People on the Move: Brabners; Morgan Sindall Construction; JVP Group; Castle Chemicals; NVM Private Equity
Independent legal practice Brabners has strengthened its family team with the appointment of senior associate Amy Harris.
Amy joins Brabners from boutique firm Vardags and has more than 10 years’ experience in family law. She specialises in handling complex financial matters resulting from separation and divorce.
She also has extensive experience helping unmarried partners and children with financial claims, as well as the arrangements for children, including the relocation of children abroad.
Joanne Radcliff, partner in Brabners’ family team, said: “Amy brings a wealth of experience to the team and will be crucial to us continuing to develop our presence across the North West.
“Brabners is currently executing an ambitious growth strategy and Amy’s arrival at the firm assists us in providing our clients with a full family law offering and demonstrates our commitment to expanding the team.
“We specialise in offering the very highest level of service to our clients during significant periods in their lives and it is crucial that our team is equipped with the best people to provide clients with the expert advice and support they need.”
Amy said: “The prospect of working for such a well-established and ambitious firm made Brabners an easy choice for me. Alongside the firm’s ongoing growth, the specialist family team has gone from strength to strength in recent years and I’m keen to get started on developing our presence even further.”
Amy will be based in Brabners’ Manchester office but will advise clients across the North West.
Brabners’ family team is made up of six lawyers and three paralegals across the firm’s Manchester, Liverpool and Preston offices. The Manchester team grew its revenues by 25% in 2018.
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Morgan Sindall Construction has strengthened its leadership team in the North West with the appointment of new area directors for Liverpool and Manchester.
The announcement comes just under a year after Barry Roberts was promoted to managing director for Morgan Sindall Construction across the North West, and is the latest stage of the company’s plan to grow its operation across the region.
Richard Potts has been promoted from senior operations manager to area director for Liverpool, while Shaun Jones has joined the company to assume the role as area director for Manchester.
Shaun brings with him omore than thirty years’ experience in the construction industry, with experience covering residential, including hotels and student accommodation, commercial, education and healthcare with a strong emphasis on pre-construction and repeat business.
Richard has been with Morgan Sindall Construction since 2014, and has overseen the delivery of a range of schools through the Priority Schools Building Programme, as well as Bupa’s 148,000 sq ft state-of-the-art flagship office at Salford Quays.
From left: Richard Potts, Barry Roberts and Shaun Jones
The appointments come at a significant time for Morgan Sindall Construction in the North West, with the contractor currently on site at several landmark developments across the region.
On Merseyside, Morgan Sindall Construction continues to deliver significant projects for Liverpool City Council at the Paddington Village Central site in the city’s Knowledge Quarter.
The company is currently onsite delivering two schemes, with significant upcoming developments including a new £35m 160-bed hotel and a 60-bedroom upscale aparthotel. The four star hotel will be operated by Accor under the Novotel brand with the aparthotel operated by Legacy Hotels & Resorts.
The company has also recently been appointed to transform the former Royal Mail building on Copperas Hill into a teaching hub and sports centre for Liverpool John Moores University. The site will provide high quality new buildings and open spaces, as well as regenerating a key gateway site in the heart of Liverpool city centre.
In Greater Manchester, work began in October 2018 at the third build-to-rent block at English Cities Fund’s Slate Yard residential project in Salford.
When complete, the £34m, 21-storey tower, located within the New Bailey development, will comprise 199 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. Work is also progressing on site at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Arts & Humanities facility, while pre-construction activities are progressing at Salford University’s School of Computing, Science and Engineering project.
Barry Roberts said: “This is a very exciting time for Morgan Sindall Construction in the North West, with our teams on site at projects that will transform pivotal localities in the region.
“However, there is no room for complacency and we are determined to further grow our footprint while delivering dynamic schemes that support the future prosperity of communities across the North West.
“Richard and Shaun both have a wealth of experience and unrivalled knowledge in how to deliver successful projects that provide value for money and an excellent experience for the end user. The value of these appointments is already being felt, and will allow us to continue to deliver an exceptional service to customers old and new.”
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Recruitment marketing specialists JVP Group has appointed Gill Ball as a c lient relationship manager to meet increasing demand in services.
Gill joins the expanding team at JVP following 13 years working within in-house recruitment roles across a range of industries, including insurance, logistics, and the public sector.
She said “Recruitment has been my passion for a long time and I’ve committed to my career path by becoming CIPD qualified. I’m aware of many of the challenges employers face when it comes to attracting talent and I love to provide effective solutions.
Gill Ball
“Having recently relocated to North Wales to be closer to family, I became familiar with the unique and innovative recruitment marketing solutions provided by JVP and could clearly see why so many employers choose to work with the company.
“The expansion plans at JVP Group are ambitious and exciting and I’m really looking forward to the challenge ahead and working with the team to support a wide variety of employers across the UK.”
Cath Harrison, managing director at Bodelwyddan-based JV Group, said: “We see ourselves as an extension of each of our clients’ team, we really get to know their business and work closely with them to help them attract the very best talent, reduce the time spent on recruitment administration, and minimise their recruitment spend.
“With this in mind, it’s fantastic to have Gill on board and in a role where she can make the most of her background as an in-house recruiter.
“Strong growth in the first quarter of 2019 has enabled us to create two new roles as we celebrate our fifth anniversary. In addition to the appointment of Gill, we’ve just welcomed a further team member Leanne, and plans are in place to further expand our team in the Summer.”
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Bryan Davies is announced as the new chairman of Heald Green-based chemical additives supplier Castle Chemicals, as the company seeks to build on its global reach and reputation.
Bryan joins the company having been commercial director at Thomas Swan and chairman of trustees at Catalyst Science Discovery Centre.
In 2015 he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the Chemical Industries Association.
He is committed to developing the company’s international business while safeguarding the environment for future generations.
Bryan said: “Castle Chemicals has established itself as a major global supplier of chemicals to the rubber and allied industries and I am looking forward to being part of the next phase of their development.”
Bryan Davies
Co-founder and managing director, Jeffrey Muff, believes Bryan’s appointment is the firm’s position in the industry, and a powerful indicator of the company’s ambition: “Since our launch in 1997 our expansion has been built on expertise and trust.
“Our clients know they can rely on us to deliver the innovative additives they need, when they need them. That commitment to quality and the peace of mind we give our clients enables them to smoothly run their processing and ensure valuable time and money are not wasted in production.
“We pride ourselves on doing much of our work face-to-face with clients, which means we can build stronger relationships and better products. I believe Bryan’s arrival can only enhance our clients’ confidence in our ability to deliver exceptional products and service.”
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NVM Private Equity continues to expand the VCT team with the addition of Alex Wilson and Stephen Johnson.
NVM’s recruitment strategy has been to build on their existing strong regional presence with a growing VCT team to help develop the business in a changed environment by bringing in people with experience in new, fast-emerging technology, finance and life science sectors.
Alex is based in NVM’s Manchester office and is responsible for sourcing, transacting and managing investments in the North West.
He has more than 12 years’ experience, initially at PwC then at a Manchester-based corporate finance boutique.
For the past seven years Alex has been advising both privately-owned and listed businesses across a range of corporate transactions, including fundraisings, trade sales, acquisitions and PE deals in both the UK and cross border.
Alex Wilson
Alex holds a First-class BSc (Hons) degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham.
Stephen is based in NVM’s Birmingham office.
NVM’s investment partner and head of the VCT team, Charlie Winward, said: “At NVM we believe there is significant opportunity for our investors to help businesses develop and scale in the North West and Midlands respectively, and that these areas are comparatively under-served given the range of opportunities we see in these regions.
“We believe that Alex’s extensive experience in the financing market and Stephen’s in operational software deployments will enhance our reach into their communities, and be invaluable in helping our portfolios to grow. I welcome Alex and Stephen to our growing team.”
