Appointments: EY announces partner hire from BDO; Law firm boosts conveyancing team; and more

EY has appointed a partner Mark Pickard to its Leeds office.

He joins EY as an indirect tax partner to lead and grow the VAT team in Yorkshire.

Mr Pickard joins EY from BDO where he was responsible for the delivery of all indirect tax services for the North region of the firm. He has spent his 21-year accounting career working with multinationals, entrepreneurial businesses and public sector bodies on a wide range of projects, from complex international supply chains and domestic VAT accounting and compliance to corporate acquisitions, disposals and restructuring.

Mr Pickard is the fourth partner to join the Leeds office in the last 12 months, joining Gareth James, Mark Morritt and Katherine Bullock as new partners for the region.  

The EY team in Leeds has also recently promoted Luigi Falivene, Tim Helm and Mo Nasser to executive directors in assurance and tax.

Stuart Watson, senior partner for Yorkshire and the Humber at EY said: “Mark bolsters what is already a strong tax team in the North. He brings with him excellent knowledge around VAT for both domestic and international markets.
“His appointment demonstrates EY’s commitment to the Yorkshire region and the North of England as a whole. We have big ambitions for our regional business and as a new partner, Mark will have an important role to play in helping us achieve these goals and build a better working world.”

:::

AN increase in new instructions from property developers has led to Leeds law firm Ison Harrison expanding its specialist new build conveyancing team, creating a ten strong department at its city centre offices.

The firm said the department which opened in February 2015 is growing rapidly due to strong relationships with a number of national developers.
 
Led by Jenny Bland the department has recently welcomed trainee solicitor Gillian Colquhoun and new recruits Sarah Hack and Kathryn Gladwell, both conveyancing assistants.

Ms Bland said: “This is an exciting time for the New Build Team which has led to rapid departmental growth. As a result of working with leading property developers across Yorkshire, the North East and Lancashire we have added to the department to bring in new skills and expertise.

“Strong relationships with developer building teams coupled with increased instructions via government schemes such as Help to Buy or the Help to Buy ISA mean we’re looking to add to our client list further as we prepare to welcome new sites from developers and new instructions from purchasers in the remaining six months of the year .”

:::

YORKSHIRE vehicle group AMT has appointed Anjana Athanikar as social media executive, the fourth appointment to its growing marketing team in the last ten months.

Based at the company’s Leeds headquarters, Ms Anthanikar has an MA in Public Relations and Strategic Communications from Leeds Beckett University.   In her role, she will be responsible for developing and implementing the social media strategy for the entire AMT Group comprising vehicle rental, contract hire and leasing and specialist car sales divisions, and maximising the company’s profile within the corporate and leisure markets.

She will be working alongside the group’s in-house team comprising marketing designer Emma Garlick and search engine optimisation executive Mike Osolinski, both of whom joined AMT earlier this year following the appointment of Heather Thompson as marketing manager last September.