way and that’s really exciting.”

Faith in Nature products, which include shampoo, conditioner and body wash, are 99% natural origin, contain no SLS or parabens, are vegan and animal cruelty-free, and made in the UK.

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The Manchester office of national law firm Mills & Reeve has expanded its corporate team with the appointment of Nina Latham.

Nina joins the team as a principal associate from Beyond Corporate, where she was an associate director. Nina has more than 12 years’ experience in providing advice to business owners, entrepreneurs and large corporates and advises on the full spectrum of corporate transactions.

Partner Chris Ross said: “We are delighted to welcome Nina onboard and as an experienced corporate lawyer I’m confident she will be an asset to the team.

Nina Latham

“We are committed to growing our team here in Manchester and the national offering. Her appointment comes at an exciting time as we continue to see growth in instructions from existing and new clients.”

Nina added: “I was attracted to Mills & Reeve as it is leading the way in being a great place to work with enthusiasm for clients really shining through.

“The Manchester team have a great reputation in the corporate finance market, and I can’t wait to help develop this further. Having worked alongside some of the team in previous roles, I know that they are a group of amazing lawyers with a collaborative approach to achieving more together.”