People: BGF expands team in Yorkshire; New Lord-Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenant announced; Marketing specialist makes trio of hires; and more

BGF has announced three hires to its Yorkshire team, welcoming Mark Rigby as portfolio manager, Jessica Rushton as business development manager, and Philippa Kelly as office administrator.

Rigby joins BGF following six years with Jaguar Land Rover where he was finance lead for strategic projects. He also previously held roles at KPMG and EY. He will work alongside the investment team to support portfolio businesses in Yorkshire and the wider Northern regions.

Rushton joins BGF following four years with Leonard Curtis Business Solutions, where she played a central role in its growth and expansion across Yorkshire and the North East, including launching its Sunderland satellite office.

Kelly’s most recent role was working for Emirates Airlines based in Dubai before returning to her hometown of Leeds.

The three appointments follow a busy first half for BGF’s Leeds-based team.

New investments have included Sheffield-based Independent Forgings and Alloys, as well as Arcinova and SaleCycle in the North East, while follow-on funding has been provided to Pharmacy2U and Nationwide Window Cleaning.

The team recently moved into new offices at Platform in Leeds.

Richard Taylor, BGF, said: “We have had an active first half of the year with new investment activity as well as follow-on funding into the portfolio. We are continuing to meet with a diverse range of companies – across all different sectors and stages.

“Despite the ongoing uncertainty in the broader business context, our conversations with business owners in the region show an appetite to be proactive around growth, and strengthen or cement their position in their markets. We are delighted to be expanding the team and welcoming Mark, Jessica and Phillipa.”

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Ed Anderson, current chairman of the Airport Operators’ Association and former CEO at Leeds Bradford Airport, is to become Lord-Lieutenant for the County of West Yorkshire.

The Queen has appointed Anderson to the role. He is also a board member of Opera North, a council member of Leeds University, a trustee of the Leeds Piano Competition, and pro chancellor at Leeds Trinity University.

Anderson succeeds Lord Lieutenant Dame Ingrid Roscoe, who has held the post for 14 years and will step down on September 1.

Edward Ziff, chairman and chief executive of property investor and car park operator Town Centre Securities (TCS), has been appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant. The ceremonial title is conferred on the recommendation of Dame Ingrid Roscoe. The Lord-Lieutenant is Her Majesty the Queen’s representative within the county. Deputy Lieutenants are appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant following Royal consent.

Ziff said: “It is a deep honour and privilege to have been appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Yorkshire Lieutenancy.

“This is an extremely prestigious position and I am excited about supporting the Lord-Lieutenant in conducting his duties across the county in the months and years to come.”

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B2B marketing specialist Fox Agency has made three new appointments to assist with an increase in client wins.

The trio are senior creative Richard Meads, designer Emma Nicholson and copywriter Sam Brewin.

Brewin joins from Epiphany, Meads most recently worked for Blue Digital and Nicholson joins after graduating with a first-class honours degree in graphic design from Huddersfield University.

Al Fox, director of Fox Agency, said: “Our business development team is certainly bringing in plenty of new clients of late, and as we pride ourselves on delivering high quality work as fast as possible, we need to invest in teams to maintain this. We’re very proud of the calibre of talent we have across the business and these latest recruits will bolster our creative and content departments as we gear up for further growth.”

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Student accommodation and higher education specialist Sarah Jones has rejoined Cushman & Wakefield as partner having spent 18 months at Empiric Student Property as director of research and development.

She will be based in Cushman & Wakefield’s Leeds office and will be working with Andrew TC Smith who heads the firm’s public sector advisory team nationally.

Jones formerly worked in the education and innovation team at Cushman & Wakefield and established the student residential advisory skill line.

In her new role, she will be working closely with Smith to expand the range of services Cushman & Wakefield offers in areas of university interactions with private sector partners and investors.

Smith said: “We are delighted that Sarah has chosen to return and will continue to develop our practice working with universities on residential and strategic estates matters.”

Jones added: “This is an exciting new role, working with universities at the forefront of their development and I am looking forward to working with the wider team to expand the skill line.”