People on the move: Scanlans; Bromleys; Hill Dickinson; Visualsoft

Property management and surveying firm Scanlans has promoted Philip Manson to partner and head of valuation at its Manchester office.

He joined Scanlans in 2003 and was previously an associate.

Scanlans has also strengthened its Manchester team with the arrival of Anthony Kingdon as a property manager and Mike Dutson as a senior building surveyor.

In his new role, Manson will oversee residential and commercial valuations carried out by the Scanlans Consultant Surveyors division in the North West.

He has 17 years’ experience as a surveyor and deals with a wide range of commercial and residential properties and developments.

Manson is also a registered LPA receiver and a fellow of the Association of Property & Fixed Charge Receivers.

Dutson, who has 20 years’ experience and specialises in the education and residential sectors, has joined Scanlans Consultant Surveyors from Lancaster Maloney in Stockport.

Kingdon has joined the Scanlans Property Management division from Mainstay Group, where he was a senior manager with responsibility for customer and business development across England and Wales.

Scanlans chairman Ian Stanistreet said: “Philip has been an important part of our team for 14 years and we are delighted to see him become a partner. He is a hardworking and very knowledgeable surveyor with an excellent reputation, and fully deserves his promotion.

“Mike and Anthony have a wealth of experience and are excellent additions to the Scanlans team in Manchester. Mike will be working on a wide range of building surveying projects, including many in our ever-increasing property management portfolio.

“Anthony will be taking on a prestigious portfolio of properties throughout the north west and we are confident that his knowledge and experience will prove to be a great asset to Scanlans and our clients.”

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Law firm Bromleys has recruited property solicitor Martin Blaylock to help meet increasing demand from clients.

He has joined the Tameside, Greater Manchester practice from Bell Park Kerridge Solicitors, which has offices in Carlisle and Cockermouth in Cumbria.

Blaylock joins Bromleys’ corporate and commercial services team. He specialises in advising clients on commercial property, conveyancing and landlord and tenant matters.

He is the latest addition to the growing team, following the arrival in the spring of solicitor Rubina Begum.

Blaylock studied law at the University of Central Lancashire and completed the legal practice course at Northumbria University before qualifying as a solicitor in 2013.

Paul Westwell, the Bromleys’ partner who heads the corporate and commercial team, said: “We have seen a significant increase in new instructions and further recruitment has been necessary to service the needs of our clients.

“Martin has relocated from Carlisle to join us and will be a valued addition to the team. He has a varied background and will fit in well with our client-focused culture.”

Martin said: “Bromleys has an excellent reputation with clients and the local business community, and I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to join the firm.”

In addition to the property department, Bromleys has in recent months bolstered its private client, care proceedings and Court of Protection teams.

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International law firm Hill Dickinson has further strengthened its commercial and intellectual property (IP) team in Manchester with the appointment of partner Tracey Sheehan.

Sheehan, who was previously at the firm in 1998, has returned as a partner and head of telecoms from Dentons.

Her appointment is effective from Monday 25th September 2017.

Sheehan is a lawyer within the telecommunications sector, with more than 20 years’ experience advising both national and international clients on communication regulation and infrastructure.

She has particular expertise in infrastructure sharing with other regulated industries and the rollouts of fixed line mobile and satellite networks.

Sheehan said: “I am excited to be returning to Hill Dickinson after 19 years. The firm has built a brilliant reputation for delivering straight talking and commercially savvy advice on an international platform– which makes it a great fit for me.

“I look forward to spearheading the commercial and IP Team’s growth into the national and international telecommunications sector as part of my remit at the firm.”

In addition, the commercial and IP team has been further bolstered by the appointments of Graeme Alder, as a legal director in the Liverpool office, and Benjamin Taylor who joins the Manchester office as an associate.

Alder joins the firm from Yodel Delivery Network and Taylor from Addleshaw Goddard. Alder has experience in advising upon a broad range of commercial matters including negotiating a wide variety of commercial contracts across a breadth of sectors.

Taylor qualified in February and will be involved in all aspects of commercial law advisory work.

Mark Fitzgibbon, partner and head of the commercial and intellectual property team at Hill Dickinson said: “Sheehan, Alder and Taylor are additions to the team in the North West and nationally. Sheehan is a highly experienced lawyer and her expertise in the telecommunications sector will meet the growing client demand we are experiencing in this area at a time of unprecedented investment and innovation.”

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Ecommerce and digital agency Visualsoft has promoted head of development Neil Innes to chief technology officer.
Innes will be responsible for driving the technical direction of the business and ensuring the team meets its long-term objectives, while continuing to evolve the Visualsoft ecommerce platform to deliver the highest possible service for online retailers.

Back in 2006, Innes joined Visualsoft as lead developer when the business had just 12 members of staff along with two directors.

He was promoted to head of development in 2010 and since then has been instrumental in ensuring the company’s flagship ecommerce platform offers unrivalled functionality.

Visualsoft chief executive Dean Benson said: “Neil has proved himself to be the best person to take on this role and lead the company into the future.

“He has been an integral part of the business for almost 12 years, having seen the team outgrow seven different office locations and grow into the industry agency that it is today with more than 230 staff.

“It’s important that we are at the forefront of technology and I’m confident that with Neil’s leadership we will continue to offer innovative, market leading solutions to our clients.”

Innes said: “Visualsoft has been my home for more than a decade. I’m looking forward to leading our teams into a bright future. We’re developing our ecommerce platform further and ensuring our technology continues to help our retailers build, grow and sustain their business online.”