People on the Move: Hall Brown Family Law; Galloways Printers; Principal Insurance; Sigma Capital; Accommodation.co.uk
A Manchester law firm has announced that it has recruited yet another senior lawyer from a more established competitor.
Hall Brown Family Law has revealed that its commitment to excellence and its flexible working patterns were essential factors in being able to secure the services of Naomi Rainey.
Mrs Rainey joins as a senior solicitor, having held the post of director with another high-profile firm in the North West for the past two years.
Hall Brown managing partner, James Brown, has explained that her arrival illustrates how the firm’s office culture has proven attractive both to clients and staff alike.
“What we have been very fortunate enough to do is bring together a very talented team of people able to help us raise the standard of work that we do for clients a little higher every day.
“Just as those clients know that they’re going to have individuals to take care of them during processes which are sometimes difficult and often very delicate, so we believe in taking care of each other.
“Flexible working – being able to shape your job around your life outside of the office – is one essential part of how we operate and I would say has been key to our success and our growth to date.
“Naomi joins the ranks of the other wonderful professionals and parents working for Hall Brown and I have no doubt that she will be a valuable addition to our team.”
Mrs Rainey’s appointment comes a decade after qualifying as a solicitor at one of Manchester’s former top tier private client law firms, Pannone, having already earned a first-class honours degree in history and distinctions in both the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law.
Described by the influential Legal 500 directory as “terrific”, she has amassed considerable experience in handling a variety of complex cases involving family businesses, inherited wealth and parental disputes about children’s care arrangements.
Her decision to join comes a fortnight after Hall Brown appointed Mike Devlin – a former President of the Law Society in Manchester and one of the city’s most experienced family lawyers – as its sixth partner.
Since being established by Mr Brown and senior partner Sam Hall in April 2016, the firm has grown to 39 staff – 28 of whom are fee-earners.
As well as occupying an entire floor of the Grade II-listed Ship Canal House in the heart of Manchester’s business district, it opened a new London office at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in February, headed by Izzy Walsh, another high-profile recruit.
During the last full financial year, Hall Brown’s turnover topped £3.54m – an increase of £1m on the previous 12 months.
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Stockport-based Galloways Printers has announced changes in its senior leadership team as the business continues to grow.
The announcement comes as Andrew Galloway steps in to the position of deputy chairman after 35 years as managing director and passes the baton to his son Matt Galloway, with effect from January 1, 2020.
In his new role as MD, Matt will become the sixth generation of the Galloways family to lead the company which will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2020.
Andrew said: “In my 35 years as managing director, I’ve seen many changes both here at Galloways and within the wider printing industry – however, one thing that has remained constant is our commitment to providing an outstanding service to our customers.
Andy Galloway (left) and Matt Galloway
“I’m delighted to be handing the reigns over to Matt, who will continue to drive the business forward, embracing new technologies to fulfil our customer’s requirements and challenges effectively.
Poynton based Galloways is a long-established business providing a high-end printing service across the North West and beyond. It says it offers an exceptional level of service and expertise to customers, operating as an extension of their marketing department to give the best return on their marketing spend.
Andrew Galloway said: “It’s been an honour to lead the company for 35 years. I’d like to personally thank our customers, suppliers and the whole team here at Galloways for their loyalty and support over the years and wish Matt well for this exciting new chapter in our history.”
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Manchester-based Principal Insurance has promoted Aly Dixon to sales & operations director at its group company Principal Insurance Ireland DAC.
The move by the specialist broking group is in recognition of Dixon’s success in building Principal’s presence in Ireland having headed up its Dublin office since it opened in 2015.
The office specialises in motorcycle insurance and now claims an estimated 20% share of the Irish insurance market.
Principal founder and managing director, Dave Bowcock, said: “From a standing start Aly has swiftly built an impressive operation. Injecting some much-needed competition into the market and delivering a genuinely personal service to Irish bikers, she has enabled us to capture a significant slice of the market. Her promotion is more than well deserved.”
Aly Dixon
Dixon has steered the group’s Irish operation through significant challenges, including the loss to the bike market last year of two UK underwriters.
She joined Principal from Aon where, for seven years, she was manager of the Aonbikecare operation. This utilised Axa as capacity provider and the underwriter’s Irish broking operation is now a key partner for Principal.
Aly said: “The past four years have been as challenging as they have been enjoyable, with our arrival providing a significant and highly beneficial jolt to the market. It’s an absolute privilege to now be able to address, as a director, the ongoing challenges of that market and deliver on our growth ambitions.”
Across its UK and Irish operations Principal now serves nearly 50,000 policyholders and generates more than £22m in annual premium income.
The group is active in a number of specialist niches. Its personal lines include motorcycle, motorhome, van and classic, performance, prestige, high performance, kit and replica cars, while its commercial division is particularly strong in the hire and reward, courier and motor fleet sectors.
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Manchester-based residential development and urban regeneration company, Sigma Capital Group, has expanded its site and marketing team, with two new starters in Manchester.
These additions are a result of the continuing growth of its own self-funded activities along with The PRS REIT plc’s portfolio which has delivered more than 1,350 homes to date and a further 3,000+ homes currently under construction. All of homes are marketed under Sigma’s dedicated and professional brand ‘Simple Life’.
Launched by Sigma in December 2016, Simple Life is the landlord responsible for its own self-funded activities and The PRS REIT plc’s rental property portfolios. Following the launch of the REIT in May 2017, Simple Life is now one of the leading brands for family PRS housing in the United Kingdom.
Jason Berry has joined the company as sites and operations director with seven years’ experience from previous roles at Morris Homes Northern and Taylor Wimpey North West. At Sigma Jason is responsible for land identification, acquisition and commencement of design and build contracts in the North West and the Midlands.
He said: “The Sigma PRS offer is unique, so this is a fantastic opportunity for me to work with the team who have created the PRS model and continue its successful roll out across the country.
Jason Berry and Alice MacKenzie
“The residential market and the Government’s requirement to facilitate more new housing continues to challenge the industry, so it really is an exciting time to work for the company. Sigma’s offer to provide new family housing, re-establish communities and accelerate housing delivery is exemplary and something that I’m very pleased to be part of.”
Alice MacKenzie has joined the Manchester team as marketing assistant, developing social media content, new development marketing materials and the website content.
She said: “I am so excited to be part of a successful, talented and ambitious company like Sigma. It’s a brilliant opportunity to begin my marketing career with a company that has such inspiring growth plans.
“It’s also very rewarding to be a part of a something that is truly improving people’s lives, it’s easy to market a product you genuinely believe in.”
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Next generation letting agency Accommodation.co.uk has made a number of hires at its Manchester head office as the company launches across the UK and now, former Purplebricks academy director Michael Booth, has joined the growing team.
In his new role Michael will be helping to recruit and train licensed business partners – known as Local Lettings Consultants – alongside former Belvoir Business Development Manager Clive Tomlinson, who has over 30 years of lettings experience.
Michael said: “Accommodation.co.uk’s mission to become the most loved lettings agency in the UK by delivering an outstanding service to landlords and tenants really appealed to me.
“The industry has long-needed change and I firmly believe that we will be the ones to do it.
“Well-known lettings agencies have focused too much on being online, neglecting to remember that what landlords and Generation Rent really want is efficiency, customer service and a high level of professionalism.
“Letting out your home or finding a new place to live is a huge decision, so we want to be there to support tenants and landlords alike. Our bespoke service and round-the-clock centralised teams will enable our local lettings consultants to do just that.
“The unique service created by Accommodation.co.uk breathes life back into the rental market and I firmly believe that we will ease the traditional burdens that other estate and lettings agencies have placed on their franchisees, landlords and subsequently, tenants.”
Alongside Michael, several additional hires have been made.
Michael Booth
The first Purplebricks lettings territory owner in Scotland, Julie Findlater, has also moved from the agency to become a property manager at Accommodation.co.uk.
Julie has 15 years experience in lettings and will bring her expertise and knowledge of the industry to support landlords and tenants across the UK.
Baktash Noori recently joined the company as product owner, having made the move from London-based brand asset management company Notamvis where he worked as a software engineer and assistant technology manager.
Matthew Pickup has also been appointed as marketing manager. Matthew previously worked as digital marketing coordinator at MCR Property Group, a longstanding real estate investment and development company with offices in Manchester, London and Birmingham.
Aaron Short, co-founder of Accommodation.co.uk, said: “We’re passionate about building teams of highly-experienced and skilled property, IT and marketing professionals so I’m really pleased with the team that we’re building.
“Michael, Julie, Baktash and Matthew bring a wide range of skills and knowledge to the table and it’s exciting to see that, while we’re still a young business, highly-experienced professionals from some of the biggest businesses in the UK are choosing to work with us and believe in our mission. On behalf of the entire Accommodation.co.uk family, I want to welcome them to the team and wish them the best of luck as they settle in and develop in their roles.
“We’ve steadily built a backend team at Accommodation.co.uk based on the best talent, and now that we’ve launched it’s crucial that we continue to make the very best hires. We moved to Manchester for this very reason and, so far, it’s proving to be one of our best decisions.”
