People on the move: DTM; NorthEdge Capital; Worsley Park Marriot Hotel & Country Club; EHL Ingredients; CBRE; BurningNight; Select Property Group

North West law firm DTM Legal is continuing to strengthen its Liverpool office with the appointment of a new trainee solicitor.

Marena Mondair will support the Liverpool team across its specialist departments, with her first seat in dispute resolution.

Mondair joined the law firm in 2016 as a paralegal and has been promoted to her new role after completing an 18-month training programme.

Prior to her role at DTM Legal, she was employed by Riverview Law as a business law executive.

Jim Morris, head of dispute resolution at DTM Legal, said: “As DTM Legal continues to expand its presence in Liverpool, this latest promotion indicates our commitment to investing in our staff and rewarding their hard work.

“The Liverpool office is continuing to go from strength to strength and Marena’s promotion to trainee solicitor is an encouraging sign of the growth and increased workload we are experiencing.

“Since joining DTM Legal, Marena has proven to be a fantastic addition to the Liverpool team and we are thrilled to see her progress within the business. We look forward to supporting Marena as she develops the next stage of her career with us.”

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NorthEdge Capital has made a number of key promotions as the senior team expands, with founding partner Dan Wright leaving the firm to pursue other interests, including studying for a masters degree in international relations at the University of Manchester.

NorthEdge has promoted head of Manchester Jon Pickering to partner following a number of successful investments and exits, including the initial investment and subsequent exit of Utiligroup, which delivered a 5.7x return.

Also in the new business Team, Phil Frame and Tom Rowley have both become directors in recognition of their exceptional work in recent years in driving forward NorthEdge’s Manchester and Leeds offices respectively.

Prem Mohan Raj, chief financial officer has been promoted to partner – he brings a wealth of experience to the firm from his previous role as CFO of Livingbridge which manages a range of private equity funds.

Ian Plumb, portfolio director, has been promoted to head of portfolio, to ensure the firm continues to engage fully with management teams within the portfolio so that opportunities are maximised to create shareholder value.

These new promotions come against the backdrop of an extremely active period for NorthEdge, including the exits of Utiligroup (5.7x return), Sumo Digital (4.4x), Fine Industries (2.5x) and the recent IPOs of Ramsdens Financial and Accrol Papers. The firm’s Fund II is now 31% committed in just 15 months, having invested over £94m during this period, as NorthEdge continues to invest across its equity range throughout the North and the Midlands.

Grant Berry, managing partner at NorthEdge Capital, said: “As a founding partner, Dan has played a pivotal role in the formation and subsequent growth of NorthEdge, and has been integral in the raising of two significant funds and the success of our portfolio businesses.

“On a personal note, I have always valued Dan’s guidance and insight, and his support as a Partner of the business has been critical in driving NorthEdge forward.

“NorthEdge’s market position and continuing growth requires us to prepare for future opportunities and these key appointments demonstrate our ambitions as one of the largest private equity firms outside of the capital.”

NorthEdge Capital has offices in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester (head office).

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Sarah Matts has just landed her dream job as a wedding coordinator at Worsley Park Marriot Hotel & Country Club, in Salford, having applied for the role on her own honeymoon having just been married at the very same venue, days before she’d applied.

Matts lives locally in Walkden and has been a regular visitor of Worsley Park, ever since she was a young girl where it had been the venue of choice for family celebrations as she grew up.

It was this connection, and her understanding of the venue, that led her to book her wedding there over three years ago. Little was she to know that this would start the chain of events that would result in her landing her dream job.

“I’d always loved the relaxed feel and setting of Worsley Park, so when I got engaged to Phil in 2014, it was my first choice,” said Matts.

“I can’t quite believe that three years on and I’m not only still grinning about my own wedding here a few weeks ago, but I’m now planning the perfect day for other excited brides and grooms.”

Having previously worked in visual merchandising, Matts joined the Marriott sales and events team in January 2016 based at Worsley Park, but managing accounts across the Pennine region.

It wasn’t until June 2017, just as Sarah was her self-walking down the aisle, when an opening for wedding coordinator arose, where she managed to apply for the role from Florida when on her honeymoon.

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EHL Ingredients has welcomed Jason Harrop into its growing senior team as operations and warehouse manager.

He will be responsible for the smooth running of the warehouses – now across three sites on Broadstone Industrial Estate, Stockport – and will ensure all operations run efficiently to meet customer and supplier deadlines and requirements.

He will oversee warehouse, packing and blending operations, process improvements, people development and Health and Safety.

Harrop joins EHL after 27 years at Kellogg’s where his most recent role was inventory, stock and shuttle manager – having worked his way up from export transport coordinator.

The importer, blender and packer of international food ingredients is experiencing a period of growth as it recently reached its £7m sales target, expanded the premises with the purchase of a new storage and manufacturing facility and is growing the team.

The operations team has grown from one person to a strong line-up of three quality assurance and quality control managers.

Munibah Sekula joined the team earlier this year as quality assurance and technical administrator while internal promotions for Natalie Daley to technical manager and Edyta Sekula to quality control manager make up the team.

EHL is conducting a recruitment drive as it plans to expand its offering to the foodservice sector so is looking for a foodservice sales representative.

Harrop will report into joint managing directors, Tasneem Backhouse and Naseem Haq, who are delighted to welcome him to the team.

Backhouse said: “Jason is joining us at an exciting time for the company. His expertise in managing operations and knowledge of the food industry will be a huge asset to us to ensure we continue to deliver high quality products and an excellent service. He will strengthen our management structure, lead the operations team, and play a vital role in our growth and overall offering.”

Harrop said: “EHL Ingredients has a fantastic reputation in the food industry and it has gone from strength to strength over its 20 years in operation. I was attracted to the role as the business offers a fantastic range of food ingredients and blends, a reliable and efficient service, has a strong management board and a long-standing team, and a growing customer base.
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CBRE has announced the appointment of Dave Taberner, who joins the capital advisers team in Manchester as a senior analyst to further strengthen its regional lending operations.

Taberner joins CBRE’s debt and structured finance division from RBS and reports to Victoria Hill, who heads up the regional team, part of a growing European-wide service offering which is led by Steve Williamson.

Taberner has more than 20 years of commercial and real estate finance experience and will be focussing on loan procurement for the growing CBRE client base. Taberner will be based in the Manchester office.

CBRE’s debt and structured finance capabilities sit within CBRE capital advisers, a 150 strong, European-wide team, led by Richard Dakin, delivering real estate finance solutions across corporate finance, investment advisory and loan services.

The company has seen a significant increase in the number of debt mandates it has undertaken in the regions and the regional client base is currently under-served by debt advisory and loan origination services.

Victoria Hill, senior director, CBRE’s Capital Advisory team, said: “Dave’s experience is particularly valuable given his expertise in loan structuring and transaction management – something which even the most sophisticated of clients struggle with due to its time intensive nature. We can provide efficient support, which frees up our clients’ valuable time and allows us to better serve those clients who are long on opportunity and short on time.”

CBRE now boasts more than 35 people focusing on debt advisory and loan origination services across the UK and Europe

Taberner said: “I’m delighted to be joining CBRE as it expands its presence in the regional debt market and look forward to using my lending experience to support clients with their debt requirements.”

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BurningNight group has appointed a new group head chef responsible for food at Bierkeller entertainment complexes across the country.

Adam Van Hecke’s new role will involve overseeing kitchens and working with head chefs to devise menus at six Bierkellers.

The 26-year-old will look after restaurant operations in Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff and Nottingham, as well as the Sandgrounder in Southport.
After working for four years as head chef at the Manchester venue in The Printworks, Van Hecke plans to use his knowledge of the business and its customers to introduce new menu ideas.

One of those is the vegan wurst, a meat-free alternative to the signature German bratwurst which is one of the most popular dishes on the menus at traditional Bavarian bar Bierkeller and sports bar Shooters.

“A lot more people are vegan or vegetarian now, either through choice or health reasons, so we felt we needed to cater for what was an increasing crowd,” said Van Hecke. “Our new vegan ‘wurst’ is made with wheat protein and smoked to give it an intense flavour and we’ve already had a great response from customers who seem to love it.

“We trialled them to start with then, after we realised there was a demand and people were really enjoying them, we decided to put them on our new menu. They’re not just bought from the UK, we get them from our traditional German bratwurst suppliers, so they have the same quality and authenticity but obviously they’re meat-free and people seem to really like the flavour.”

Van Hecke says he’s looking forward to every aspect of his new role, but won’t be leaving behind his chefs’ whites yet. “You always have one foot in the kitchens, and you never lose that ambition to cook and that passion for food,” he added .

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Celebrated chef Tim Allen has been announced as executive director of food and beverage at Select Property Group.

The announcement comes as the company elevates its focus on the food and beverage industry, with the Group opening its first joint venture restaurant with Allen in central Manchester in the Spring of next year.

Former executive chef of the Michelin-starred Wild Rabbit in Kingham, Oxfordshire, Allen had previously served as chef-patron at D&D London’s Launceston Place. Under his tenure, the Kensington restaurant won four AA rosettes and a Michelin star.

As well as the upcoming launch of the joint venture restaurant on Chapel Street, next to Select’s luxury serviced apartments, CitySuites, Allen will be working with each of Select’s customer focussed brand teams.

He will focus on their food and beverage offering; ensuring each is relevant, consistent and of optimum quality and experience for its customer.

Allen said: “Having built a reputation for producing quality food and operating successful businesses, launching the joint venture restaurant, as well as honing Select’s food and beverage approach is a logical step in my career and I can’t wait to get started.
“My focus is simple. I want to produce consistent, quality food with products that are treat well and taste incredible. What we’re creating on Chapel Street will be amazing and that’s only just the beginning.”

Group chief executive Mark Stott, added: “We have people across Select that are experts in their disciplines, so we needed someone with exceptional talent to come on board and drive our Food and Beverage operations. Tim has the same energy, vision and creativity as Select and it’s great to have him on board.”

Prior to his positions at The Wild Rabbit and Launceston Place, Tim was senior sous chef at the two-Michelin-starred Whatley Manor in the Cotswolds, where he spent seven years under head chef Martin Burge. He previously spent four years with John Burton-Race, first at L’Ortolan and then at The Landmark.

Allen also appeared in BBC2’s Great British Menu in 2015, in which Britain’s top chefs compete for the chance to cook at a high profile banquet.

More details on the joint venture restaurant will be released in the coming months.