People: Automotive tech firm welcomes raft of senior appointments; Harworth Group appoints trio of new directors; and more

DealTrak, the Leeds-headquartered automotive F&I technology firm, has announced a number of new appointments on its senior teams.

At the helm of the business is a new Executive Committee (ExCo) led by Managing Director Martin Hill.

Ian Tinker joins as Commercial Director following almost 20 years working in the automotive industry, and Joanna Burton has come on board as Financial Controller.

Head of Insurance Christian Ingrey has assumed additional responsibility as Head of Data Strategy, Ben Moore is now IT Director and the sixth ExCo member is Operations Director Steve Lees, who has been with the business since July 2016.

DealTrak has also formed a new six-strong management team comprising of the company’s new Head of Marketing Simon Banoub, recently-appointed Business Development Manager Jon Sheard and Product Manager Katie Barwood who joined the business in March.

Based at Leeds Dock, DealTrak has a turnover of £3.6m.

Martin Hill, the company’s Managing Director, said: “So many businesses comment on their culture, but in truth it is often an aside. At DealTrak, we’re all clear on our purpose as a company and this shines through in the colleagues we recruit – we have a team of 40 and our retention rate is fundamental to our growth.

“The formation of a new ExCo and management team may seem like major change for DealTrak, but it’s all part of our new swathe of people-led direction.

“We’re now clearer on who is responsible for what, we’ve appointed some of the most experienced talent in the industry to take on our newly-created roles, and we have a much stronger representation of the entire company’s voice at a senior level, as we work towards our ambitious 2021 targets.”

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Harworth Group plc has appointed three directors to head up its development operations in each of its core regions of the Midlands, North West and Central (Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire).

Headquartered in Rotherham, the company regenerates land and property for development and investment.

In the Midlands, David Cockroft will join Harworth as Regional Director for the Midlands. Cockroft was previously the Director of City Centre & Major Projects Development at Coventry City Council and has over 25 years’ experience in regeneration and brownfield development.  

Cockroft will spearhead Harworth’s growth into the West Midlands, building on Harworth’s acquisition of the former Ironbridge power station in Shropshire in June 2018 as it looks to acquire further sites as well as developing existing sites such as Harworth’s Coalville development – the delivery of over 2,000 new housing plots over the next 15 years.

Harworth has also appointed Steven Knowles as Regional Director for the North West. Knowles joined Harworth in September 2018 having previously worked for St Modwen Properties plc for 14 years, most recently as their North West Regional Director.

He will be responsible for purchasing new strategic sites in the region as well as developing existing sites such as Logistics North in Bolton.

Peter Henry (pictured) has also been promoted to Regional Director for its largest region of Central (Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire). Henry was formally Harworth’s Director of Development and had responsibility for the identification, delivery and management of its fourteen major project sites including Waverley in Rotherham.

Waverley will remain one of Henry’s key development sites, in addition to developments such as Simpson Park in Nottinghamshire (1500 new homes), Thoresby in Nottinghamshire (800 new homes and 250,000 sq. ft of employment space) and Prince of Wales in Pontefract, West Yorkshire (917 new homes and 265,000 sq. ft of commercial space).

Owen Michaelson, CEO of Harworth, said: “Each regional team will be responsible for the acquisition, promotion and development of all sites in their region, and building the local networks and relationships which are an essential element of the new business model.

“We believe that this will generate greater management cohesion between the acquisition and delivery functions and allow each regional team to become embedded in their respective local market, further increasing the profile of the business and supporting our efforts to secure further developable land and property to grow the business in a sustainable manner.”

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Project BankNorth, the new challenger bank start-up, has announced three new senior appointments.

Ewan Hutton, Andrea Dalton and Goi Ashmore join Project BankNorth as it closes in on its seed capital raise, which is more than 80% subscribed.

With more than half a century of experience between them, the trio will join the team as Chief Technology Officer, Programme Director and Treasurer respectively.

Hutton, who’s experience includes First Direct, Simpson Millar and HSBC, said: “I have a wide range of experience in global and domestic roles at the intersection of marketing, technology and innovation, and I look forward to bringing these skills and mindset to this innovative company.”

Dalton joins from challenger bank Civilised, where she was also in a lead programme role, whilst ashmore has treasury experience, latterly as Treasurer for Barclays’ European and Middle East operations.

Jonathan Thompson, founder and CEO, added: “These new additions to the team bring a wealth of knowledge in their respective fields, and will have a positive impact in the future of Project BankNorth.

“All three appointments are extremely passionate about SMEs and the financial sector, and will help shape our unique, innovative offer.”

Project BankNorth said that it “expects its model will transform the way SME lending is delivered, by focusing the whole business around the frictionless delivery of tailored debt solutions for UK businesses.”

The Project BankNorth team has been working with Growth Capital Ventures for its current seed raise.

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Law firm Ward Hadaway’s Private Client team is expanding with the appointments of three new solicitors.

Joan Russell, Sarah Adamson and Lily Lynch are the newest members of Ward Hadaway’s team across Newcastle and Leeds.

They will advise on all aspects of private client services including estate planning, wills, family trust creation and administration, inheritance tax, succession planning, lasting powers of attorney and probate.

Formerly a trainee with Ward Hadaway, Adamson qualified into the team last year and specialises in the administration of high-value estates, high-net worth individuals and other private individuals across the North.

Russell has a wealth of experience which she has gained over the course of a career spanning more than three decades. She had been with the firm for two and a half years as part of the Personal Injury unit before joining the team.

Lynch works out of the Leeds office of Ward Hadaway alongside partner Andrew Evans.

Andrew Facer, who heads the Private Client team in Newcastle, said: “I am delighted to welcome Joan, Sarah and Lily to the team. Together they will work closely with our clients and in-house Corporate, Banking and Real Estate teams to build bespoke solutions tailored to their individual needs.”