People on the Move: Mulbury; Alexander & Co; Stagecoach; Morecrofts; M247; Meadow Foods

Housing developer Mulbury has appointed Deborah McLaughlin – former regional director of the Homes and Communities Agency – as a non-executive director and strategic advisor.

She will advise Mulbury’s senior management team as part of its plans to deliver up to 3,000 new homes in the North West over the next five years.

Deborah became an independent consultant after leaving her role as managing director of GL Hearn in April 2019. She will continue to advise other organisations as part of her independent consultancy work.

Mulbury, which has a turnover of £90m, is currently on site with 1,100 homes in areas including Oldham, Salford, Crewe, Manchester and Tameside. It also has sites under its control that will support another 1,000 homes starting on site in the next 12-months.

Greg Mulligan, co-founder and director of Mulbury, said: “We have an ambitious five-year growth plan and central to this is our development work in the affordable housing sector.

“There are few people who can match the experience, know-how and relationships Deborah possesses in the housing world. She becomes our first non-exec director and will provide invaluable insight and guidance as we significantly increase our housebuilding activity.”

Deborah said: “I’ve had a strong relationship with the team at Mulbury for a number of years through my previous roles. The strength of Mulbury is based on its collaborative approach to delivery, developing long-term relationships and respecting communities. I look forward to supporting the management team to deliver its five-year growth plan.

“The North West is bucking the national trend in terms of housebuilding and it’s exciting to be involved in a business playing a major role in delivering much-needed affordable housing in the region.”

Deborah joined the Homes and Communities Agency, now Homes England, in 2008, from Manchester City Council where she was director of housing.

In 2016 she joined Capita subsidiary GL Hearn as head of its Manchester office and later became managing director of Capita’s real estate projects business.

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Manchester-based accountancy and tax advisory firm Alexander & Co has appointed Sharon Collier as a tax senior manager, to further strengthen its growing tax team.

Sharon is a well-regarded adviser with around 30 years’ experience acting for entrepreneurial individuals, companies and trusts with specific expertise in overseas trusts and international taxation.

She joins from a Cheshire-based tax advisory firm where, as associate director, she formed part of the senior management team and headed the international tax service line. She has previously worked for three of the big four accounting firms both in the UK and Malta.

Sharon Collier

She brings extensive knowledge and experience to the team across a wide range of sectors, including property and construction, manufacturing and engineering and entrepreneurial and family businesses.

Sharon will work alongside tax partner John McCaffery and the wider tax team on both UK and overseas tax and business advisory matters.

John McCaffery said: “It is great to welcome Sharon to the team. Her appointment further strengthens our offering to clients and reaffirms our commitment to add real value to our client services.”

Sharon added: “In my new role I hope to make a real difference to entrepreneurs and their businesses, assisting them to become more successful. I am looking forward to utilising my experience of advising established businesses, from SMEs to multi-nationals, to deliver practical, commercial advice to help them flourish.”

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Stagecoach Merseyside, Cheshire and South Lancashire (MCSL) has appointed a new commercial director, James Mellor, to lead its commercial operations across the region.

James, who has almost 20 years’ experience in the industry, has joined from rival operator Arriva North West.

Reporting to Stagecoach MCSL managing director Rob Jones, James will oversee strategic management and planning of local bus networks, fares, tendering, and contracts. He will also oversee stakeholder liaison and budgeting.

James started his career as a graduate management trainee with Stagecoach in East Kent in 2000, before progressing through the business to become commerical manager at Stagecoach MCSL in 2011. He then took on the role of head of commercial with Arriva North West, which he held for three years.

James Mellor said: “I have spent the majority of my career with Stagecoach and its brilliant to be back with the business and heading up its commercial operations across Merseyside, Cheshire, and South Lancashire.

James Mellor

“Stagecoach MCSL is going from strength to strength and it’s great to have the opportunity to bring my regional insight and experience to this role and continue to build on the great work Rob and the team have been doing as we position the business for future growth.”

Rob Jones said: “We are delighted to be welcoming James back to the business. He brings with him a real wealth of commercial insight and experience and will play an invaluable role in ensuring the business is well placed for optimum commercial performance.”

Stagecoach Bus is one of the UK’s major employers, supporting around 24,000 jobs across the UK and 1,249 jobs in Merseyside and South Lancashire. The company is part of Liverpool City Region’s Bus Alliance, a partnership between Liverpool’s biggest bus operators and Merseytravel.

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Morecrofts Solicitors has welcomed two new solicitors to its fold following the qualification of trainees Kelly Faulkner and Ellie Slater.

Faulkner will continue her career in the employment law team at the firm’s head office in Liverpool, while Slater will work in the family law team, based primarily at its Wirral office in Hamilton Square.

Kelly Faulkner

The pair are the latest in a long line of young lawyers to develop their careers within Morecrofts, having joined from university.

Their ascension coincides with a raft of rotations among the firm’s existing trainee solicitors and the awarding of three new training contracts for current paralegals.

The trio of new trainees, Sophie Kearney, Ella Neale and Hollie Randles, have now begun their first six months of training in Morecrofts’ family law team, based across Liverpool and Wirral.

Morecrofts has also appointed Aaron Ocquaye and Abigail Moore as paralegals in the private client department based in Woolton and the family law team in Allerton, respectively.

Meanwhile, Jenny Lomax has been promoted to paralegal in the Liverpool office and Vicki Cooke has relocated within the firm’s property division.

Ellie Slater

Alison Lobb, managing partner at Morecrofts Solicitors, said: “Our congratulations go to Kelly and Ellie whose qualification as solicitors is the result of many years of hard work, study and training.

“We have an outstanding crop of current trainees and we are excited to add Sophie, Ella and Hollie to those ranks as they take the next step on their own career journeys towards qualification.”

She added: “Morecrofts prides itself on offering unique pathways for young talent and this commitment is evidenced by the consistent progression of our paralegals and other junior lawyers over the course of many years.

“Indeed, the majority of our partners have risen through the ranks at Morecrofts and we know this gives real confidence to the next generation that they can fulfil their long term ambitions with us.”

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M247, the Hulme-based connectivity and Cloud services provider, has announced the new appointment of head of digital, Musa Aykac.

Part of the firm’s five-year growth plan and vision to be the most innovative digital acquisition leader in its sector, the role has been introduced to help accelerate its international digital presence and online search visibility.

As a result of this year’s restructure, new positions in the company have been created to support its rapid business growth and expansion plans.

The head of digital role will ensure that this development will continue through digital acquisitions both in the UK and internationally.

Currently, M247’s global outreach extends to more than 20 countries worldwide, with networks connecting to all of the key financial hubs, including London, Singapore, Zurich, Frankfurt and New York.

Musa Aykac

Aykac will be based in the London office, creating a fully driven data platform which will help identify behaviours and patterns of customers, as well as delivering an online digital experience using ad targeting to direct both new and existing customers to the website.

He will also be responsible for creating a global acquisition engine to increase M247’s online search visibility in various countries, allowing for multi-lingual queries to be handled effectively. Working closely with the marketing team, he will report to the marketing director, Emma Markey.

Prior to his appointment, Aykac worked with M247 for two years as a contractor, tasked with migrating multiple acquired businesses and websites without causing loss of visibility.

Aykac said: “It’s not often that you come across a company where you feel like you are doing something truly special, which is why becoming a permanent member of the M247 team was definitely the right choice for me. I am passionate about supporting the company achieve their goal of being a leading technology business in the international market.”

Jenny Davies, M247 chief executive, said: “I am delighted that Musa chose to take the next step to join our team. He has always shown real enthusiasm about what we do and will play a vital role in our plans to grow the business on an international scale.”

M247 is currently experiencing a period of significant growth, investing in its international Points of Presence (POPs), data centres and its own network infrastructure.

The company now employs more than 270 people in Manchester, London and Bucharest, with plans to open more offices across Europe and the rest of the world.

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Meadow Foods, supplier of dairy-based ingredients and inclusions to the food industry, has appointed Maria Neeve as deputy chief financial officer and member of the executive board.

Maria’s appointment is in preparation for Damian McDonald’s retirement plans later in 2020.

Maria, who is currently the chief financial officer of Brakes UK and Fresh Direct Group joins the business on January 7, and will work alongside Damian to ensure a smooth and effective transfer, until Damian leaves the business in Summer 2020.

Damian initially joined Bodfari Producers Limited in February 1994 and became finance director on the merger with Meadow Foods in 1995.

As finance director he assumed responsibility for delivering the financial planning and reporting for the business, as well as responsibility for implementing and managing the company’s IT function.

Working initially with Simon Chantler, and more recently Mark Chantler, Damian was involved with the delivery of the company’s ambitious growth strategy that has seen the business transform from a family-owned operation to one that has attracted investment from leading private equity investors Exponent.

Damian McDonald

Most recently, Damian was heavily involved in the company’s recent strategic acquisitions that have included Nimbus Foods, Roil Foods and Fayrefield Liquids, with intentions to continue to grow organically, as well as through further targeted acquisition.

Mark Chantler, Meadow Foods chief executive, said: “Damian has been instrumental in the growth of Meadow Foods, transforming it from a single site, family-owned business, to its position today as one of the UK’s leading suppliers of dairy-based ingredients and inclusions with a turnover in excess of £450m.

“We are hugely grateful for the energy and insight he has brought to the business, as well as the diligent work undertaken in our recent acquisitions.

“We are also hugely excited to welcome Maria who brings a wealth of food and private equity experience to the board.

“By working together with Damian in the coming months we will ensure that there is a stable transition and that the company continues to be well positioned for future growth.”

Meadow Foods is a supplier of value-added ingredients to the food industry.

The company employs more than 400 people across four BRC AA accredited sites in Chester, Peterborough, Holme-on-Spalding Moor and Dolgellau, where they manufacture specialist dairy ingredients, inclusions, decorations and toppings for some of the world’s best known food manufacturers and food service operators.