People on the move: Leigh Day; Seneca; Glenbrook; GMCC; PwC; GL Hearn
MEDICAL negligence specialist Brendan Hope has left Slater and Gordon to join Leigh Day as a partner at the firm’s Manchester office.
He teams up again with former colleague Stephen Jones, who heads Leigh Day’s clinical negligence team in Manchester, which already includes two ex-Slater & Gordon medical negligence solicitors, Jessica Holt and Claire White.
Hope joined Manchester law firm Pannone in 1999, qualifying in 2002. For the past 14 years he has specialised in clinical negligence cases and is well known for his work on catastrophic brain and spinal injury, amputation and failure to diagnose cancer cases.
The Manchester office of Leigh Day has grown to more 50 people after opening in November 2014.
Leigh Day’s Manchester office head, Andrew Bradley said, “We are naturally delighted to secure the services of such a highly regarded expert in his field. Brendan will further strengthen Leigh Day’s growing reputation both here in the North West and nationally.”
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NORTH West-based Seneca Partners, the investment management and corporate advisory business, has appointed director Richard Manley as its Managing Partner.
Manley was one of the founding directors of Seneca Partners in 2010. Since inception Seneca and its group of companies has grown from seven staff, to over 60 across four North West office locations.
Seneca’s growth has recently seen a doubling of space at its Haydock headquarters where approximately 30 staff are based.
Manley said: “This is a very exciting time for all involved with Seneca. We have seen excellent growth over the last six years and we are planning much more. From a standing start we now have multiple business lines successfully servicing the needs of our high net worth investor and SME client base. We have an enviable group of people here at Seneca and the future is certainly something to be excited about.”
Ian Currie, director of Seneca Partners, said: “The appointment of Richard Manley as our Managing Partner was an obvious one. His knowledge of all the different parts of our business makes him invaluable and his desire and drive to continue the strong growth curve we are currently on makes him the ideal leader. Richard has an excellent team around him and we are excited by the long-term prospects for Seneca.”
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MANCHESTER-based property development and investment company Glenbrook has appointed Dan Symonds and Mike Shaw to its team.
Symonds joins Glenbrook as development manager from Barnfield Construction where he was head of development and acquisitions for two years. Prior to this, he worked with Glenbrook director Guy Butler at Grosvenor, for several years.
Symond’ new remit will be to identify development sites across all sectors, but predominantly in the build-to-rent sector.
The second appointment sees Mike Shaw come on board as development surveyor. Shaw studied real estate development at the University of Manchester and worked as a graduate development surveyor at Henry Boot Developments in Manchester. He is undertaking his RICS APC in Development and Planning whilst at Glenbrook.
Glenbrook has enjoyed a successful 12 months having secured a £40m funding agreement with Moorfield and then starting on site with the 232-unit PRS scheme in Castlefield, and securing planning for 257 units on the second phase of The Keel in Liverpool city centre, having completed phase one in September 2015 which totalled 240 units.
Guy Butler, director at Glenbrook, said: “Bringing on board these two talented individuals will allow us to identify more development sites across the UK, as well as provide additional support on our existing portfolio. Dan’s experiences from Grosvenor are helpful, and it is great to be reunited. We are evaluating several new locations, particularly in the Midlands, where we believe PRS can succeed.”
Symonds added: “Glenbrook is an active company and one that isn’t afraid to look at new investment and development opportunities where it can add further value. In addition to PRS, which is a core area for the business, my experience in dealing with large, mixed-use schemes, will allow us to widen the scope of our property portfolio over the coming years.”
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WAYNE Jones has been appointed for a second term as president of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
In his second year, Jones, who is member of the executive board of MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, will continue to focus on his presidential themes of international trade, engineering and young people.
He said: “Twelve months ago when I launched my three presidential themes, I knew international trade would be a key issue but didn’t realise how critical it would become in the light of Brexit.
“It is now even more important we keep close ties with our European colleagues. Senior level meetings have been held with both the Hamburg and Munich Chambers of Commerce to develop strong connections, particularly in the manufacturing sector. A high level delegation from Germany will visit Manchester in 2017 to help forge closer links between our two countries.
“My other themes – the engineering sector and young people and skills – are as equally important as trade. They may not have the current national media spotlight on them but there is an urgent need to tackle some deep rooted issues.”
During his first year in office, Jones has been involved with the re-launch of the Chamber’s Engineering and Manufacturing Forum. The Forum is looking at issues including the image of the sector, the challenges of recruiting staff and the difficulty in attracting young people into the industry.
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PWC has announced the addition of Peter Dickens to support leadership of the North West restructuring team.
Dickens is a highly experienced director who is moving from PwC’s restructuring team in London.
His focus is on supporting private clients that might be facing a variety of financial or operational challenges, working with management teams to improve profitability, generate cash and, if needed, access the debt markets.
Dickens has worked across a wide range of industries and territories, with particular recent experience in retail, financial services and natural resources.
Toby Underwood, restructuring partner at PwC, said: “Peter’s appointment is a timely addition to the team as corporates in the North West look to assess the consequences on their operations and funding following the result of the referendum. Peter’s experience in the UK and with overseas markets will be particularly valuable”.
Iwan Griffith’s North West regional chairman said: “The firm recognises the importance of continuing to invest in the North and Peter’s move is a sign of our confidence in the region and our desire to ensure we are able to support our private corporate clients to deliver their business and growth aspirations irrespective of their financial position.”
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DEBORAH McLaughlin has now joined GL Hearn, part of Capita Real Estate.
McLaughlin is a highly regarded professional in the arena of housing strategy and delivery. She has a proven track record of accelerating growth and will be leading GL Hearn and Capita’s national approach to housing strategy and delivery. She will also head up GL Hearn’s Manchester office.
She joins from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), where she was executive director for the North West and responsible for supporting local authorities in the North to meet their economic growth and regeneration priorities.
McLaughlin was instrumental in the delivery of many successful investment schemes, including a substantial affordable housing programme, the rebirth of Ancoats in Manchester, working with partners to deliver the Preston and Lancashire City Deal and the rapid expansion of the Omega site near Warrington. In particular, Deborah was Chief Executive of Manchester Place to set up and drive the partnership between Manchester City Council and the HCA.
