People on the Move: MHA Moore & Smalley; Deepbridge Capital; WorkMobile; Pierce; InnovateHer; Anwyl Homes
North West accountancy and business advisory firm MHA Moore and Smalley has made two senior promotions within its corporate services team.
Nicola Mason and Paul Spencer have been promoted from the role of senior manager to director.
Nicola, who joined MHA Moore and Smalley in 2005, specialises in advising clients in the charity, education and not-for-profit sectors.
As a director she will help oversee the team and further develop the firm’s service offering in these sectors.
Paul has been with the firm since 2010 and specialises in audit services across a wide range of clients, from owner-managed businesses to large companies and international groups. He also has expertise in auditing defined benefit pension schemes.
Graham Gordon, managing partner of MHA Moore and Smalley, said: “Our value to our clients has always been our ability to provide the advice today that enables them to have a brighter and better tomorrow. It’s what helps us build trusted and lasting relationships with our clients to help them grow.
“These are qualities that Nicola and Paul have in abundance. These promotions recognise the loyalty, commitment and invaluable contribution that Nicola and Paul have made to the firm’s corporate services team over many years.”
Paul said: “It’s a privilege to be given the opportunity to help direct the audit team. As part of my new role I’ll be helping to deliver the strategy set by the partners and I’m relishing the opportunity to do so.”
Nicola added: “The firm has a strong reputation in the charity and not-for-profit sector and I’m honoured to have been given the responsibility to help direct the great team we have.”
::
Deepbridge Capital has announced the appointment of Samantha Piddington as its new head of corporate finance.
Chester-based Deepbridge has also announced the addition of three further individuals to its investment team.
Samantha rejoins Deepbridge after previously being a partner in the business between 2010 and 2012. Samantha is a Chartered Accountant and an experienced Corporate Financier, having previously worked with a number of leading accountancy companies and City institutions, including Andersen (now Deloitte) and Hawkpoint Partners (now Canaccord).
As head of corporate finance, Samantha will be working with Deepbridge investee companies to further develop and action exit strategies and co-funding opportunities.
Samantha Piddington
Samantha is joined at Deepbridge by three new colleagues in the investment team: Katy Levitt joins as investment manager, technology having previously been a senior analyst at Syndicate Room. Katy will work with Deepbridge’s portfolio of existing and prospective technology-based investee companies; James Evans, who joins as investment analyst, life sciences in order to support the Deepbridge life sciences investment team; and Max Warwick, who joins as origination executive, and will be helping identify prospective investee companies.
Managing partner Ian Warwick said: “These impressive individuals join our growing team with the aim of ensuring that Deepbridge is able to continue to grow, whilst retaining our high standards of identifying and supporting the very best investee companies.”
Samantha Piddington said: “I am delighted to be back at Deepbridge. The company has grown immeasurably since we last worked together, but the ethos of providing proactive support and added value to highly-innovative investee companies remains refreshingly unchanged.
“With over 100 growth-focused companies having now received funding from Deepbridge I am looking forward to supporting these companies achieve their ultimate goal of providing real returns to our investors.”
::
Manchester-based WorkMobile, a cloud-based data capture specialist, has expanded its tech team with a new software tester.
Divya Akshita, who previously worked at Cybercom Software Systems in India, will be responsible for providing quality assurance on the testing team to ensure the WorkMobile application is fit for purpose and performs to the highest of standards.
Divya will play an important role in enhancing the data capture app to enable remote workers to capture all essential business data in the most efficient and cost-effective form.
Available on every type of mobile device, Workmobile’s app provides a more accurate, compliant and efficient alternative to paper forms captured in real time.
It is stored securely in the cloud, so information can be accessed and shared from anywhere. When necessary, businesses can have a clear electronic audit trail to keep their customers fully informed and ensure that they have proof of operating in the most compliant manner.
Divya Akshita
Divya Akshita said: “The team at Workmobile are data capture specialists and Manchester is becoming well-renowned as an important global tech hub, so this role within the business is a great fit for my expertise.
“Everyone has been incredibly welcoming. I look forward to testing and developing the company’s software to ensure it remains cutting edge and delivers the best service to our customers.”
Graham Stanley, chief technical officer of WorkMobile, said: “Over the past couple of months we have invested heavily in our tech team to ensure we attract and retain the very best in talent. Divya is another fantastic addition to the Workmobile team and we’re confident that she will help boost our tech provision as we expand the business.”
::
Lancashire-based accountancy and business advisory group, Pierce, has appointed two new recruits to strengthen the business.
Charlotte Haining and Paige Mason have joined the Blackburn-based firm as audit and accounts senior and online services advisor, respectively.
Charlotte, who has more than eight-years’ experience in accountancy, started her career straight from sixth form college when she went into a trainee accountancy position.
Before joining Pierce, Charlotte was a management accountant at Euro Garages, prior to that she worked and trained as a Chartered Accountant at a Top 100 firm.
She said: “I’m delighted to join Pierce as they have got an excellent local reputation. I got such a good feel for the company at interview stage as everyone was so down to earth and friendly.
Charlotte Haining and Paige Mason
“I’m really looking forward to working with clients to prepare their statutory accounts and carry out audits on local businesses.”
Paige has just started her career in accountancy. Prior to this, she worked at her family business in the plastic trade, which is a client of Pierce. She is currently studying for her AAT Level 4 in accountancy alongside her new role.
Paige said: “I wanted to be working in a full-time role to support my accountancy studies at night school.
As Pierce are my family’s accountants I knew it was a well-established firm and everyone I had met from the business was really friendly, so when the job came up, I knew it was a great opportunity.
“As part of my role in the online services department, I assist clients with the help of accounting software, an area that has grown due to Making Tax Digital, as well as preparing accounts and VAT returns.”
Lisa Kennery, director at Pierce, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Charlotte and Paige to the Pierce team. Both will play a crucial part in the business and will help support our continued growth.
“Their experience, professional attitude and commitment to the role will make them both a great asset to our team.”
::
A national enterprise that aims to improve the gender balance in the technology sector has appointed Code Computerlove’s Tony Foggett as a non-executive director.
Tony, who is chief executive of the long-established Manchester digital agency, has been involved with InnovateHer – which aims to give girls aged 12-16 the self belief and skills they need to pursue a career in technology – since last Summer.
He will now be providing additional support to the organisation to help it realise its vision ‘to get girls ready for the tech industry and the tech industry ready for girls’.
The organisation encourages greater equality and diversity in technical roles by enabling pupils to interact with leading employers and industry role models and learn new digital skills.
Acting as a mentor and member of its advisory board, Tony has been helping the Manchester and Liverpool-based team develop its educational and coaching programmes, including an eight-week after-school programme that is being implemented in schools across every borough in the Greater Manchester combined authority area.
Code Computerlove is also a partner business within the InnovateHer partner network, which ranges from local businesses to global organisations, charities, universities and alternative education providers.
Tony Foggett
The team at InnovateHer works closely with its partner network to ensure that they are inclusive places to work, sharing best practice and providing advice and support on aspects like recruitment and culture.
Jo Morfee, co-founder of InnovateHer, said: “Tony brings more than 20 years’ experience of working in the digital sector and some brilliant insights from his experience of growing a business successfully.
“His input has already been invaluable, he has helped us to develop a scalable model so that we can deliver in multiple schools simultaneously. The team at Code have also helped us to design a new web development-themed programme, which has now been run in two local schools.
“Tony is genuinely as passionate as we are about closing the gender gap within the technology sector and his own approach to business is inspirational to us all. I know the girls who recently went into Code Computerlove for training, talks and practical tasks with Tony and the Computerlover team came away full of excitement about career opportunities in the digital sector.”
Tony Foggett said: “I originally started working with InnovateHer as a company member business. Our industry has, for a while, been in a talent crisis, and for as long as we fail to get girls more enthused about a career in the technology this will not change.
“It’s not just a case of helping girls be digitally ready, but ensuring that businesses are ready for girls. We need to have role models within our businesses and at every level be a place where they belong. I’m delighted to be a part of this journey with InnovateHer as I think they will make a lasting and sustainable impact with the model they’ve developed.”
::
The Lancashire region of Anwyl Homes is gearing up for growth with the appointment of 10 new employees at its Chorley head office in Buckshaw Village.
The housebuilder is forecasting to deliver more than 125 high-quality new build homes from its Lancashire office before the end of June 2020 and is making a raft of new appointments across its technical, commercial, construction and sales and marketing teams to help fulfil its expansion objectives.
An extension of the hugely successful Anwyl Group that employs more than 200 people from its head office in North Wales, the Lancashire region was established by managing director John Grime, with the support of two senior executives, and has made a strong start in the past 18 months.
Expanding at pace, it now employs more than 20 people from its own dedicated 4,000 sq ft Lancashire office at Rutherford Point and is on site with three developments: Carr’s Rise in Prescot; Edenhurst Grange in Liverpool; and Lea Grange in St Helens, that will produce 325 quality new build homes over the next three years.
John Grime with some of the new team
The Lancashire region shows no sign of slowing down. Three further developments are currently awaiting planning approval and there are opportunities in the pipeline that will be more swiftly accelerated thanks to the expansion of the team and additional knowledge and expertise.
Managing director of Anwyl Homes Lancashire, John Grime, said: “We’ve been delighted with the progress that has been made by the region over the last 18 months.
“From a standing start we were on site with our first development within six months, swiftly followed by two further schemes, and have plans in place to bring a further three developments to the market before the end of this calendar year.
“Having the right team in place is essential to achieve the speed of growth that we’re looking for, and to ensure that the Anwyl brand values of quality and thoughtful building are maintained as we expand further into new geographical areas.
“I’m confident that our new employees will blend seamlessly with our existing experienced team and look forward to working closely with them over the coming months.”
