People on the Move: Vistry Partnership; Lightbulb Leadership Solutions; Clyde & Co

Regeneration specialist Vistry Partnerships has announced the appointment of Ian Hilliker as its new managing director for the North West region.

Having worked in the industry for more than 30 years, Ian has a wealth of experience and he joins the team from Jones Homes where he was North West regional director, having previously held the position of technical director at Barratt Homes for 12 years.

He will join Vistry’s regional office based in Warrington. He said: “Although I have joined the company at a very unusual time, I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“Vistry Partnerships has continuously shown the benefits of working with others to deliver bespoke communities, but our work is far from complete.

“There remains a significant demand for new homes across the region, so I’m keen to identify new sites across Manchester, Liverpool, and Cheshire to help drive forward with this exciting new chapter for the business.”

Vistry Partnerships’ divisional managing director for central and North, James Warrington, said: “We are delighted that Ian has joined our dynamic team.

“We are standing on the brink of a huge opportunity for housing and development in the UK and Vistry Partnerships is perfectly placed to develop the partnerships, joint ventures, and deliver the schemes that will turn this into a reality for people in the North West.

“Ian’s appointment reflects our commitment to this vison, and we believe he can help us to continue to grow and evolve.”

The appointment of a new regional director is Vistry’s first senior hire in the region following the merger of Galliford Try and Bovis Homes at the beginning of the new year.

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Manchester-based consultancy, Lightbulb Leadership Solutions, has appointed Bill Hogan to support growth in its private equity client base.

With a strong track record for successfully driving turnaround performance in SMB and enterprise organisations, as well as leading multiple M&A transactions culminating in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, Bill joins the business as a key member of its private equity value creation team.

A challenger brand to the big-four consultancy-firms, Manchester-based Lightbulb Leadership supports its clients across a range of change and transformation, encompassing C-suite and board advisory, strategic business consulting, leadership transition, talent and succession planning and leadership development.

And, working specifically with private equity clients, its value creation team works with investors to ensure higher exit returns in portfolios and support the raising of further capital.

With his 30+ years’ experience, latterly as a senior vice president and managing director for VWR International with responsibility for seven countries across Northern Europe and responsible for a $600m revenue business and 1,500 people, Bill’s appointment is set to add real value to the team, said the company.

Bill is no stranger to Lightbulb Leadership, having enlisted managing director Fiona McKay to successfully lead a single-country transformation project to drive revenues from €23m to €63m and 15% EBITDA in a five-year time frame during his tenure at VWR.

Bill Hogan

His appointment comes as the business has increased its projects across the private equity community, working with investors and portfolio companies, enabling management teams to drive growth, build scale and release value, in the post-COVID world.

Fiona McKay said: “Now, more than ever, private equity teams are needing to maximise their investments and the key to achieving that is through people, leadership and their ability to reset, reimagine and retool, allowing portfolio investments to reach true potential. Never has that been as important than in the current climate.

“I am delighted Bill is joining our team to help us further support our private equity clients. He has achieved phenomenal success across the investment spectrum and is adept building and leading high-performance teams. He will be a real asset to our business.”

Bill Hogan said: “I am delighted to be joining Lightbulb Leadership at a time where we can make a real impact on the investment community.

“With vast experience in taking moribund businesses and making them profitable, I am looking forward to working with Fiona and her team to drive forward our client businesses.

“Having worked with Fiona and witnessed first-hand the commercial impact of her transformation programmes, delivering against fierce targets as part of VWR Ireland’s five-year-vision, I know the effect strong leadership and transformational thinking can have on a business. I look forward to taking this proposition to the wider market.”

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Global law firm Clyde & Co has announced the appointment of three partners to expand its real estate, construction and finance teams in the North of England.

Finance partner Dean Gormley and real estate partners Andrew Wallis and Kevin Fox have joined the firm from Irwin Mitchell.

The hires strengthen Clyde & Co’s transactional offering to clients in the UK, and expand the firm’s strong UK real estate, finance and construction teams which offer fully-rounded contentious and non-contentious services to clients.

Dean Gormley

The three will focus on growing Clyde & Co’s real estate, finance and construction presence in the North and are part of ambitious plans for increasing its share of the Northern legal market in these areas.

Managing partner for the Manchester office, David Wynn, said: “Dean, Andrew and Kevin each have excellent reputations across the Northern legal sector, and as a team they will provide a huge amount of expertise to our clients in the region and beyond.”

Dean is a finance specialist who advises on a wide range of debt finance transactions.

He advises borrowers, lenders and investors on the financing of real estate transactions, with a particular focus on development schemes, including residential and student accommodation and hotel development projects.

He also advises banks, funds and other lenders on corporate banking, acquisition/leveraged finance and asset-based lending transactions. Dean is recognised by the independent guide Legal 500 as a leading individual for banking and finance in the North West.

Andrew and Kevin advise on all aspects of commercial real estate matters, including transactions, structures, development and regeneration projects.

Andrew is recognised in the independent guide Legal 500 as a leading individual for real estate and specialises in portfolio transactions and forward funding and development agreements between investors, developers, landowners and businesses with a particular interest toward residentially-led development projects.

Andrew Wallis

Kevin focuses on investment property and portfolio management as well as strategic land, mixed-use development and regeneration projects. He also has a keen interest and specialism in advising the Higher Education sector on real estate matters.

Dean Gormley said: “Clyde & Co is an excellent fit for us and we see a real opportunity, thanks to its global presence and the broad range of disciplines it offers, to provide our clients with a much fuller range of services that they so often require from their legal advisors.

“Having worked together on client mandates at our previous firm, Andrew, Kevin and I are looking forward to working closely with the team in Manchester, as well as others across the North and the wider real estate, construction and corporate teams around the firm.”

Kevin Fox

Andrew Wallis said: “It is a privilege to help Clyde & Co continue to grow its Northern real estate presence. And at the same time we have a great deal of energy, enthusiasm and ambition to help our clients grow and achieve their objectives. It’s a perfect combination.”

Kevin Fox added: “We are delighted to be joining Clyde & Co and to be part of its strategy to expand its services further in the North of England. Clyde & Co provides a fantastic brand and platform to help us deliver an even better service to our clients.”

Clyde & Co has been one of the largest firms in Manchester since 2011 and the hires come at a time of sustained growth for the firm in the city, with both revenue and headcount doubling in the past five years.

In November the firm moved into premises in Manchester’s iconic Royal Exchange building.