People on the Move: PWA Planning; ITS; Abbey England; GP Bullhound; Steven Hunt & Associates

From left: Matthew Walton, Victoria Lawson, Janet Whittaker

North West planning consultancy PWA Planning has made three new appointments.

The firm has created two new planning roles, appointing Dr Victoria Lawson as a planner and Matthew Walton as assistant planner.

Meanwhile, Janet Whittaker has also joined the firm as accounts manager to support the management team as the business continues to grow.

Paul Walton, founder and director, said: “In Victoria we have gained a very experienced planner, but also someone who can bring a fresh and influential approach because of her time in academia and strong specialism in urban design.

“Matthew is starting out on his journey in town planning and will add further depth to our team as we support him through his training.

“Not only has our recent growth led to a need to strengthen our planning team, but also our operational team. Bringing Janet on board allows us to improve our financial and accounting processes.”

Victoria is a chartered town planner with an MA in Urban Design. She has more than 20 years’ experience in working on built environment projects.

She joins PWA from Manchester University where she taught planning and urban design while completing a Planning PhD. Prior to academia, she worked as a planner in both private practice and for local authorities, including Christchurch City Council in New Zealand.

Matt has chosen to pursue a career in town planning after a short period working in the construction industry. He graduated from University of Liverpool in 2019 with a BSc in Geography.

Janet has 30 years’ experience in accounting working for a range of companies and is a Member in Practice of Association of Accounting Technicians (ATT).

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Full fibre network operator, ITS, has announced that Dave Ferry will join the business as business development director.

Dave will focus on key strategic partnerships to drive full fibre network deployment as the Chester-ased business scales following its £45m investment deal with Aviva Investors announced in the New Year.

Dave joins from Virgin Media Business and brings with him a wealth of experience that fits well with ITS’ ‘dig once’ approach to re-using existing infrastructure, having worked closely with local authorities, landlords, landowners and businesses to help improve connectivity and broadband infrastructure across the UK.

Dave said: “I am excited about the work ITS is undertaking to deploy full fibre networks across the UK. ITS’ innovative approach to re-using infrastructure to build networks plays well to my strengths and the relationships I have nurtured with local authorities.

Dave Ferry

“I’m thrilled to be supporting the business through the next steps of its journey.”

Daren Baythorpe, ITS chief executive, said: “Having recently secured our investment, we have the firepower to deliver on our business plan at pace, connecting more premises to futureproof full fibre connectivity.

“We are delighted that Dave will be joining the business development team to help deliver on this strategy. He will add a lot of value to the projects we have under way, as well as to our new business pipeline.”

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As part of its £500,000 transformation programme, Knutsford-based equestrian specialist Abbey England has appointed its former managing director, Richard Brown, as its new CEO.

The newly-created role recognises the changing requirements of the business and marks a new chapter in the company’s history.

Abbey England is a wholesale supplier of premium British-made materials and tools to a variety of specialist businesses in the equestrian and other sectors. Richard’s appointment is part of an ambitious programme of growth and customer focus the company is embarking on in the next decade.

The new strategy, being launched this month, combines the heritage of the business, including its Royal Warrant, with the introduction of leading-edge technology to ensure future sustainability.

Richard Brown

The change and transformation programme will see the creation of Abbey England Group, and the consolidation of operations at its bases in Knutsford (wholesale and warehousing) and Walsall (manufacturing), as well as substantial capital investment into buildings, machinery and its IT infrastructure.

This will be supported by newly-appointed non-executive-director Ian Traynor, a Chartered Director and Fellow at Henley.

New CEO, Richard Brown, has been fundamental to the company’s success since its conception in 1982 and has played a key role in developing the overall strategic direction for the business.

A vital part of this is the creation of a strong platform for the future with a new professional board of directors, including the appointment of an external non-executive director and a recruitment drive for a number of senior and middle management positions.

Richard Brown said: “Following a number of acquisitions over the last 11 years, with a particular focus on vertical integration with the supply chain, we recognised we needed to consolidate our business and ensure it was ready for growth in the new decade.

“The initiative is designed to deliver profitable and sustainable growth in core and expanding markets by simplifying our business, concentrating on what we’re good at and improving the way we do it by modernising our business functions and processes.

“We will continue to focus on the markets we can serve best, building on the qualities that earned us our Royal Warrant and providing products and service that truly put the customer first.”

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GP Bullhound, the technology advisory and investment firm, has announced several senior promotions, including one at its Manchester office.

Javed Huq

Javed Huq has been promoted to director and head of the Manchester office as the business continues to build on its presence in the North of England and Scotland.

In his new role, Huq will be responsible for leading all advisory mandates in the North of England and Scotland, alongside spearheading the firm’s efforts in building the Northern Tech eco-system.

GP Bullhound provides transaction advice and capital to the world’s best entrepreneurs and founders.

Founded in 1999, the firm today has offices in London, San Francisco, Stockholm, Berlin, Manchester, Paris, Hong Kong, Madrid and New York.

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Liverpool-based mechanical and electrical engineering consultancy, Steven Hunt & Associates has appointed experienced project manager Martin Tunnicliffe, with the former Liverpool University graduate boasting more than four decades’ worth of experience in the industry.

Tunnicliffe joins the firm having recently been the director at engineers Patrick Parsons, and before that, head of building services at Cheshire-based DarntonB3 Building Services.

The current chair for the CIBSE Merseyside & North Wales region, Tunnicliffe will work closely with the existing project management team of Dave Norcross, Chris Powell and Dominic Sibbring, with his wealth of leisure experience set to reinforce the firm’s skill set in the growing market.

Martin Tunnicliffe

Managing director Steven Hunt said: “Martin has great passion for the industry and his level of skill and knowledge in the field is unquestionable, making him the perfect candidate for the role.

“He will play a valuable role in our already strong project management team, working across all projects.

“All members of the SHA team have been meticulously hand-picked over the years. We recruit the best of the best and carefully cultivate them over a long time to provide the unrivalled client service we are renowned for. Martin’s appointment certainly strengthens this position.”

Martin Tunnicliffe said: “You only have to look at Steven Hunt & Associates’ project portfolio and be aware of its reputation to know what this company is all about – a growing firm, with its people firmly at the heart of what it does, and what it does so well. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and working with Steve and his great team.”

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