Appointments: KPMG; EY; City West & more
KPMG is boosting its corporate finance offering in Merseyside by appointing two full-time M&A specialists to its Liverpool office.
Mark Booth, director in KPMG’s corporate finance practice in Manchester, will be moving to the firm’s Liverpool office on a full-time basis, where he will be joined by assistant manager Gavin Jones.
The move follows Mr Booth’s role as lead advisor to Merseyside-based food and drink manufacturer Aimia Foods in its sale to Canada’s Cott Corporation in June, and as part of the KPMG team that advised TSC Foods on its sale to Edward Billington & Son.
Chris Fry, office senior partner of KPMG in Liverpool, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mark and Gavin to the Liverpool office. With the economy having turned a corner and growth issues now leading the boardroom agenda, many of our clients are now approaching us for advice on how they can take their business to the next level, be it organically or inorganically.
“Mark’s knowledge of the Merseyside marketplace, gained from acting on high-profile deals including Aimia and TSC Foods, meant that he was the obvious choice to head up our new M&A team in the city. His new role will see him build on our market leading position by co-ordinating the whole of KPMG’s multidisciplinary M&A offering to companies across Merseyside and Cheshire.”
Mr Booth has been with KPMG since 1995. Gavin Jones trained with EY and moved to Dow Schofield Watts in 2012 before joining KPMG this year.
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EY has strengthened its North West tax team with the appointment of executive director Gabrielle McParlin.
McParlin, who joins following 13 years with Deloitte, will lead EY’s tax controversy and risk management unit in the region, as well as support clients nationally.
A former advisory accountant at HMRC, she specialises in advising large corporates and individuals on the management and resolution of complex disputes with tax authorities – both in the UK and worldwide, as well as helping businesses to improve their tax reporting standards and systems.
Noam Handler, tax partner at EY in the North West, commented: “Gabrielle’s deep technical knowledge and strong relationships with businesses will prove invaluable as we target further expansion in our North West tax team, which now has one of the most comprehensive service offerings in the region.”
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CITY West Housing Trust has appointed Mike Parkin as its new director of finance and IT.
He joins the Salford-based housing association, which owns and manages 14,600 homes, from North Wales Police where he has worked as director of finance and resource since 2007.
The 43-year-old, who is from Wirral, has previously worked for Wirral Metropolitan College and North Wales Newspapers.
Tim Doyle, chief executive at City West Housing Trust, said: “Mike brings a vast amount of experience that will be crucial as we prepare our organisation to tackle the significant financial challenges that lie ahead for the sector.”
Mr Parkin replaces Paul Whitehead, who has moved to a senior role at Oldham Council.
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CHESTER building consultancy Powell Williams has appointed chartered surveyor David Hollingsworth as an associate.
Mr Hollingsworth specialises in party wall disputes, insurance assessment and reinstatement, and contract administration. He will be based in the firm’s Chester office, but will also support clients of the firm’s London and Birmingham teams.
He joins the firm from The Vinden Partnership in Nottingham where he was a managing building surveyor for seven years.
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MLP Solicitors, the Altrincham has bolstered its business services division with the additions of Karen Bexley as director in its employment team and Emma Lewis as senior solicitor in corporate commercial.
Employment law expert, Karen Bexley, moves to MLP Solicitors from the role of legal director at Millbank Edge LLP. Prior to this she was an associate solicitor at DAC Beachcroft LLP for nine years. Emma Lewis joins the firm from Sale firm Slater Heelis LLP where she has been advising owner managed businesses in all aspects of corporate and commercial law.
Managing parner Stephen Attree, said: “The market has picked up considerably in the last 12 months and, having been cautiously optimistic about growth, we are now in the position to increase our headcount in response to the volumes of client work coming through our doors.”
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PR firm Weber Shandwick Manchester has hired two new consultants for its growing corporate team.
Bill Ranatunga has joined as a senior account manager from Weber Shandwick’s Glasgow office where he worked for more than four years. He has six years’ experience across the UK and Asia in agency and in-house positions.
Meanwhile Dean Gallagher has joined as an account manager after four years at Fettle PR in Lancashire where he was seconded to sister company Lancashire Business View as marketing manager.
Jo Leah, managing director and chair English regions & Wales, said: “2014 has been a stellar year for the corporate team Manchester which is going from strength-to-strength. We’re delighted to welcome Bill and Dean to the team. ”
