Appointments: Pannone, NorthEdge, Equilibrium

JONATHAN Gulliford has joined Pannone’s Pannone Affinity arm as a consultant to assist with its growth plans.

Pannone Affinity is the firm’s “white label” division which sells legal services through third parties that use their own branding.

Mr Gulliford was one of the architects of Co-operative Legal Services (CLS). He joined the Co-operative Group in 2006 and helped grow CLS from nothing to a turnover of £30m. In 2012, CLS became the first SRA regulated Alternative Business Structure.

Pannone Affinity was launched by Pannone in 2011 to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the Legal Services Act. It has since signed deals with a number of intermediaries to provide legal advice in both consumer and commercial areas of law.

Affinity partner Charles Layfield said: “Jonathan brings a wealth of experience in the ever-changing legal market. We are delighted to welcome someone with Jonathan’s pedigree to assist in the development of Affinity.”

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NORTHEDGE Capital, the private equity firm with a £225m fund for the North of England, has appointed David Moore as chief portfolio officer.

An accountant, Mr Moore spent 14 years at Ultraframe, the Lancashire-based conservatory systems manufacturer, including more than seven years as chief executive.

During his time at Ultraframe, the business acquired US group Four Seasons, secured private equity investment from 3i and floated on the London Stock Exchange, later joining the FTSE 250.

In his new role, he will be responsible for working alongside the NorthEdge new business team in monitoring the firm’s portfolio, which currently comprises three businesses.

He said: “NorthEdge offers a unique proposition and it was an offer I simply could not turn down. In my new role I’m looking forward to using my experience to support businesses in the portfolio and future investments, working closely with them on strategy and driving value-add given my hands-on operational experience over many years at board level in the North.”

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WILMSLOW wealth management company Equilibrium Asset Management has made three new appointments after further business growth.

Nigel Grayson-Thorne has joined as a management accountant, Adrian Edwards as client manager and Rachel Lee as trainee client manager.
 
In the past 12 months, Equilibrium has expanded its client base by 42% from 370 to 525.
 
Colin Lawson, managing partner at Equilibrium, said: “It’s great to be once again developing the Equilibrium team; we’re not only expanding in numbers but also in new areas in the North West.”

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UKFAST, the Manchester-based cloud computing company, has appointed a former teacher, Aaron Saxton, to develop and launch an apprentice and training scheme.

Mr Saxton spent seven years at Ashton on Mersey School in Greater Manchester, where he worked with UKFast on developing the National IT Diploma and other initiatives.

UKFast chief executive Lawrence Jones: “Aaron is the driving force behind our new training and educational programme which will ensure that as we continue to expand at a rapid rate, our team is ahead of the curve in terms of industry and technological knowledge.”

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EQUILIBRIUM Asset Management has hired a trio of new recruits.
 
The Wilmslow-based wealth management company has recruited across the business, appointing Nigel Grayson-Thorne as management accountant, Adrian Edwards as client manager and Rachel Lee as trainee client manager.
 
In the past 12 months, Equilibrium has expanded its client base from 370 to 525, a 42% rise, and increased the assets under its management by £50m.
 
Edwards was previously a paraplanner for Greystone Financial Services, Lee joins from investment firm A J Bell. Grayson-Thorne joins from the accounting department at Currie & Warner Group and will be responsible for the day-to-day business accounts and cost controls.
 
Colin Lawson, managing partner at Equilibrium, said: “It’s great to be once again developing the Equilibrium team. We’re not only expanding in numbers but also in new areas in the North West. At the start of this year we opened a new office in Chester. Our business is based on transparency; this open way of doing business, is key to our success. It’s exciting to be part of a company which is really growing and we welcome our three new experts to the Equilibrium team.”