People on the Move: Ward Hadaway; Robson & Liddle; Optionis; BDO; Matthews & Goodman
The matrimonial team at Ward Hadaway has been further strengthened with the recruitment of new partner, Charlotte Beck.
Charlotte joins Ward Hadaway after developing her legal career in Bolton.
She has the wide range of experience expected from practising family law in a busy environment and is now taking those skills into the Manchester legal environment.
Charlotte has a great deal of experience in acting for clients not only in divorce and cohabitation disputes, but also in wider areas of property disputes.
She brings with her particular expertise in advising on complex high net worth financial cases and intricate children disputes.
Charlotte was also a committee member for Bolton Law Society and a member of Bolton Divorce Resolution (BADPOD).
She said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Ward Hadaway. The firm has a first-class reputation for the quality of legal services it provides across its three offices.
“The focus on client care and long-term planning stands out. I am proud to become part of that and thrilled that the Ward Hadaway team have asked me to help take this philosophy forward.”
Martin Karran, partner at Ward Hadaway, said: “Charlotte is someone whose work we have been familiar with for some time. It is great to welcome her to the team.
“Charlotte stands out as a practitioner who shares our values. That ethos of understanding long-term client needs and respecting our role in the community has been our guiding light in building our team.
“I have always looked at giving people every opportunity to develop themselves and their practices. Charlotte fits that mould perfectly.”
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Cumbria-based Robson & Liddle Chartered Surveyors has appointed agriculture and construction expert Robert Morris-Eyton as a consultant chartered surveyor.
Robert, aged 56, brings more than 30 years of experience to his new role, along with specialist dairy, sheep and construction knowledge.
As a chartered surveyor he specialises in farm tenancies, partnership issues, utility claims and commons-related issues on agricultural land, and in his new role will work advising farmers and landowners across the region.
Before joining Robson & Liddle, Robert previously worked as a consultant in the same field.
Robert’s new role will dovetail with managing his family’s dairy and sheep farming business, Beckside Farm, which has been in his family for 300 years.
Robert Morris-Eyton
He is also managing director of Beckside Construction, which installs hydroelectric schemes across Northern England.
Robert is a member of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is MRICS qualified, as well as being a fellow of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), holding a FAAV qualification.
He said: “I enjoy my chartered surveyor work, which dovetails productively with my other business activities.
“Robson & Liddle has provided me with an excellent platform to continue my professional work with first class back-up and specialist knowledge and experience.
“It feels great to be part of a successful team, further developing the business. I have worked with partners John Robson and Julie Liddle in the past and enjoy being part of a close-knit partnership-style business.”
Julie said: “We are thrilled to welcome Robert to our team and are confident he will be a huge success in his new consultancy role.
“We have known Robert for many years and believe his wealth of experience and industry knowledge will add significant value to our service offer, while helping to drive the growth of our business.”
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Optionis Group, the professional services provider for contractors, has appointed First Freelance founder Mark Beal-Preston as chief commercial officer
This comes as Optionis, the specialist in accountancy, tax and umbrella employment solutions to contractors and small businesses, confirmed its FCSA accreditation this Tuesday, November 6.
Headquartered in Warrington, the group has 11 offices across the UK with more than 650 employees, and encompasses seven brands, including SJD Accountancy and Parasol, the largest accountancy and umbrella organisations in the industry, respectively.
This accreditation is the gold standard for the industry and reinforces Optionis’ full compliance and commitment to industry standards in supporting contractors, recruiters and end clients in offering a high level of service, in what can be a complex market.
Mark Beal-Preston
Mark’s new role sees him bring more than 10 years’ experience of the contractor market, including his previous position on the board of the FCSA. He is responsible for all sales, marketing and commercial partnerships across the group, with the aim to drive high growth initiatives for all brands.
His previous role was managing director and founder of First Freelance, the London-based contractor accountancy firm, which was acquired by Optionis in February 2018, following on from the group’s merger with the Arkarius Group in 2017.
His appointment coincides with the appointment of Amy Davies as director of sales.
Amy has been with the group since 2015 as head of service delivery for Parasol and group onboarding, following a career in corporate services and business transformation.
She will now oversee a team of 60 across Optionis’ Parasol and ClearSky brands, ensuring that potential clients receive the best, expert advice.
Chief executive Derek Kelly said: “I’m delighted to have Mark on board in his new role and I know that, with his strong experience and heavy focus on contractor supply chain compliance, he’ll be a real asset to the team and our agency partners.
“Our recent FCSA accreditation, including passing the detailed compliance audit to gain this, just shows that Optionis is a strong, reliable and compliant business and we’re going from strength to strength.”
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Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO has promoted 72 people across the North West.
The promotions span the firm’s tax, audit, BDODrive and advisory practices, as well as its support functions.
Ed Dwan, partner at BDO in the North West, said: “We have had a strong year of growth and that is down to the hard work and determination of our people.
Ed Dwan
“Being able to watch individuals progress and develop their careers is easily one of the most rewarding parts of our role as partners, so it’s brilliant to be announcing so many promotions across our Liverpool and Manchester offices this year.”
The North West has developed its BDODrive offering to small and medium-sized businesses in the region, as well as inward investors in recent years.
BDODrive combines BDO’s business advisers’ expertise with its technology ecosystem to help unlock growth potential and make doing business easier. Katherine O’Carroll and Laura Stuffins have both been promoted to director within the team, and Ishfaq Ahmed is now senior manager to manage client demand.
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Commercial property specialist, Matthews & Goodman, has appointed a new building surveyor.
Operating from the company’s Liverpool office, Nick Vincent has more than 10 years’ experience in the sector across commercial, office and residential properties.
He joins from build asset consultants Grantley Lowe, where schemes included wholesale roof replacement, office alterations and dilapidation projects.
Nick Vincent
Nick said: “Matthews & Goodman’s respected local reputation and varied portfolio of projects really appealed to me. The thought of working with such a diverse mix of companies really excites me.
“What attracted me to the firm was the prospect of becoming part of an integrated multi-disciplined team, as it will allow me to use my experience and expertise to help clients achieve their property goals, safe in the knowledge that all their consultants are working to one single agenda.”
John Owen, Matthews & Goodman’s head of the national building consultancy team, added: “Nick’s breadth of experience, working across a range of clients in the commercial, industrial and residential property sector, will really strengthen our Liverpool and North West team’s capability. He will be a great asset to the firm.”
