Appointments: Morrisons, Newman Stewart, Key Capital Partners; Bibby Financial Services

CHIEF technology director Anna Barsby is joining Morrisons following the resignation of Dan Beecham.

Ms Barsby joins from Halfords, the car and bike servicing and repairs giant.

She is replacing Mr Beecham as part of a handover. He is relocating to his native Australia, following just under three years in the role.

He was previously chief information officer of the Australian supermarket retailer Woolworths.

Ms Barsby will join the business from September 2016, having worked at Halfords as well as Aviva, Whitbread and the Financial Services Authority.

Trevor Strain, chief financial officer, said: “Dan has moved Morrisons’ technology forward, and the improvements that he and his team have introduced help us to serve our customers better. His important contribution leaves Morrisons well placed for the future.”

“We are delighted that Anna Barsby will be joining us to continue moving our Technology function forward. She brings a wealth of valuable experience which will be important for the ongoing improvement of Morrisons’ technology.”

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MANAGEMENT consultant James Excell has joined the expanding team at Leeds-headquartered private equity house Key Capital Partners (KCP) as it gears up for a series of investment deals following the launch last November of its new £80m investment fund.

Working across KCP’s London and Leeds offices, Mr Excell joins from FTI Consulting where he spent over two years as a senior consultant in corporate finance, gaining experience of both company-side and buy-side advisory including due diligence, bid support and delivery of transformation initiatives.

Prior to that, he was a senior associate in restructuring with Grant Thornton for five years, advising lenders in distressed lending situations.

He also completed a secondment to Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank.  

KCP partner Philip Duquenoy said: “Following the launch of our new fund last November, we‘re currently looking for profitable, dynamic businesses in which to invest equity sums of £3m to £15m.  We’ve already reviewed over 70 mandates and the addition of James to our growing team will help us as we identify the SMEs which we believe have the most potential as well as providing support once we are working with these businesses and seeking ways to add value.”

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ASSOCIATE director at Newman Stewart, Steve Bennett, has been appointed to director level.

He is head of the audit, certification and testing division, which has increased its divisional income by 57% in two years.

John Tilbrook, managing director of Newman Stewart said “Steve has worked incredibly hard over the last few years and I am delighted to announce his promotion to Director.

“The opportunity to grow our Audit, Certification & Testing division further is substantial and is well aligned with our high quality process.

“This is an exciting time, we are in discussion with a number of individuals and will shortly be making the announcement of our next appointments to Steve’s team.”

Newman Stewart is headquartered in Bowcliffe Hall in Wetherby, West Yorkshire and has offices in Leeds & London.

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SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has appointed Daniel Harding as head of sales for Sheffield as it looks to build a presence in the South Yorkshire area.

Mr Harding has 12 years’ experience working in asset based finance and prior to joining BFS in April, was regional sales manager at Leumi ABL.

With experience of funding businesses from start-ups to those with up to £40m turnover, he joins BFS with a strong operational and sales background.

Mr Harding will manage a team of five people based throughout South Yorkshire and the funder looks to grow its support for the region’s businesses.  

He said: “First and foremost, Bibby is a relationship-based funder, with a strong track record of supporting businesses whatever their size or need.

“Bibby is well-known for supporting smaller enterprises, but in recent years, with the formation of our corporate finance team and recent securitisation – we now have the ability to support a greater number of small, medium and large businesses.

“With the Northern Powerhouse becoming a reality over the coming years, now is a fantastic time for businesses throughout the region to achieve their growth potential. I’m delighted to join such a forward thinking funding partner at a time of growth and look forward to boosting our support to businesses throughout South Yorkshire.”