People: Yourgene; Studio; Access2Funding; Native Manchester and Ducie Street Warehouse; GC Business Growth Hub

Yourgene Health, the Manchester-based international molecular diagnostics group, has appointed Scott Sargent as vice president of sales North America with immediate effect.

This is to support the group’s plans to expand and grow its commercial footprint in the North American market following the acquisition of Coastal Genomics in August 2020.

Scott brings more than 25 years of industry experience, having held senior executive roles at large multinationals, most recently as director of sales for clinical genomics for QIAGEN in the US and Canada, where he led a commercial team selling into the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), PCR and sample extraction clinical laboratory market.

Scott’s team grew 2019 NGS library preparation sales by 25% over the previous year and total sales by six per cent, to $44m, over the previous year. Prior to this, Scott held senior commercial roles at Illumina, where he was responsible for leading business development for the market segments of rare disease and reproductive health testing in the US / Canada.

He has also managed complex distributor relationships and sold extensively in the PCR clinical market for Luminex Corporation and Roche Diagnostics.

Lyn Rees, Yourgene chief executive, said: “We welcome Scott to the group at this pivotal time of commercial growth in a key geographic market. Scott’s extensive industry experience, network and track record will undoubtedly be an asset to the group going forward as we progress our expansion in the US diagnostics market, which is the largest in the world.”

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Accrington-based online value retailer, Studio.co.uk, has bolstered its senior team as James Le Brocq takes on the role of transformation and operations director.

Le Brocq brings with him a wealth of business transformation experience across financial services and retail sectors, including The Cooperative Bank, Barclays and O2 Money, where, among other successes, he led the turnaround of the device insurance business.

His permanent appointment comes after completion of a 12-month contract with the business and follows news of Paul Kendrick’s promotion from Studio.co.uk’s managing director to CEO of the Studio Retail Group. Kendrick’s new role is the result of a structured development and succession plan implemented by the board over the past two years.

James Le Brocq said: “This is an incredibly exciting time to join Studio.co.uk on a permanent basis. Over the course of the last 12 months I have been able to fully get under the hood of the business and understand the growth ambitions Paul Kendrick and the team have. I look forward to bringing these ambitions to fruition as part of the Studio.co.uk team.”

James Le Brocq

The online value retailer recently reported record levels of trading during its peak third quarter trading period that included Black Friday and Christmas, with product sales 32% ahead of the previous year.

Lockdown served to accelerate Studio’s digital transformation plans and its app has almost one million users, which produced more than 20% of sales in 2020.

Paul Kendrick said: “James has a proven track record in business and digital transformation, his skills are, therefore, pivotal to our ambitious plans to grow and expand the business.

“We have already seen fantastic results from James and look forward to seeing what he brings to an already strong leadership team on the challenging journey we have ahead of us.”

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Access2Funding has welcomed seven new starters to its Birkenhead base after experiencing a period of exponential growth.

The fast growing R&D tax specialist has expanded its team across the country by almost 20% over the past year, with more than 35% of the new team being stationed in Birkenhead, Liverpool and Manchester.

On the marketing team, Charlotte Hudson and Jess McDonnell have joined as PR and content executives, bringing with them a wealth experience in journalism and PR, from both in-house and agency side.

Lucy Wright joins as social media and digital marketing executive, coming from an agency background where she worked across several clients creating and managing social media content. Neil Cooper has joined the team as project and events co-ordinator having worked in the events industry for almost 10 years.

From left: Kelly Vernon, Lucy Wright, Neil Cooper, Zuzanna Meyer, Jess McDonnell, Charlotte Hudston and Stephanie Kay

Elsewhere in the business, with a background in credit control and customer service, Kelly Vernon has joined as administrator and Stephanie Kay as accountant with almost 10 years’ experience in the field.

Zuzanna Meyer has taken up a position of finance assistant having graduated with a first-class honours degree in accounting and economics in 2020.

Chief operating officer, Dawn Coker, said: “This month we saw our largest cohort of new starters in one week to date and we’re thrilled to be able to welcome seven new starters to our head office in Birkenhead. Our national team has quadrupled since March 2020 and we aren’t slowing down any time soon with further growth plans throughout the coming months.”

Access2Funding recently expanded into Northern Ireland, Wales and is establishing itself further in Scotland.

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Native Manchester and Ducie Street Warehouse has made a wave of new appointments to mark the re-launch of its space at the Grade-II listed Victorian building in the heart of Manchester city centre.

The new appointment includes Takis Melitsiotis, whose experience springs from lifestyle and luxury properties within Marriott and Hilton Hotels, for the new role of general manager at Native Manchester.

Takis Melitsiotis

He will be responsible in overseeing the 166-luxury-aparthotels, from studio to a palatial two-bedroom duplex penthouse.

Also making up the wider Manchester operations team at Ducie Street Warehouse are F&B operations director Mark Clinton, previously general manager at The Refuge by Volta, and the new programming and events manager, Nathan Wrigglesworth.

These appointments will support the new conception which will see Ducie Street Warehouse repositioning itself in the city.

The all-day kitchen and bar has also appointed Andrew Green as the new head chef at Ducie Street Warehouse. Andrew has worked at some of the most prestigious hotels and restaurants, including The Lowry hotel, where he achieved a Double AA Rosette recognition.

Mark Clinton

With a brand new team and fresh approach to re-launch Ducie Street Warehouse, Mark Clinton said: “There is so much potential for us to explore in this remarkable space. It’s an exciting time to be part of the team as we look forward to re-launching and gradually opening the space, in line with the Government’s roadmap plan.

“We are very keen to bring this space alive and really connect with the city through our programming and offerings.”

Takis Melitsiotis said: “This exciting opportunity has enabled us to bring together two of the most impressive spaces in Manchester – our luxury serviced apartments, Native, and our vibrant and social Ducie Street Warehouse, which will unveil its lively new south-facing terrace, accessible for both guests at Native and locals alike to enjoy.”

Native Manchester at Ducie Street Warehouse is part of the Native portfolio – one of the leading aparthotels operators in the UK, with locations in most of the major cities including London, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow.

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Janine Smith has been appointed as the new director of Greater Manchester’s GC Business Growth Hub.

The first female director to lead the GC Business Growth Hub, Janine has been with the Hub for the past eight years.

She is taking over the reins from Richard Jeffery, who founded and led the Hub over the past 10 years. Richard is stepping up to lead the development and expansion of The Growth Company’s business support services across the UK.

Janine started her career in sales and marketing for Bellway Homes before moving into teaching business and management studies at a high school and then Accrington and Rossendale College.

In 2005, she entered the world of business support as an operations team leader for Business Link North West, before becoming director of enterprise and skills at Orvia, a Lancashire-based enterprise agency.

Janine joined Greater Manchester’s GC Business Growth Hub in 2013 as a start-up manager, before being promoted to head of growth services.

Janine Smith

She took on the role of head of specialist services in 2018, leading the Hub’s sector specialist and growth teams, managing a range of successful multimillion-pound contracts and programmes.

Janine said: “Richard has been a brilliant founding director and ambassador for our business community, and I am proud to be continuing his legacy. The Hub makes a real difference to the lives of businesses across our region and I am so proud of the work we do. I am really looking forward to leading us in the next stage of our journey and continuing to drive the support and services that we deliver for our amazing entrepreneurs.”

In his new role as national director, Richard Jeffery will lead the development and national positioning of GC Business, leading on a range of national business support services, working with Local Enterprise Partnerships, combined authorities, government and private backers.

Richard said: “Janine has been a core part of the leadership of the Business Growth Hub for many years and she is really committed to supporting the business community. As an experienced operational and development director, Janine is ideally placed to lead the Hub and I wish her every success.

“It is 10 years since I was set the task of establishing the Business Growth Hub and I am incredibly proud of the impact our teams have on the business community that we serve. I am delighted to be taking on an exciting new role to establish GC Business and expand our national business support activities.”