People: Tech firm appoints CFO; Savills welcomes new associate director; and more

The Technology Group, the Leeds-based business telephony, internet and mobile service provider, has appointed former mergers and acquisitions advisor and PwC auditor Ben Mitton to the board of directors.

Mitton joins the tech firm as Chief Financial Officer, where he will work alongside the six current board directors.

An ACA qualified Chartered Accountant, Mitton spent four years at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London leading audit teams for a range of private and listed clients.

He followed that with a year as a finance manager in the corporate and institutional banking team at Royal Bank of Scotland before moving to global advisory firm Alvarez and Marsal, where he has spent the last seven years.

Working in the transaction services team in London, Mitton held roles in both buy and sell side advisory teams and worked extensively with private equity funds and corporates. He advised on deals across a range of industries including travel, software, consumer and leisure with deal sizes up to £1bn plus.

In this new role, Mitton will work closely with CEO Jonathan Marsden and Acquisitions Director David Marsden to drive the firm’s growth strategy.

Marsden said: “Ben is a prestigious appointment for us to deliver our ambitious Vision 2022 growth plan, which we unveiled last year. We aim to grow from £4m turnover, 30 staff and 450 customers to £15m turnover, 65 staff and 2,000 customers by 2022. Organic growth and acquisitions are fundamental to that growth, and I’m pleased to say we’re on track to complete two acquisitions this year.

“When you’re targeting growth at this level, you need experienced and dedicated resources on the board. Ben has audited FTSE 250 companies, advised on billion-pound deals, he knows the banking sector and has worked at a top London advisory firm. His experience and skill set complement this aspect of our growth strategy perfectly, and we’re delighted to welcome him to the team.”

Mitton added: “This is a very exciting time to be joining a dynamic, ambitious and fast-growing business. There is a strong leadership team in place, and I’m looking forward to working alongside that team and with external stakeholders to help drive the next phase of growth.

“I’m also looking forward to being back in my home county. Having grown up in Harrogate I’ve always had an affinity for Yorkshire, and it’s moving forward at a pace. It’s great to be working somewhere that has so much going on.”

:::

Savills, the international real estate services provider, has appointed Anne Haggas to run its new homes division in Yorkshire.

Haggas, who joins the firm as an Associate Director, will be based between the Savills York and Leeds offices.

Former Carter Jonas and Knight Frank partner, Haggas brings more than 16 years’ experience in similar roles, including setting up the northern new homes division at Carter Jonas.

Her role heading up the residential development sales division at Savills will see her provide a fully rounded role to developers encompassing the sale of new homes and development consultancy.

Jamie Adam, head of the northern new homes team at Savills, said: “We are delighted to welcome Anne to the team. She joins us just as we prepare to launch five schemes across the county with others due to launch later in the year spanning Leeds, York and Harrogate.

“Anne’s knowledge, contacts and experience promise to be invaluable as we grow our northern new homes business.”

Haggas added: “I thoroughly enjoy being involved in the property industry in Yorkshire. It is perhaps the most exciting period for the residential property market for many years seeing landmark regeneration schemes beginning to unfold and I am delighted to be part of the journey ensuring all developments achieve their full potential.”

:::

The Leeds office of national law firm Mills & Reeve has appointed Sarah Davies to its commercial and IP team.

Davies joins as a Senior Associate. She trained at Walker Morris and latterly worked at Schofield Sweeney in Leeds.

At Mills & Reeve, Davies will work as part of the national team advising government, university and tech clients on commercial projects.

Partner Martin Priestley, who heads the Leeds commercial team, said: “We have recently been appointed by some fantastic clients to advise on some really exciting UK and international projects and we are keen to grow our team in our fast-expanding Leeds office.

“I’m delighted to welcome Sarah to Mills & Reeve and we’re all very much looking forward to working with her.”

:::

Guest Walker, the York-based property law specialist, has appointed solicitor Jenny Bell to the residential conveyancing team.

With over 20 years’ experience in residential conveyancing, Bell re-joins the firm after originally working for Guest Walker over ten years ago.

She has since worked for a number of firms in the region, including Hague & Dixon and Switalskis.

Guest Walker specialise in residential property law. As part of the team, Bell’s work will include traditional conveyancing such as house and flat sales and purchases, re-mortgages, lease extensions, transfers of equity and equity release as well as providing advice on building and managing property portfolios and investing in buy-to-let property.

John Walker, Director of Guest Walker, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Jenny back to the business as we expand our residential conveyancing team. Jenny has excellent local knowledge and shares our ethos of providing a high-quality personal service to our clients, something which stands us apart from the large, online conveyancing firms.”

Bell added: “I am delighted to be re-joining Guest Walker. I love working in the centre of York for such a highly regarded, established firm and I am looking forward to working with the team, many of whom I worked with previously. The conveyancing industry has changed a lot since I was last working at Guest Walker, with an increasing number of faceless online firms.

“However, Guest Walker have continued to provide a friendly, personal, bespoke service to their clients, something which is completely aligned with my values and way of working – it feels like I’m coming home.”

:::

Property consultancy Knight Frank has bolstered its Yorkshire residential development team with the appointment of Tim Mather as Associate.

Mather joins partner and Head of Residential Land in the North, Tearle Phelan, and Mike Gorman, Residential Capital Markets partner.

Mather, a chartered surveyor who has worked as a residential specialist for 15 years, will be based in Leeds and will cover the acquisition and disposal of residential development land.

He will focus on the Leeds city market but also north to York, west to Manchester and as far south as projects in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.

Phelan said: “We are delighted that Tim has joined the team as we expand our development business across the North. His appointment will enable us to maintain our best in class sales and consultancy offering, whilst capitalising on the increasing opportunity across the key northern cities.”

Mather added: “This position is a natural progression for me and I am looking forward to grounding Knight Frank in the Leeds market more fully and continuing to grow the firm’s residential profile across the north.

“I’m joining a well-established department with a strong track record and that very much appeals to me. There is a lot of room for development across the northern region and Leeds especially continues to offer a fantastic opportunity for residential investment and future growth.”