People: Hurst; North West Business Leadership Team; Vincents Solicitors; Infinity; Sedulo Group
Accounting and business advisory firm Hurst has bolstered its corporate finance team with three additional staff to meet demand as activity levels in the deals market continue to race ahead.
The trio’s arrival comes at the end of a year in which Hurst Corporate Finance has advised on a record 14 completed deals including acquisitions, disposals and fundraisings for companies in a range of sectors, with a growing focus on healthcare-related transactions.
Max Perry has joined Hurst Corporate Finance as an associate director from the Camlee Group, an M&A advisory practice where he spent more than five years after moving from Deloitte.
Danielle Tierney has joined from EY as a corporate finance executive. Danielle spent more than three years at EY working with a range of FTSE-listed, privately owned and international clients on a variety of engagements.
The third addition to Hurst Corporate Finance is Matthew Taylor, who has joined as a graduate trainee. He has a Master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Leeds.
Nigel Barratt, the head of Hurst Corporate Finance, said: “It’s great to welcome Max, Danielle and Matt to the team. We have increased the strength of the team as we continue to see strong activity, and our average deal size is growing so transactions are becoming more complex.
“Our pipeline for 2022 is very strong and includes a range of deals involving UK and overseas buyers, together with private equity transactions. We are also going to be busy right up to Christmas.”
Max said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have joined a team with such a proud record of working on high quality deals, which has rightly earned them a fantastic reputation in the market.
“It’s been clear in the first couple of weeks that Hurst has a culture that places personal development right at its core, which was incredibly important for me. I’m looking forward to a long career here alongside exceptional people to advise on some of the region’s best transactions.”
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The North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) has appointed Joëlle Warren, founder and executive director at Warren Partners, as its new deputy chair.
NWBLT chairman, Jonathan Murphy, made the announcement following Joelle’s election. He said: “I am delighted that Joëlle has agreed to take on this role.
“Joëlle is an inspirational leader who brings with her a wealth of expertise. She has a proud track record of getting results, in particular her personal commitment to diversity and inclusion has already made an impact upon how we work as a team.
Joëlle Warren
“Her passion for the region, combined with her experience of improving effectiveness in boardrooms across the UK, will help us drive the NWBLT’s agenda forward. I am looking forward to working with her to rise to both the challenges and opportunities of the years ahead.”
Joëlle said: “I am very much looking forward to working with Jonathan, Emma and the rest of the board as we seek to lead, inspire and harness the power of business to help deliver sustainable prosperity for our region.
“With a £180bn economy, the North West is a significant region to UK PLC and the NWBLT plays a unique role within that in driving forward change in areas including decarbonisation, leadership diversity, responsible business practice, innovation and finance.
“It’s been exciting to see what has been achieved working with the group of thoughtful and committed NWBLT team members and I’m excited about playing my part in going forward in this new role.”
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An experienced divorce specialist has joined Lancashire’s Vincents Solicitors in the family law team.
Angela Garvey will work alongside department head Mark Mosley for the first time in 20 years, having previously been opposing council on numerous cases.
Angela has more than 30 years’ experience in family law and is a member of family justice organisation Resolution, the group which sets the standard for best practice in this field. She joins Vincents from NGA in Burnley, prior to which she worked for Napthens, Birchall Blackburn, and Watson Ramsbottom.
It was the opportunity of working with Mark Mosley, a fellow Resolution member, and of shaping her own team, which encouraged Angela to make the move. She said: “I was looking for an opportunity to develop a team using the Resolution approach, something Vincents is known for thanks to the great work of Mark Mosley and his department.
Mark Mosley and Angela Garvey
“Mark has an excellent reputation in the industry and the prospect of working with him was very appealing, I’ve sat opposite him many times over the years and have huge respect for his approach.”
Divorce enquiries at Vincents have been increasing since the first lockdown started in March 2020. Many of these are coming from people who had been separated for a while and, the team has found, fears of sky-rocketing costs are high on their agenda.
Mark Mosley said: “The pandemic has seen many people take stock and those who were already separated are contacting us with a desire to finalise their arrangements. We’re also hearing from people who are worried they can’t afford to divorce, and were, therefore, avoiding the decision, until the situation became untenable after repeated lockdowns.
“This increase in enquiries since March 2020 required an expansion of the department, but it was vital to retain our client-focused methodology. I am, therefore, thrilled to welcome Angela as a solicitor who I know and respect for operating with the same ethos as Vincents, and who was always a worthy adversary in the field.”
Angela will be based primarily at Vincents’ Preston headquarters but will be working remotely from her home in Blackburn.
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Martech SaaS provider, Infinity, has appointed Kris Wagland as its VP of partnerships.
This newly created role will allow the business to rapidly accelerate its partnerships with large network agencies and create new relationships and integrations with key technology and media partners.
He will work across Infinity’s offices in Manchester and Reigate.
Kris Wagland
Wagland joins the business from Oren, a digital marketplace powered by Shell and IBM, where he was chief marketing officer. He brings with him a successful track record as a global strategist, with a passion for delivering business transformations and partnership ecosystems that inspire brand and revenue growth, and maximise innovation.
He said: “I’m honoured to be joining Infinity at such an exciting time. We are on track for ambitious growth, to cement our position as the leading conversation intelligence partner for brands and agencies in EMEA.”
Chief commercial officer, Matthew Whiteway, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Kris to the team. This new position will be vital to our future success, enhancing the partnerships we already have with Google and Facebook, and expanding our opportunities with new partners.
“Kris joins us with a wealth of experience across the partnerships ecosystem – his vast network of contacts in media agencies and at our tech partners will prove fruitful as the business targets high double digit growth.”
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The Sedulo Group, a Manchester based advisory firm, has promoted Jonathan Fisher to equity partner within the business.
Jonathan has been with the company for 18 months, having joined from Grant Thornton, becoming head of financial planning and wealth management.
Under Jonathan’s leadership, the business has grown from circa £35m of funds under management to in excess of £200m, across the group’s offices in Manchester, London, Leeds and Liverpool.
Sedulo founder, Paul Cheetham-Karcz, said: “As a management board we are delighted to welcome Jonathan to the equity team. In the time he has been here, he has transformed the division into one of the leading performing teams within the organisation.
Jonathan Fisher
“The way he has gone about it leaves a trail of learnings that can be leveraged throughout the whole advisory firm, and we are delighted we now have his input across the group.
“This promotion follows on the back of the recent introduction of our salaried partner tier, included within this being Tom Whittome, Laura McGowan, David Stansfield and David Clarke. It has been a record year for the group and the recent promotions reflect this.”
Jonathan Fisher said: “Since joining the firm last year I couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome. The support from the group has been fantastic, we have reshaped the whole wealth management team and it has led to some great success.
“I had an option to take equity within this division alone, but the holistic nature of the group, and the exciting plans across the board, meant that my preference was to join the overall leadership team.
“It’s an exciting time to be with the business.”
