People on the Move: Leonard Curtis; MadeByShape; Bromleys; Firstcom Europe

Business advisory group Leonard Curtis has made a senior hire to its Manchester team with the appointment of Hilary Pascoe as director.

Hilary joins the business rescue and recovery division and is based at Riverside House, in the city, one of the company’s 19-strong office network that spans the UK and Channel Islands.

Her arrival coincides with the promotion of Katy McAndrew and Mike Dillon to appointment-takers.

Both are ICAEW-registered and qualified Insolvency Practitioners, working alongside Hilary advising North West-based SMEs.

Hilary brings with her more than 20 years’ experience gained at some of the UK’s most prominent accountancy firms, advisors and rescue and recovery specialists, as well as a secondment within the recoveries team at a leading corporate bank.

Having worked on a number of high-profile cases, Hilary’s many areas of restructuring and insolvency expertise covers trading and non-trading administrations, including pre-pack and wind downs, CVAs and solvent and insolvent liquidations.

As well as leading AMA assignments as part of insolvency planning, she has also advised clients on acquiring distressed businesses from administrators and has overseen an assignment comprising a consultation process on behalf of the owners of the business prior to sale.

The length and breadth of her career means that Hilary has great experience of many industries. She is a specialist in the care home sector, private practice, including architect and law firms, manufacturing, hotel and leisure, construction, waste and recycling markets.

Hilary said: “I’m absolutely delighted to join Leonard Curtis and to be amongst a growing team of IPs. I’m looking forward to supporting underperforming and distressed businesses of all sizes, at a time when demand for our business advisory services is going to be high.

“SME business owners are obviously addressing their debt levels and forecasts – both now and in the months of recovery to come – and I hope to support many of them in doing this.”

Group director, Daniel Booth, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Hilary to the team and Mike and Katy to our growing cohort of licensed appointment-takers. All three bring significant and enviable experience to the group.

“Hilary’s appointment – along with Katy and Mike’s recent qualifications and promotion – will strengthen and build on our existing client capabilities at a time when more SMEs and mid-market companies than ever will require specialist, multi-disciplinary professional services support.”

::

Manchester digital agency, MadeByShape, has appointed recent graduate Ella Dawson as brand designer.

Throughout her studies, 20-year-old Ella, from Altrincham, has excelled in the creative industry, undertaking freelance commissions with a variety of businesses from gifting, streetwear and lifestyle brands to assisting on the rebrand of a private healthcare company. She also runs her own design business.

In her role as brand designer Ella will help clients achieve their goals through improved brand strategy.

Working with MadeByShape’s team of designers, web developers and SEO experts, as well as direct with global clients, Ella will improve the agency’s workflow and reduce job lists for individuals, vital at what is becoming an increasingly busy time for the agency.

Ella said: “Manchester is a hub for creative talent, so I was keen to find the right fit for me, culturally.

“I’d been following MadeByShape and had always admired the beautiful work they produce for clients, as well as their own branding.

“From the moment Andy approached me, it was clear how passionate he, along with his team, are. They are a small team with big ideas, who enjoy what they do and that shows – I’m grateful to now be a part of that.”

Ella Dawson

Ella’s appointment brings MadeByShape’s team to 11, with potential for a further web developer hire in the future to support continued growth at the agency.

MadeByShape co-founder, Andy Golpys, said: “As a digital agency, we have become recognised for our website design and builds, however, by bringing Ella on board, we can now offer an enhanced package to our growing client base, including brand strategy and development.

“Ella is very talented, in fact she’s the best talent I’ve seen in years. Her eye for detail, approach to strategy and understanding of a brief are all exceptional.

“Her passion for what she does makes me confident that Ella will inject a positive and proactive approach to the team, as well as bring a youthful breath of fresh air. In short, Ella was too good to miss out on and I can’t wait to work alongside her.”

Since the start of the year, and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, MadeByShape has won numerous projects, which became the catalyst for Ella’s appointment.

MadeByShape was founded in 2010 by Andy Golpys and Jason Mayo.

::

Law firm Bromleys has announced the latest moves under its career pathway initiative designed to nurture and promote talent from within its team.

Kate Allsop and Martin Blaylock have been promoted to associate solicitor level at the Tameside practice, in recognition of their contributions to the success of their respective departments and the wider firm.

Kate Allsop

Kate works in the care proceedings and children’s services team. She acts mainly for children but also represents parents and grandparents in public and private law cases.

She is a member of the Law Society’s Children Law Accreditation Scheme and in 2012, at the age of 27, Kate became one of the UK’s youngest lawyers to be granted higher rights of audience by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which enables her to represent clients in the most senior of courts.

Martin works in Bromleys’ corporate and commercial services team, advising on transactions such as acquisitions and disposals, as well as undertaking other corporate work and acting on commercial property, high-value residential property and residential development matters.

Mark Hirst, senior partner at Bromleys, praised the duo for their legal expertise and the active roles they have played in the recruitment, training and mentoring of their expanding teams.

“Kate and Martin are the latest people at Bromleys to benefit from our career pathway initiative and fully deserve their promotions,” he said.

Martin Blaylock

“They have made great progress, developing their own skillsets and their client followings, and have made significant and valuable contributions to their respective teams and the wider firm.”

The duo’s promotions follow that of Rachael Frankland, who became an associate solicitor late last year under the firm’s career pathway scheme.

Rachael, who joined Bromleys in 2012 as a paralegal and undertook her training at the firm, works across the employment and dispute resolution teams.

Her areas of employment work include TUPE transfers, unfair dismissal and discrimination claims, settlement agreements, contracts, internal disciplinary and grievance procedures, enforcement of restrictive covenants and other HR matters.

Rachael Frankland

Rachael has a broad practice in relation to disputes, advising on commercial and contractual matters, insolvency, contested wills, professional negligence claims, property and lease cases and accident and personal injury claims.

She is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Mark Hirst said: “We invest heavily in our people, encouraging them to reach their true potential. The career pathway sets out what is required to succeed and, through training, mentoring and commitment from the management team and our employees, we work together to ensure personal goals are achieved and that hard work and dedication are rewarded.”

::

Cloud telecommunications provider Firstcom Europe has appointed Christian Bleakley as chief executive.

Jean-Pierre Vandromme, the previous CEO, moves to the position of president. He said: “Having worked closely with Christian over the past 18 months I am delighted that someone with his drive and enthusiasm has taken over the reins of Firstcom.”

Christian was previously the founder and managing director at Bolton-based Telesis, which he grew from start-up to becoming a market-leading B2B telecommunication service provider over 10 years.

He has a wealth of experience and leadership in the telecom industry, and previously spent 15 years building Britannia Business Communication into one of the largest independent telecom companies in the UK.

Firstcom Europe acquired Telesis in 2018.

Having run its entire UK operations since then, Christian now takes on overall leadership of the group which has an annual turnover of more than £30m.

The company operates in five countries across Europe and intends to expand further through acquisitions and growth.

Christian Bleakley

Christian takes on the role at a unique time, with COVID-19 having dramatically changed the nature of telecommunications across Firstcom’s client companies.

He said: “The transformation of the traditional workplace has driven companies to collaborate in different ways. They can now be in contact from wherever they wish, be it at home or in satellite offices or at corporate headquarters.

“Flexibility of location and ease of use have become essential features for communication services.

“Now, with everyone using the latest products in a range of applications, from remote teleworking to grandparents video calling their grandchildren, previous communication practices are not going to return to where they were. There will be a digital legacy of lockdown that will be continued even when the pandemic has ended.”

He added: “With my background and broad experience in the industry from the different roles I have held, I understand that business success is dependent on having the right technology, deployed in the right way, and at the right price. We will be deepening and extending our relationships with our customers and partners and further developing our product range to equip them for the exciting digital future.”