Appointments: Corporate lawyer nets top UKFast role & more

CORPORATE lawyer Nicola Frost has moved from private practice to an in-house role at UKFast, the datacentres operator.

Frost, who was a partner at DWF in Manchester, is joining the ambitious company as head of legal.

She said: “Having spent my entire career in law firms, it’s a definite departure to move to an in-house role, but the dynamic nature of the business made it very attractive for me.  The company has seen astonishing growth over the past 15 years and I am excited to play my part in accelerating UKFast to the next level.  Ordinarily a move like this would take some courage, but hearing Lawrence’s vision for the future of UKFast made it a very easy step.”

Lawrence Jones UKFast’s co-founder and chief executive said: “The past few years have seen us grow remarkably. But in a funny way the journey is just beginning.

“As we embark on the next stage of our growth, I am more focused than ever.  Nicola is a great asset to the UKFast team and has a great deal of experience working with M&A director Catherine Houghton formerly of LDC who joined us last year.”

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ANDREW Dench has joined Electricity North West, the company that owns and maintains the regional power network, as chief financial officer.

Dench has joined the private equity-owned business from his role as head of corporate finance at the London Stock Exchange Group before which he was CFO and deputy CEO at Veolia Water UK, Ireland and Northern Europe.

He said: “I’m delighted that I’ve joined the company at such an important time for the business, the region and the industry.”

Chief executive, Steve Johnson, added: “Andrew is a great asset to our executive team as we continue to offer a great value, reliable service to the North West.”

Dench replaces David Brocksom who was interim CFO for 18 months.

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MANCHESTER building consultancy division at JLL has been strengthened with two new appointments and two promotions.

Gareth Davies joins as a senior surveyor following eight years’ experience in Deloitte Real Estate’s construction advisory and project management department which saw him deliver surveying consultancy for clients including Tate Liverpool, University of Manchester and the Home Office.

The team has also welcomed Andrew Allen as a graduate surveyor following the completion of his degree at Sheffield Hallam University last year. Prior to this Andrew gained experience working at Nottingham property firm Focus Consultants, supporting its building surveying activities.

In addition to the new appointments, the team has also promoted Keiran Melfi and Stefan Heaton to senior surveyor roles.

Peter Lees, head of the Buildings & Construction team, said: “Gareth and Andrew’s appointments take the team to 20 in Manchester which reflects our strategy for continued growth.

“The two new roles have been created to ensure we continue to capture the wealth of opportunities coming forward in the commercial office, residential and out of town retail sectors from both new and existing clients.”

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SWANSWAY Group, owner of the Volkswagen Van Centre Lancashire in Preston, has appointed David Cowan as brand director to strengthen its offer across the county.

Located off Bluebell Way, the van centre is an integral part of the group’s commercial vehicle division, which also operates sites in Birmingham, Wrexham and Liverpool and employs 720 people and has an annual turnover of £420mn across the entire group.
 
Swansway says role of brand director is a new strategic post that will help drive business improvements across the group.

With 22 years of automotive experience, Cowan joined the Group in 2003 as the head of business at the Wrexham business. He subsequently moved to the Group’s flagship Liverpool site in 2010 where he played a central role in the construction of the new £2m business.

“I’m delighted to have been appointed Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle brand director and look forward to driving strategies throughout the group that will improve efficiency, drive growth and ultimately lead to improved customer service levels across the group.”