People on the move: Birchall Blackburn Law; Edge Hill University; Slater Heelis; Mint Bridging; The Lowry; BTG Recruitment; Hill Dickinson
North West law firm Birchall Blackburn Law has promoted a long-serving residential property manager at its Manchester office to partner.
Rachel Buckley, from Failsworth, joined the company as a legal assistant when she was 16.
She has a wealth of experience in property and litigation and is responsible for the conveyancing teams at the firm’s Kennedy Street offices and for its equity release service across all offices.
Buckley, 37, said: “I’m both thrilled and proud to have become partner. I’ve worked at Birchall Blackburn Law for almost 20 years and it’s great to be recognised in this way.
“In this time, I’ve worked closely with our teams to make sure we deliver the best service possible for our clients and continually strive for excellence.
“I’ve seen many changes over the years and I’ve watched the firm grow and I know it has an exciting future which I’m looking forward to playing a pivotal role in.”
Michael Foxford, senior partner at Birchall Blackburn Law, said: “Rachel’s hard word and diligence over the years has made her a highly-valued member of the Birchall Blackburn Law family, and one who embodies the firm’s core values.
“This appointment is part of the firm’s ongoing strategic plan for growth and development.
“When people choose to come and work for Birchall Blackburn Law they aren’t just choosing a job, they’re choosing a career and we are able to provide big opportunities for progression and investment into training and development to make sure our people get the most from their career.”
::
Professor Clive Edwards has been appointed as the chair of Edge Hill University’s board of governors and pro-chancellor in Liverpool.
Edwards, who has an extensive research record as a microbiologist, has served as an independent governor of Edge Hill since 2013.
He has been involved in teaching, research and management at departmental and institutional level at the University of Liverpool in addition to serving on various national educational committees.
Edwards said he was looking forward to taking over as chair and continuing to help develop the University’s reputation for teaching and research.
“Edge Hill offers a distinctive student experience,” he said. “I’m proud of the ways in which the campus has been developed and the continual investment to improve facilities.
“I’m also very interested in how the University benefits the wider community, through things such as the state-of-the-art Sports Centre, The Arts Centre and the many public events on campus that contribute to the intellectual life of the region.”
Edwards succeeds Bernard Laverty who has been Chair of the Board since January 2014.
Financial and management accounting expert Lisa Greenhalgh has been given the position of deputy chair of the board. She was appointed as an independent governor in 2012 and is chair of the audit committee.
::
LAW firm Slater Heelis has appointed Simon Maddox as a partner in its commercial property team.
Before joining Slater Heelis Maddox was a senior associate at Gateley, undertaking all aspects of commercial property work with a particular specialism in retail, having acted for a number of high profile national and local retailers.
At Slater Heelis, he will continue to work across a range of property disciplines including landlord and tenant, investment and property finance work. He will be based in the Manchester city centre office.
Will Henson, head of the commercial property team, said: “We are delighted to welcome Simon on board as we continue to expand our team after a very successful year in 2016.
“Simon has a wealth of experience working with a range of businesses from corporates to SME’s. His expertise will enhance the high-quality service we provide to all of our clients.”
Maddox said: “I’m looking forward to joining a strong, dynamic team with ambitions to grow, and hope to play an integral part in helping to achieve this.”
Slater Heelis is a full-service law firm with four offices across Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
::
Mint Bridging has recruited Sinead Moynihan as its head of sales.
She will oversee the current team of five BDM’s and be based at the company’s head office in Manchester.
Moynihan has been tasked with growing the sales team and implementing the company’s objectives to grow Mint’s unique offering of individually structured, short-term bridging funds for property purchases and developments.
Prior to working with Mint Bridging, Moynihan worked with Swift Insolvency Solutions Limited as a senior manager.
She said: “I am delighted to be joining Mint Bridging. It’s an ideal time for me to step in as Head of Sales and build the company foundation for the next series of opportunities.
“I have a proven track record of driving sales and building a sales team. I am extremely excited to be part of Mint’s growth.”
Managing director, Andrew Lazare added: “Sinead is a timely attribute for the business and I am pleased she has agreed to join us.
“We have big growth plans for 2017 and having a Head of Sales to work closely with large volume introducers and develop new channels, will ultimately support and complement our growth strategy.”
::
Lynsey O’Sullivan has been appointed director of learning and engagement at The Lowry in Salford.
The 31-year-old from Bolton takes up the post with immediate effect – leading the Salford arts venue’s programme of community engagement, talent development and visitor participation, as well as their skills and employability schemes.
Having graduated with an MA in Applied Theatre from The University of Manchester, O’Sullivan was formerly The Lowry’s engagement manager – transforming the organisation’s work with young carers, looked after children and young parents across Salford.
Prior to joining The Lowry, she held various roles at Octagon Theatre Bolton, was a lecturer at The University of Lancashire and worked around the world as an applied theatre practitioner.
She is a trustee of the Burnley Youth Theatre and is a member of the Clore Leadership and STRIDE Women in Leadership programmes.
Julia Fawcett, chief executive of The Lowry, said: “Our learning and engagement activity sits at the heart of everything we do – drawing inspiration from the work commissioned, developed and presented by our creative team across our building.
“Lynsey has been an outstanding engagement manager, a champion for opening-up access to the arts to those from less engaged backgrounds and a great ambassador for The Lowry on a national and international stage.
“She brings to the role an exciting new vision for our engagement activity going forward – one that will further strengthen The Lowry status as a sector leader.”
::
Manchester-based Finance Recruiter BTG Recruitment has appointed James Calland Smith as a senior consultant.
Calland Smith will be concentrating on building the senior financial interim space in the Greater Manchester area.
He has worked at BTG Recruitment previously and returns after an 18 month stint at a corporate competitor.
Managing director Aaron Drewitt was quick to secure Calland Smith to aid the rapid expansion of BTG’s senior interim business.
Drewitt said: “Having worked with James previously and having witnessed his success and talents first hand it was an incredibly easy decision to invite him back to grow what is an incredibly important part of BTG’s current business and future strategy.
“James is an honest, high energy recruiter who shares my ethical approach and work ethic, in this market having a recruiter who is creative and happy to utilise the passive job seeker market is incredibly important.”
::
Rachael Allen has joined Liverpool-based international law firm Hill Dickinson’s property team as senior associate.
Allen has crossed the Pennines and returned to her home city, after having gained a wealth of experience in dealing with real estate transactions within the esteemed real estate team at Nabarro.
Allen joined Nabarro’s real estate team in Sheffield as a newly qualified solicitor in 2005.
She will now work within Hill Dickinson’s growing property and construction team, which is led by David Swaffield, and will advise a wide range of clients on property work including sales, acquisitions, landlord and tenant matters, due diligence, corporate and banking support work.
Allen said: “I am really pleased to be returning to Liverpool, the city where I went to school, college and university, and where my family still live.
“Hill Dickinson has an extremely strong client base including names such as DHL, Peel, Iceland, Cammell Laird and Co-operative Group.
“Its property team is one of the fastest growing in the north and it was a great opportunity for me to join at a time of rapid expansion and to be working alongside some of the leading property law professionals in the UK.”
Swaffield said: “Rachael brings over a decade of property law experience to the firm and joins us at an important time as this dynamic team builds on its recent success and plans for further growth in 2017.”
