People: Private equity firm makes senior hire; New project director for property investor and developer; and more

LDC has further strengthened its proposition in Birmingham with the appointment of a new investment director.

Phil Hinson joins LDC’s now 11-strong investment team in the Midlands from Cooper Parry, bringing 20 years experience to the firm.

In his new role, he will be responsible for identifying potential investment opportunities, leading transactions and supporting LDC’s portfolio of investment companies backed by the Midlands’ team.

Hinson was previously a partner at Cooper Parry’s Midlands-based corporate finance team, with responsibility for deal origination and leading client engagements across the region. A well-known figure in Birmingham’s advisory community, he has acted as lead advisor on numerous mid-market transactions across a diverse range of sectors, working with both corporate and private shareholders.

Hinson’s appointment coincides with a period of significant growth and success for LDC in the Midlands following investments in IT specialist Littlefish, motor finance technology company Evolution Funding, vehicle management and logistics support specialist SMH Fleet Solutions and active holiday provider Neilson Active Holidays.

Richard Whitwell, head of LDC in the Midlands said: “Phil’s knowledge and expertise brings additional firepower to our team and we’re very pleased to be welcoming him to LDC. His appointment will help us to meet our commitment to invest significant equity in firms across the Midlands as part of our wider, national pledge to invest £1.2billion in mid-sized businesses over the next three years.”

Hinson added: “The Midlands is a key region for LDC. I’m thrilled to be joining the team at such an exciting time in its growth journey and helping to deliver on our commitment to back high-quality and ambitious management teams of well-performing businesses with strong growth prospects.”

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Commercial property investor and developer Barberry Group has appointed project director Jon Mott to help drive delivery of its growing pipeline of developments across the industrial, residential and student accommodation sectors.

Mott has joined the Midlands-based company as it continues to deliver 2.8 million sq ft of industrial projects with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of more than £295m at key sites across the UK.

Barberry is also delivering student accommodation and residential schemes worth in excess of £200m and has circa 600 acres of strategic development land across 11 sites under its control.

Mott was an associate director at Colliers International, within its building surveying team, from 2005 to 2012. Having been the client contact for Papa John’s whilst at Colliers, he was recruited by the pizza company to set-up its in-house construction and development team. He became director of development in 2017.

His achievements include taking development capacity of the business from 10 to 50 stores per year within three years; the development team doubled to 10 people; unit development rose from 180 to around 425 stores; annual profit increased to £5m in 2018; and he led the redevelopment of Papa John’s European headquarters in Milton Keynes.

He said: “The opportunity arose to return to the Midlands property market with a new role as project director at Barberry and it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. The company is highly respected and is enjoying a period of sustained growth, delivering a wide variety of projects at sites across the country. I hope to apply the knowledge and skills I’ve acquired not only within consultancy but also as part of a large, multi-national organisation, to help drive Barberry’s current and future development programme.”

Barberry group director Henry Bellfield said: “With a 2.8 million sq ft logistics/industrial pipeline, further residential and student phases at Bishop Gate in Coventry, and circa 600 acres of strategic land promotion,these are exciting times at Barberry and Jon has been recruited to support and enable the continued growth of the business.

“Delivery of the significant development and land pipeline under Barberry Group control and ownership is driving our business forward, with a focus on the key growth sectors of residential/student and industrial/logistics – ‘beds and sheds’.

“We are planning to continue to invest in all areas of our business, from people to our property investment portfolio, and our existing development pipeline. We also remain selectively acquisitive for further properties and sites.”

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BLM’s head of commercial advisory and private wealth, Siri Siriwardene, has joined the Birmingham City Council’s Business Growth Programme 2 Investment Board.

Siriwardene will be representing BLM alongside other industry board members to support development of West Midlands B2B SMEs.

The £25m BGP 2 is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and provides two levels of grant funding.  For existing B2B SMEs located in or moving into the Greater Birmingham and Solihull and The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership areas, grants are available of £10k – £1 million, whilst for start-up B2B businesses located in or moving into The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership area only, grants of £2.5k – £10k are available.

The Investment Board will review eligibility criteria for each business and subject to the criteria being met, a BGP2 grant can be offered on the basis of the company creating jobs.

BLM is the only legal firm on the investment board which comprises members representing a range of sectors, including automotive, rail, banking, education, LEPS, manufacturing and representative from Birmingham City Council.

Siriwardene said: “I’m honoured to be a part of the BGP 2 Investment Board that will play an integral part of facilitating the development of SMEs in the West Midlands. We have a fantastic opportunity to maximise potential growth opportunities that will help the region diversify into new sectors as well as assist pre-established businesses. I am excited to be part of the great team that will take these to the next level.”

Mohammed Zahir, head of business enterprise and innovation, Birmingham City Council, said: “We are thrilled to have Siri Siriwardene on the BGP 2 Investment Board. His appointment complements our existing panel and is a great endorsement of our strategy and ambition. With his combined legal sector experience and entrepreneurial history, Siri is familiar with the challenges and opportunities that exist for SMEs. His strong sector knowledge and experience will be vital as we deliver on the objectives of the programme.”

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A trio of appointments is helping a Telford precision manufacturing specialist deliver a 40% boost in sales.

Advanced Chemical Etching (A.C.E) has strengthened its management team by recruiting Carwyn Howells and Peter Kirwan as production manager and head of plant and facilities respectively, with the duo key to managing volume increases and capitalising on a £500,000 investment drive in new inspection equipment and pre and post-cleaning machines.

They will be joined at the Hortonwood firm by Ian Radford, who brings years of experience in the aerospace sector to his new role as quality manager.

“The last 15 months have been very good for us as a business, with £2m of new orders won and sales rocketing to £7.6m,” said Ian Whateley, managing director of A.C.E.

“It’s all well and good winning the work, but you need to make sure you deliver what you have promised and these trio of appointments is crucial to us achieving just that in terms of production, quality and lead times.

“Carwyn, Peter and Ian are all very experienced in what they do and fit perfectly into our company-wide commitment to continuous improvement. They have all contributing to improving our performance and ensuring we have the capacity to target our long-term aim of £10m turnover by 2022.”

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