Appointments: Swimtime; UHY Hacker Young & more

SOUTH Manchester businesswoman Linda Price, co- founder of the UK’s largest independent provider of swimming lessons, Swimtime, has been elected to the role of British Franchise Association  Forum Chair for the North.

Having been voted-in by other franchised company owners, Mrs Price will join six other elected regional Chairs with the aim of promoting best practice and knowledge sharing between franchisors and advisors to this growing sector, at regular regional meetings.

Linda Price, said: “I am delighted and honoured to take on this prestigious role. I am a passionate advocate of the franchise business model as a way of helping people – particularly young people – get into business and to earn a living.

“The advantages of being a franchisor is that you can help to set up and support young businesses and provide them with resources to go from strength to strength, and I will be using the role as Forum Chair to understand what the bfa can do to help franchisor businesses across the North of England.”

Manchester based Swimtime, set up by Linda and husband Barry Price in 1997,  has franchisees who currently run swim school programmes in over 200 swimming pools across the UK.

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THE Manchester office of UHY Hacker Young is celebrating a quartet of appointments.
 
Lee Hulme has joined as an audit/accounts senior having previously been at Champion accountants in Worsley.  Joining the firm’s tax department is tax senior, Nadia Ali. Ali has a background in R&D work, an area of high activity for UHY Hacker Young  and joins from Sterling Partners in Didsbury.

Jennifer Carline has joined the busy payroll department that is expanding in response to the government’s introduction of auto-enrolment. Also, Karen Forsyth has joined as receptionist following Claire Bostock’s internal promotion to PA.

Mike Wasinski, managing partner at UHY Hacker Young said: “We are very pleased to have added the expertise, energy and enthusiasm of these  new members of our team. As a business we are growing our client base and the specialist skills that they possess will further strengthen our position as one of the leading accountants and business advisers in Manchester.”

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BOUTIQUE commercial law firm Turner Parkinson has strengthened its dispute resolution team with the appointment of associate, Peter Barnard.

Barnard joins Manchester-based Turner Parkinson from Pannone, part of Slater & Gordon and specialises in commercial and real estate litigation, advising both UK and overseas clients on a wide range issues.

Head of litigation at Turner Parkinson Ian Fitzpatrick said: “Peter is an excellent addition to our growing dispute resolution team.  We have recently bolstered our ranks with the addition of Catherine Wasilewski and I am delighted to have recruited Peter to the team.  He has been involved in high profile litigation over the last few years and brings additional strength and expertise particularly in the area of real estate litigation.”

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DSG – the Bolton based quantity surveyor and BIM (Building Information Modelling)specialist – has made two key promotions.

The practice – who also has offices in Newbury and Coventry – has promoted Bernadette Lord to commercial director and equity partner, and Kerry Dodds to businesses operations director.

Bernadette Lord joined DSG in 2013 and was previously an associate at global practice –  Gleeds. She has been hugely responsible for the phenomenal growth of the Bolton office, which has increased fourfold in just 18 months.

Kerry Dodds – previously an associate – will now be responsible for the successful delivery of projects and to maximise existing relationships with DSG’s national list of clients including many of the country’s leading contractors, architects and developers.

Managing director Steven Gosling commented: “These promotions form part of our strategic plan for growth in 2015 in the North West and nationally, and will strengthen our position for the future.”

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