People: New real estate partner at DLA Piper; Director promotion at Deloitte; COO announcement; and more

DLA Piper has announced that hospitality and leisure lawyer, Susan Samuel, will be joining the firm as partner in its Real Estate practice, based in Leeds.

Samuel joins the firm from Eversheds Sutherland, where she been a partner since 2012. She advises international retailers, corporate occupiers, institutional and private funds, as well as real estate investors. Samuel has managed large teams of lawyers on real estate acquisitions and disposals, cross-border transactions and management and franchise agreements.

Global Co-Chair of DLA Piper’s Real Estate practice, Antoine Mercier, said: “We look forward to welcoming Susan to the firm. She brings with her significant experience in Real Estate development and investment which will boost our offering in the UK and internationally. Her proven track record in business development and people management capabilities will also be a real asset to our practice.”

Samuel added: “The DLA Piper hospitality and leisure team have a fantastic reputation in the market. I am excited to join the firm, and look forward to building our service offering to clients in this sector and in the global real estate market.”

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Business advisory firm Deloitte has strengthened its corporate finance team in Yorkshire with the promotion of Matt Cheetham to director in its Leeds office.

Cheetham has been with Deloitte for eight years, having joined in 2010 from the corporate finance team of Brewin Dolphin (now N+1 Singer), where he had been part of its graduate programme.

As a corporate finance specialist, he has advised on a range of private equity transactions, corporate disposals, IPOs, high yield issues and re-financings. He has also worked extensively with management teams around their strategies and developing options for growth.

“I really enjoy the diversity of businesses I am fortunate to work with, from young, fast-growing businesses that are needing advice at a pivotal stage in their lifecycle, to larger, leading regional companies where we can help with long-term growth plans or realising value for shareholders,“Cheetham said.

“We have an active market in the Yorkshire region, fuelled by ambitious businesses and supported by access to capital. Despite the current uncertainty, there are some exciting businesses in the region and we look forward to working with them in the future.”

Stuart Cottee, practice senior partner at Deloitte in Yorkshire and the North East, added: “Matt is one of the region’s most experienced corporate finance advisers, having been involved in many high-profile deals over a number of years.

“His promotion is further evidence of the sustained investment in our corporate finance and transaction services teams in the region. We have seen significant growth in M&A activity over the past 12 to 18 months, and with both our corporate client base and funder community continuing to be active in the market we are confident that will continue.”

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York-headquartered Hunters, one of the UK’s largest franchised sales and lettings agency businesses, has appointed Dan Rafferty as Chief Operating Officer. Rafferty brings a wealth of experience to the role, most recently including a 14 year spell at Foxtons as its Chief Information Officer.

The appointment from Hunters represents further investment in its technological offering as it continues to drive customer fulfilment. The AIM listed company, founded in 1992, maintains that an emphasis on personal customer communication and local expertise is at the core of its success as an estate and letting agent, but it has nonetheless made a string of ambitious investments into its digital strategy in recent times as it positions itself at the front end of industry change.

Rafferty’s role at Hunters, which operates over 200 branches in locations across the country, will see him hold overall responsibility for the execution of a programme to help improve the productivity and efficiency of the company’s highly commended customer service offering and its digital marketing strategy.

Glynis Frew, Chief Executive Officer at Hunters, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Dan to the company, who brings with him a history of achievement and delivery and is a great fit for us on a personal level. As a key component of any successful customer service offering, technological innovation will define the industry battleground for the foreseeable future and Dan will play a vital role in the continued growth of our strategy in this area.”

Dan Rafferty, Chief Operating Officer at Hunters, added: “I really look forward to a new series of challenges and opportunities at Hunters. The company continues to build upon its excellent reputation within the industry and has an ambitious growth plan in place, which I look forward to contributing towards. The industry is undergoing changes and Hunters is a brand which understands that.”

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Lisa Smith is the latest lawyer to join Clarion’s expanding Corporate Recovery and Insolvency practice.

With over 10 years of experience in both personal and corporate insolvency and restructuring, Smith has acted for individuals, businesses, directors, insolvency practitioners and financial institutions. She is able to advise individuals and companies in financial difficulty, whether it’s a director looking for advice on their duties in an insolvency situation; a creditor who needs to recover funds or assets; or a third party interested in buying a company or asset out of an insolvency process.

Ryan Millmore, joint managing partner and head of Clarion’s Corporate Recovery and Insolvency team, said: “Having had our most successful 12 months yet, the practice is continuing to thrive, increasing both our range of restructuring and finance services and also our market share. We now have one of the most experienced and well-regarded practices in the region and, consequently, we are able to attract the brightest talent.

“With her impressive track record, Lisa will be a valuable addition to the team. Her appointment is the first of a number we will be making over the coming months as we continue to be chosen to work on some of the most complex and largest insolvencies both in the region and nationally.”

Smith said: “I am excited to be joining such a renowned practice. Not only was Clarion involved in some of the country’s most important contentious cases last year, including national retail insolvencies, it also won the a prestigious Legal 500 award.

“The Clarion approach of delivering first class technical advice alongside commerciality, and a commitment to finding practical solutions, fits well with my personal ethos. Unusually, the team includes four partners, so it will be a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to develop my expertise, working with some of the most experienced lawyers in this specialist area.”

In addition to being named Firm of the Year (outside London) in the Finance category of the Legal 500 Awards, Clarion has also again been nominated for the Insolvency Team of the Year at the TRI Awards; and joint managing partner Roger Hutton has also been nominated for Insolvency Lawyer of the Year.

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