People on the Move: Merje; Bromleys Solicitors; Napthens; Stanley House Hotel & Spa; Forbes Solicitors

National recruitment firm Merje has made a senior appointment in order to expand its market offering to Scotland following the business’s most successful financial year-to-date.

Barry McDonald joins as business manager for Scotland to support the business in its ambitious growth plans as it strengthens its standing in this strategically important territory. This comes after Merje recently revealed a record annual turnover of £10.06m.

Operating in this new location, which is home to some of the world’s leading financial services and FTSE-listed firms, will allow Merje to expand its already extensive network of trusted client partnerships.

Managing director and co-founder, Richard Abelson, said: “We are in a strong position given that we already have some long established relationships in Scotland and, given the importance and scale of the Scottish market, we are keen to further our physical presence there.

“Barry is extremely well regarded in the Scottish market and we are delighted to welcome him. We now look forward to achieving the same levels of success in Scotland as we have observed across the rest of the UK.

“Having recently enjoyed our most successful financial year to date, I am confident Barry is the ideal person to advance us along our continued pathway so that we can surpass our long-term commercial goals.”

Barry will be responsible for further establishing Merje’s portfolio of services across eight core disciplines, which include the company’s recently launched legal division.

He has 15 years’ worth of recruitment experience, mainly across contact centre and operations. During this time he has delivered projects to blue chip clients and taken on retained assignments, specialist roles and management recruitment, meeting both volume-driven and individual requirements.

Barry said: “I am delighted to be joining a forward thinking business such as Merje and I am really excited about taking this well-respected brand into the Scottish recruitment market.

“Given Merje’s diverse service offering across industries, including financial services, retail, outsourcing, utilities and telecoms, I truly believe there is an opportunity for us to continue the success enjoyed in England and grow the business north of the border.”

Merje has offices in Manchester and central London and this infrastructure has enabled the business to provide recruitment solutions to clients on a national basis.

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The head of the family law department at Bromleys Solicitors has been promoted.

Keith Bull, who joined the Tameside practice in 2018, has become a senior associate.

He specialises in cases involving high net worth divorces, children, domestic abuse, cohabitation disputes and complex financial and property matters.

Keith is accredited by Resolution as a family law specialist and collaborative law solicitor in four specialist fields – domestic abuse, finances, private children matters and cohabitation disputes relating to land and financial issues.

Earlier this year Keith became an assessor for Resolution, qualifying to assess the core assignment undertaken by those seeking admission to its Specialist Accreditation Scheme.

Bromleys’ senior partner, Mark Hirst, said: “Keith’s promotion is very well deserved and reflects his contribution to the development and growth of our family department.

“Approaching two years with the firm, he has consistently met the criteria under our career pathway to merit this step forward in his career.

Keith Bull

“He has overseen strong growth in terms of client numbers and further improvements in the quality of the work provided by the team, while also advancing his own qualifications and accreditations.

“Under Keith’s stewardship we are sure the department will see sustained growth and we are very optimistic for its continued success.”

Keith said: “It’s a tremendous honour to receive this promotion. Bromleys has a clear career development programme and, regardless of one’s position, the partners encourage everyone to pursue the pathway, providing support and guidance every step of the way.

“I have over 30 years’ family law experience, and 2020 has been a real milestone for me, with the Resolution assessor appointment and now a senior associate position at Bromleys.”

Meanwhile, Haile Applegate has been promoted to head of accounts at Bromleys, succeeding Julie Hibbert who has retired after 22 years with the firm.

Hailie joined Bromleys in March 2018 as an assistant legal cashier, and worked alongside Julie until her retirement as part of the firm’s succession planning.

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Insolvency solicitor Matthew Martin has joined the specialist business recovery team at regional law firm Napthens as part of expansion plans.

Matthew will work alongside senior associate Natasha Hitchin who joined the team last year and business recovery partner Grahame Love acting for insolvency practitioners, companies and creditors on a range of corporate and personal insolvency matters.

He joins Napthens after completing his training contract at a Cheshire law firm and studying law at Sheffield University. Matthew has a specific expertise in contentious insolvency law and is a keen advocate.

Matthew Martin

Matthew said: “The business recovery team is well placed to meet both the demands of our insolvency practitioner clients and the general commercial clients of the firm during these challenging times.”

Grahame Love explained Matthew’s appointment would help the firm continue to meet demand from clients: “While we are expecting the business landscape to remain unpredictable for some time to come, demand for quality business recovery advice remains high.

“Matthew’s appointment is a planned expansion to extend this dedicated service to existing insolvency practitioner clients while offering added value to the firm’s wider commercial client base.”

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Lancashire hotel, Stanley House Hotel and Spa, has appointed Simon Tauber as its new general manager.

Simon originally joined Stanley House in 2016 as restaurant and bar manager, later moving into an operations role.

In 2018, he took on the general manager role at Hever Hotel Resort in Edenbridge, Kent, before rejoining Stanley House in January 2020, in a senior operations role.

Simon’s appointment signals the start of an exciting new era for the venue after Monte Hotels, which is owned by Blackburn-based Euro Garages brothers, Mohsin and Zuber Issa, acquired the hotel on August 1, 2020

Simon said: “It’s an exciting time for the hotel. The previous owners took the hotel from a dilapidated manor house and turned it into one of the most well known and loved venues in the region.

“At the heart of this success was a dedication to give an unrivalled guest experience and to invest. We never stood still. The new owners share these values and we are now in the process of developing some significant plans.”

Simon Tauber

During his time at Hever Hotel Resort Simon spearheaded a number of projects including the opening of a new luxury spa. He started working in hospitality at the age of 16 at the Marriot Hotel in Manchester, during which time he gained a Hospitality Management degree at Salford University.

Stanley House is located in Mellor and is set in 54-acres of Ribble Valley countryside. It has 30 bedrooms and has become an award-winning destination since it was opened in 2004 by the late Fred Walker, co-founder of Walker Steel. It currently employs 85 staff.

Mohsin Issa, director at Monte Hotels, said: “Simon’s experience of the hotel and local region were important considerations when selecting him for the role. His vision and enthusiasm aligns with ours. I have no doubt Simon will fulfil a great leadership role and develop a fantastic local team.”

Stanley House’s guests have included Robbie Williams, Alfie Boe, David Cameron, Teresa May, Take That, Michael McIntye, Anton Du Beke, Rick Stein and Jack Whitehall.

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Shauna Helyer has joined Forbes Solicitors as a paralegal as the housing and regeneration team continues to grow.

She worked at Forbes previously and after four years she rejoins from Trowers & Hamlins where she was part of the firm’s plot sales team.

Prior to this she had a role with Chorley Council where she provided key legal support and advice on projects, such as the Market Walk Extension in Chorley.

In her new position Shauna will be part of the home ownership team in a varied role and will use her experience in plot sales to support a number of large-scale sites the team is leading currently.

Shauna Helyer

Jennifer Hankinson, head of housing and regeneration (property) at Forbes Solicitors, said: “There is so much activity in the housing sector currently and this is happening against a fast-changing backdrop and the organisations we work with are looking for advisers with deep expertise and practical real-world experience. Shauna brings both of these to the team and is a key hire as we continue to grow our team.”

Shauna has a degree in Law (LLB Hons) and has completed a Legal Practice Course (LPC). Her experience is predominantly in working with registered providers across the UK.

She said: “Forbes is a fantastic firm with an enviable culture and an unparalleled reputation in the housing sector. Having spent a few years building my experience in different organisations, I’m looking forward to taking on a role with more variety in which I can continue to utilise my plot sales skills while working closely with the development and home ownership team.”