People on the Move; Dow Schofield Watts; Slater Heelis; Mulbury; Key Group; Kenyons

Independent advisory firm Dow Schofield Watts has appointed Cath Priestley as recruitment manager to accelerate its expansion throughout the UK regions.

Cath, who joins from boutique agency Tindall Perry, has 15 years’ experience in recruitment, primarily in the finance sector.

In her new role she will be recruiting experienced finance professionals and teams who want to set up their own business under the Dow Schofield Watts brand, as well as supporting the growth of existing business units within the group.

Daresbury-based Dow Schofield Watts plans to appoint 20 new partners in the next 18 months as it continues to add new service lines and open new offices in addition to the existing locations in Daresbury, Manchester, Leeds, London and Aberdeen.

Cath, who will be based at the group’s head office in Daresbury, said: “Finance professionals are increasingly more entrepreneurial and many are seeking greater autonomy over their careers to enhance their work-life balance.

“The clear message is that pursuing a career in a ‘big four’ firm is no longer the only route to achieving success. Dow Schofield Watts offers professionals a genuine alternative and opportunity to work alongside leading individuals.”

Established in 2002, Dow Schofield Watts now has more than 70 professionals and ranks as a top 75 accountancy firm, offering ‘everything but audit’.

Founding partner James Dow said: “Our business has been expanding rapidly in recent years and the current changes taking place within the accountancy profession offer potential for much further growth.

“Our model is proving very attractive to professionals seeking a life outside the ‘big four’ firms.

“With Cath’s expertise in recruitment she is ideally placed to help us identify high-calibre professionals seeking a fresh start and give them the chance to build their own business as part of the Dow Schofield Watts group.”

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Joanne Taylor, an associate Chartered Legal Executive at Slater Heelis, has been appointed president of the Trafford Law Society for this year.

Joanne specialises in family law and joined Slater Heelis in 2005. Her appointment as president follows many years of involvement with the society where she is joined by David Wilkinson, also from the family team, who has also now been nominated to the role of treasurer with the society

The pair help lead the firm’s collaborative approach to family law, which aims to reduce the emotional strain on both couples and children when parents split up.

Joanne said she had a clear vision for her time as president in 2020: “In recent years the society has gone from strength to strength and I want to see this success continue to flourish in the next 12 months by growing the membership.”

Joanne Taylor

She added: “It’s great to see Slater Heelis once again at the heart of the society and with the hard work and dedication of all of the committee and our members I am sure that the community will continue to benefit from the society and its many local lawyers.”

The Trafford Law Society, which was founded in the 1980s, ensures that local issues are reported to the national Law Society, promotes the provision of legal services in the region, as well as providing training and social events for members and supporting local charities.

Slater Heelis is a full-service law firm with offices in Manchester city centre, Sale and in Timperley and acts for clients across the UK and internationally.

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Residential developer Mulbury has appointed its first in-house legal director as it prepares to accelerate the delivery of new housing sites in the North West.

Specialist property lawyer Elisabeth Williams has joined the Mulbury team from Manchester law firm Beyond Corporate.

She will provide in-house counsel to Mulbury’s senior team as well as overseeing relationships and projects with external legal partners.

Greg Mulligan, director of Mulbury, said: “Elisabeth becomes our first ever in-house lawyer and the second addition to our management team in as many months.

“Her in-depth technical knowledge and understanding of the North West property landscape means she can advise us on all aspects of site acquisitions and disposals, development agreements and development finance agreements.

Elisabeth Williams

“She will play a vital role in our business as we look to fulfil our five-year ambition to deliver up to 3,000 new homes across the North West.”

Elisabeth added: “Mulbury is bringing forward a lot of important and valuable sites in towns and cities across the region, many of them for affordable housing in collaboration with registered providers. I’m looking forward to supporting the firm as it embarks on this exciting chapter of growth.”

Elisabeth’s appointment at Mulbury comes a month after it appointed former Homes England executive Deborah McLaughlin to its board as a non-executive director and strategic adviser.

Qualifying as a solicitor in 2006, Elisabeth was legal director with TLT’s real estate division prior to her time at Beyond Corporate.

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Key Group, the Preston-based specialist provider of financial solutions to the over-55’s, has promoted Russell Warwick, formerly strategy director, to group B2B distribution director.

Following 25 years at Prudential and a role as managing director of Primetime Retirement, Russell has a wealth of knowledge across the later life sector which he will bring to his new role.

As group B2B distribution director he will focus on building and promoting relationships with business partners on behalf of all group brands, including key partnerships, more2life and AiR Group.

Russell Warwick

Having recently rebranded and outlined its ambition to be the UK’s leading retirement finance expert, working with the industry to develop later life lending to help more people finance a better retirement, Key Group is keen to develop and strengthen its B2B relationships.

Russell said: “With new funders, intermediaries and distributors looking to access this constantly evolving market, I am delighted to step into the role of group B2B distribution director. It is a very exciting time for the business and my focus will be on managing and evolving the relationships we have with our business partners on behalf of all group brands.”

Simon Thompson, Key Group chief executive, said: “As a group, not only are we focused on working with the industry to develop the later life lending market, but we are also keen on collaborating with partners to build smart later life lending products.

“To achieve this goal we need to actively consider how we manage, deepen and develop our relationships with our B2B partners and Russell’s appointment will help us to meet the needs of this important audience.”

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A new managing director has been appointed at Liverpool-based integrated marketing agency Kenyons.

Rosie Kenyon, 29, who has worked in the company for six years developing client accounts, will now take on the MD role and focus on the strategic direction of the agency and new business development.

The 17-strong agency – set up in Liverpool in 1990 – works with a range of clients in the UK and Europe, including Liverpool Health Partners, St Johns Shopping Centre and Blankstone Sington.

Rosie Kenyon

Strengths include amination, video production, paid social, design and SEO, as well as marketing strategy, branding and PR.

Rosie – the third member of the family to take the MD role after brother Richard Kenyon who now holds a prominent position at Everton FC – said: “I want to keep demonstrating our creative ability and work with like-minded organisations, understanding when and how to be brave and how to convey the brand personality and connect with audiences.

“A lot of thought and passion goes into all of our work and I hope the brilliant people behind the projects, and the clients we work with, are able to keep enjoying the process and the results, for another 30 years.”