People on the Move: FS Legal; One Little Bird; G F Holding; Irwin Mitchell; Progress to Excellence Group; Harvey Homes

Altrincham-based litigation-specialist, FS Legal, has expanded its team with the appointment of Christine Newton as legal director.

Christine has joined from the UK home delivery and collections business, Arrow XL, where she spent three years in the role of general counsel.

Prior to that, Christine held the position of legal director in the commercial litigation team at Hill Dickinson, where she worked for eight years.

Julia Norris, partner at FS Legal, said: “Christine has many years’ experience of running complex commercial disputes from inception through to trial.

“She is particularly well-versed in commercial contract disputes and alternative dispute resolution processes such as mediation.

“Christine is a great lawyer with an impeccable reputation and is a fantastic addition to our growing team. She will really strengthen our commercial litigation offering for clients.”

A specialist firm of award-winning litigators, FS Legal advises high net worth individuals and corporate clients in commercial business and private investment.

During her career Christine has acted for clients in a variety of sectors, including logistics and warehousing, construction, engineering, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

She is experienced in several practice areas, including construction and engineering, shareholder disputes and insolvency related cases.

Christine said: “FS Legal is a dynamic law firm that is involved in high profile multimillion-pound litigation cases.

“The firm’s grown rapidly in the last year and it is an exciting place to be. I felt that it was the right firm for me to join.”

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Cumbrian PR and digital marketing agency, One Little Bird, has appointed three new team members.

Joining the current team will be graphic designer Nicky Proniewicz, marketing administrative assistant Emma McCarthy and, senior PR executive Eleanor Thursby.

Headed up by Cumbrian-born and bred public relations specialist, Nici Hewitson, the award-winning agency is seeing a period of expansion after recently achieving several new client mandates.

From left: Eleanor Thursby, Nicky Proniewicz and Emma McCarthy

Nicky Proniewicz joins from CN Group, now Newsquest Cumbria, where he was a multimedia graphic designer focused on advertising design across their newspaper and magazine titles.

Prior to this he worked at The Guide Magazines, looking after their advertising and magazine design. Nicky will be expanding One Little Bird’s offering, working on website design, branding, advertising, photography and animation.

Nicky said: “I’m thrilled to be joining One Little Bird. The team is so creative and to be able to assist in a new offering is brilliant, especially with such a great client profile. It’s always rewarding to work with local businesses I’ve grown up around.”

Emma McCarthy has joined the team after relocating from Australia.

Emma has a background in both PR and HR across industries such as lifestyle, retail and real-estate.

Having worked for a boutique PR agency in her hometown, Melbourne, as well as a top real estate agency, Emma has experience with global brands including Porsche and Electrolux.

She said: “This is such an exciting time to be joining the One Little Bird Team. I thrive on helping a business grow through recruitment, community sponsorships and positive client interaction and this position encompasses all these elements – I’m really looking forward to this next challenge in my career.

“Relocating from Australia, I have quickly fallen in love with the Cumbrian way of life so I can’t wait to explore all the Lake District has to offer.”

Eleanor Thursby joins the team from London-based lifestyle PR agency Sauce Communications.

She brings experience of working with some of the UK’s leading restaurants and chefs.

Prior to this Eleanor worked at top business advisory firm Brunswick Grou both in London and the Middle East.

Here, she worked across a variety of sectors including banking, private equity, energy, healthcare and luxury, focusing on corporate communication mandates.

She said: “Having strong family links to Cumbria, I am so delighted to make the move up to this gorgeous part of the world.

“One Little Bird has such a brilliant reputation and clients to match – I hope that my prior experiences in both consumer and corporate PR will offer clients some new perspectives and ideas.”

Nici Hewsiton, director, said: “All three of our recent appointments will add some new dimensions to the team.

“Each have vast experience, bringing enthusiasm and knowledge in their fields. It is an exciting time for us, having just celebrated our fifth birthday and having won the In Cumbria Award for Best SME Business, we keep going from strength to strength.”

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Specialist building and fit-out contractors to the retail, leisure and banking sectors, G F Holding has promoted four team members to associate directors.

They are: Andy Smith and Martin Leyden, who were both senior quantity surveyors, John Dodds, who was a senior contracts manager, and Neil Poole, who was a senior estimator.

From left: Martin Leyden, John Dodds, Neil Poole, and Andy Smith

Managing director, Jeff Barton, said: “Following a very successful 2018 which saw our turnover grow in excess of £40m, we have started 2019 in a really strong position with a confirmed order book of over £20m.

“We were keen to prepare ourselves for our continued future growth by promoting Andy, Martin, John and Neil to associate director level.”

During 2018 the company delivered a significant number of cinemas for a broad range of clients: Cineworld, Showcase, Vue, Everyman, and Odeon, including the iconic Odeon Leicester Square which re-opened just before Christmas.

The company also delivered the £4.2m restoration of Southampton’s Grade II-listed Mayflower Theatre, as well as the refurbishment of high-end casino, The Palm Beach, for Gentings Casinos.

Other recent projects include the refurbishment of the high-end luggage retailer Rimowa’s flagship store on New Bond Street, and the delivery of Victors, Alderley Edge, for East Coast Concepts.

Jeff added: “We have come a long way from where we started in 1908, when two Holding brothers were decorating their neighbours’ front rooms.

“However, our attention to detail and the speed at which we turn around projects remains the same now, as it was 110 years ago.”

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Irwin Mitchell has promoted 90 people to associate and senior associate roles across its legal and group services teams, including five in its Manchester office.

The senior associate promotions in Manchester are Kevin Saul and Sharon Williams (Medical Negligence) and also Tahir Bashir in Ascent. The new associates are Lucy Bazley and Sally Murphy (Court of Protection).

Irwin Mitchell group chief executive, Andrew Tucker, said: “We are always proud to announce our promotions for the associate and senior associate roles.

“They are recognition of the value our employees bring to the business as well as the opportunities they may bring in the future as valued leaders.

“Developing our people is a key priority for us as it’s crucial to delivering success for our clients.

“We have invested heavily in providing a clear pathway for our people to progress, whether they are lawyers or working in group services teams, and we look forward to ensuring that our new associates and senior associates are supported on the next step of their career journey.”

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Two key appointments have been made to the board of directors of Progress to Excellence Group as the company, made up of a number of education and training providers, continues to focus on the skills gap agenda.

In their new roles, business development director Lynn Lock and commercial director Dave Murray will bring their sector-specific background and knowledge to help drive the business’ strategic objectives.

Birkenhead-based Progress to Excellence Group has seen major growth during the past year and now has seven subsidiaries which collectively deliver commercial training, adult skills training, end-point assessment (EPA) for apprentices and independent alternative education for young people.

Lynn Lock has more than 25 years’ expertise in business development and sales, with extensive knowledge of work-based learning, Welfare to Work, apprenticeships and the funding streams available.

Lynn Lock

Dave Murray brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience gained in the construction and maritime industries.

Dave Murray

He has also worked in the further education sector, delivering maritime and pre-employability training in Liverpool City Region after owning and growing his own business.

Sandra Kirkham, managing director at Progress to Excellence Group, said: “I am delighted to welcome Lynn and Dave to our board.

“We share the same goal of working towards a vibrant economy which is all about unity – bringing together private, public and charitable sectors to tackle the skills agenda issue – and are motivated by the positive impact of high quality, sector-specific training on individuals and their employers.”

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North West luxury homebuilder Harvey Homes has appointed Michael Kennedy as a director.

With more than 30 years in the property business his role will be to aid new site acquisition, planning, development and the sales process.

The Harvey Homes Group provides bespoke homes for discerning purchasers across South Manchester and the North West and was established by Bowdon-based businessman Thomas Harvey-Ratcliffe, with his father Nicholas Harvey-Ratcliffe, a chartered surveyor and land buyer.

Michael Kennedy has been working with Harvey Homes as a new homes development consultant over the past 12 months.

Prior to that he was managing director of Hillcrest Homes for 17 years where he established the brand as a leading provider of original luxury residences, winning numerous awards for quality of design and build including Best Residential Development, Best One-Off Home in the Country and Best Luxury Property.

Prior to that Michael was director of land and new homes at Countrywide. He was also a non-executive director of Equity Housing for six years.

Michael Kennedy

He said: “I am delighted to join the Harvey Homes team as a director. In the last 12 months I have been greatly impressed by Thomas’ fresh and proactive attitude to development and his total focus on delivering a quality product through all aspects of design, craftsmanship and specification.

“I look forward to working with him to build the business.“

Thomas Harvey-Ratcliffe, director and Co-founder of The Harvey Homes Group, said: “Its fantastic to have Michael on board.

“His experience and high standing in the property industry is renowned and he shares our ethos of excelling in all areas of new home development.

“I’m excited to be working closely with him to build a successful and sustainable business that is recognised throughout the region for its passion and commitment to quality.”

The Harvey Homes Group is currently on site at Swan Green in Lower Peover, near Knutsford, with a number of new Cheshire-based developments already in the pipeline and the team actively looking for further land and joint venture opportunities.