People on the move: Reward Finance; Energi Mine; Refinery; Macbryde Homes

Paula Jones and Clive Briggs

Alternative funding provider Reward Finance appointed two well-known and experienced finance professionals to its Manchester office, continuing the company’s expansion in the North West.

Clive Briggs joins the company as North West business development director, having spent more than 30 years in the finance area.

During his career he has worked with IGF, RBS, Aldermore and held the position of corporate finance director at Armstrong Watson.

In addition to introducing his network of introducers and professional contacts to the company, he will also help the team raise the profile of Reward Finance and grow the business in the North West.

Joining the company as portfolio manager is Paula Jones, who will be responsible for delivering the finance needs to Reward’s clients, across a variety of sectors.

She joins from RBS corporate banking where she spent the last 20 years as relationship manager.

Briggs and Jones join at an successful time for Reward Finance as it has celebrated its fifth successive year of growth, with income for the year ended February 2017 increasing to £7.6m and the loan book growing by 25 % on the previous year.

In September, it has also received a £40m investment from Foresight Group, which has doubled the amount of funds available for the company to lend to SMEs.

Speaking about his new role, Briggs said: “I have known the directors at Reward Finance for many years and I have always admired their attitude and flexibility when it comes to helping SMEs grow their companies.

“They quickly get a grasp of the situation and provide the company with a quick decision.”

Group sales and marketing director Nick Smith said: “The fact that Clive and Paula have joined our rapidly expanding team sends out a clear message that we mean business in the North West.

“With the team we are building in our Manchester office we can continue to meet the growing demand for a variety of finance options.”

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Oldham-based Energi Mine has made two senior appointments as the company prepares for its ground-breaking Token Sale, the new way for companies to raise money through cryptocurrency.

Joining Energi Mine’s advisory board is Lord Rupert Redesdale. Lord Redesdale is a member of the House of Lords and chief executive of the Energy Manager’s Association, Carbon Management Association, and Low Energy Company.

Energi Mine has also boosted its senior management team with the appointment of Alain Richardt as chief technology officer.

Richardt is a cybersecurity expert specialising in Blockchain and Deep Learning / Artificial Intelligence. He worked for a succession of billion-dollar companies before founding and selling his Big Data start-up in 2016.

Energi Mine chief executive Omar Rahim said: “Lord Redesdale and Richardt are both leaders in their field.
“Lord Redesdale is a sitting member of the House of Lords with extensive knowledge in energy efficiency and energy management while Richardt’s background and experience is ideally suited to our chief technology officer role.”

Energi Mine aims to decentralise the $2 trillion global electricity markets which it says are closed and controlled by a handful of large players – with energy companies incentivised to sell more energy at the highest possible price.

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Manchester-based and communications agency Refinery has appointed Alex Ashby as its new head of strategy.

Previously brand strategist with True North, Ashby began his career in strategy with RKCR/Y&R, delivering brand and communications planning for two of the agency’s largest accounts. He later joined BMB to lead multiple strategies.

Ashby has also authored a research paper on UK Youth Culture as well as being a regular strategy mentor and speaker at the London School of Communications Arts.

He joins Refinery to help define and lead the agency’s multichannel marketing strategy across key clients.

Ashby said: “It’s not every day that you get the chance to lead strategy at one of Manchester’s largest and most established agencies.

“Refinery has a proven track record of fostering deep relationships with its clients, delivering brilliantly effective work, as well as possessing the talent and adaptability to take-on a wide array of sectors and business challenges.
“I’m relishing the opportunity to enhance our strategic offering so that we can contribute even more cohesion, creativity, and effectiveness to the way that we solve problems for our clients.”

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St Asaph, North Wales-based housebuilder Macbryde Homes has announced the appointment of Simon Finlay to the new role of head of development as the housebuilder looks to increase its market share across the North West.

Finlay brings with him experience in development and regeneration, focused predominantly within the housebuilding sector.

Finlay said: “Having worked with a number of very large housebuilders, I am looking forward to bringing my experience and ideas to Macbryde Homes. This is an exciting time for the business as it seeks to increase its overall output and reach across the North West and Wales and I am thrilled to be a part of that.

“I believe my career to date will equip me with the skills to engage effectively with a wide variety of land holders and in doing so, win new sites for Macbryde’s future developments.”

Finlay will report directly to Macbryde’s managing director Simon Macbryde who said: “Over the last 30 years, Macbryde Homes has successfully built a reputation for quality housebuilding across North Wales and the North West of England and our properties have been enjoyed by a wide-range of purchasers.

“Simon joining the team is central to the success of that vision and his experience will help access land for development across the region and help us realise greater market-share.”

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