People: Drynks Unlimited; PM+M; Ten Locks; Glass Futures; Jefferies Solicitors

Richard Clark, left, welcomes Paul Newman

Hospitality and drinks expert Paul Newman has joined the Sale-based Drynks Unlimited team as on-trade lead and brand partner to help the business accelerate its on-trade reach with its award winning Smashed range of alcohol-free beers and ciders.

Newman is no stranger to the hospitality sector. He was a founding director of Living Ventures restaurant group which launched with The Living Room concept in December 1999 which he built to 13 sites winning a stack of awards. He went on to launch Residence Restaurant and Bar, was the founder and MD of his own pub and restaurant company and has previously worked with drinks brands such as Absolut Vodka, Perrier Jouët Champagne and Plymouth Gin. He uses his wealth of knowledge to offer senior level brand, sales and marketing consultancy to drinks brands, bars, restaurants and hotels.

The independent British alcohol-free drinks business launched its Smashed range of 0% beers and ciders in 2019 after founder, Richard Clark, spotted an opportunity to create a business 100% focused on producing the best quality alcohol-free drinks. He previously worked on major drinks brands including Pepsi, Crabbies and Whitley Neil gin.

Newman will support Richard Clark and the Drynks sales team to raise awareness and secure opportunities for the Smashed range of 0% alcohol beers and ciders directly with restaurants, bars, pubs, and hotels and wholesalers in the UK. He will work closely with high profile businesses within the on-trade and enable them to benefit from this massively growing category.

Richard Clark said: “The hospitality trade has suffered greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic and Paul is helping us to positively support the sector as they slowly unlock. Paul brings a wealth of hospitality expertise and fantastic contacts which will help bring the Smashed brand to more consumers.”

Paul Newman said: “It’s perfect timing for Smashed. I have watched this category grow massively over recent years and it’s great to be involved with such an innovative company and such an awesome range of British AF Beers and ciders. I am partial to a glass of wine or three, but even I have been rethinking drinking and converted to flexi-drinking lifestyle, I’m really looking forward getting Smashed in many more venues across the UK.”

Drynks Unlimited owns the only 0% brewery in the UK which uses pioneering cool vacuum distillation technology to produce alcohol-free drinks. All Smashed drinks start life as real craft beer and cider (between 5%-5.7%) and they are gently dealcoholised which retains the DNA of the original drink. The business invested in this process because it delivers a quality taste experience that consumers crave.

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Blackburn and Bury-based PM+M, the chartered accountancy, business advisory and wealth management group, has made eight promotions across the firm.

In the wealth management team Rachel Ainsworth has been promoted to manager. Rachel joined PM+M in 2017, while Rebecca Cox and Samantha Whittle, who both joined the team in 2019, have been made assistant managers.

Andy Kirkaldy has become an assistant manager in the tax, VAT and customs duties team. He has worked at PM+M since 2015. Mo Patel, who arrived in 2018, is now a senior adviser in the payroll team and Mark Honeyman takes up the same role in the audit team. Mark was appointed in 2016.

From left: Rebecca Cox, Rachel Ainsworth, Mark Honeyman, Mark Sharples, Mohammed Patel, Andrew Kirkaldy, Samantha Whittle, Johanna Dean

The final two promotions are in the cloud accounting team with Mark Sharples being promoted to assistant manager and his colleague Johanna Dean is now a senior adviser. Mark was appointed in 2015 and Johanna in 2016.

PM+M works hard to ensure the development of its team as demonstrated after being shortlisted in last year’s Gold Employer of the Year (50-249 employees) category in The Investors in People 2020 Awards.

Jane Parry, managing partner, said: “Each of these promotions is hugely deserved as they have all played a key part in PM+M’s success over the past year. The pandemic has brought out the best in our team, with our clients remaining their focus, so it is fantastic to give this kind of recognition which is so well deserved.”

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Ten Locks, the Irlam-based premium spirits distributor, has doubled its team with three new recruits nationwide. Julian Howard, David Piazzani and Gemma Butler join Ten Locks in building a growing portfolio of progressive drinks brands for the on and off trade.

Julian Howard

Julian Howard joins as off-trade controller and will lead the company’s off-trade offering by generating new listings for the portfolio and leading delivery of promotions and in-store activations with retail partners.

As with all of the senior team at Ten Locks, Julian has extensive grassroots experience as a bartender. After working behind the bar for a decade, Julian transferred his skills to brand development, working across many high profile brands at Allied Domecq, Mangrove, Inspirit and, more recently, Berry Bros & Rudd.

Ten Locks has also welcomed David Piazzani as key account manager for London and the South. David will be responsible for managing key on-trade accounts for Ten Locks across the capital – a critical piece of territory for premium spirits. Leveraging his extensive hospitality experience, he will grow the firm’s portfolio of conscious brands across a range of venues and work alongside operators to offer drinks development support and deliver premium drinks experiences.

David Piazzani

After starting his career behind the bar in his native Italy, David developed a lifelong passion for great cocktails and hospitality. After moving to the UK almost 15 years ago, David transitioned into the sales side of the drinks business with roles for Venus and Majestic where he honed his skills for introducing new brands to the trade and developing drinks for customers.

Gemma Butler has been hired as administrative assistant. She will head up the operational management of the Ten Locks portfolio, manage process development and act as a lynchpin for Ten Locks with the wider Kingsland Drinks team.

Becky Davies, who heads up the Ten Locks team, says: “We are hugely proud and excited to welcome the three new team members to the Ten Locks family. David and Julian bring a wealth of sales experience to the team and have incredible backgrounds in the drinks and hospitality industries. As with our other senior members of the team, myself included, having bartending experience brings a richness and a passion for hospitality to the table.

Gemma Butler

“We are also incredibly happy – and somewhat relieved – to bring Gemma on board who will no doubt whip the team into shape with her administrative and organisational skills. Something which every great team requires.

“The new hires are tantamount to the success of the Ten Locks venture so far – in less than a year we have built an incredible portfolio of compelling, global brands which are making strides in both the on and off trade nationwide.”

This month, the Kingsland Drinks Group – which includes Ten Locks – has made a move to being partially employee owned. The move builds on Kingsland Drinks Group’s employee-centric mindset and follows a period of significant investment in in capabilities and capacity.

Ten Locks’ portfolio now includes Nusa Caña, West Cork Irish Whiskey, Applewood Gin, Salford Rum, Banhez Mezcal, Diablesse Rum, El Tequileño, Mary White Vodka, Redwood Empire Whiskey and Langley’s Gin, with more additions set to be announced.

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Juergen Maier, former chief executive of Siemens UK, has joined Glass Futures as an advisor to the board.

Juergen has an incredible history in manufacturing and is currently chair of the Digital Catapult and co-chair of the UK’s Made Smarter programme. He is known for championing manufacturing, improving infrastructure and engineering skills and is enthusiastic about the benefit of industrial digitalisation to encourage advanced manufacturing and investment in digital technologies.

He said: “Having been partially instrumental in the creation of Glass Futures a few years ago, I was delighted to be asked to become involved with Glass Futures to encourage their members’ to introduce new digital manufacturing technique, increasing production efficiencies and yields.”

Glass Futures chief executive, Richard Katz, said: “I’m delighted Juergen has agreed to join Glass Futures as an advisor to the board. This is a further indication of Glass Futures’ acceptance as a growing major industrial innovator and thought leader, as demonstrated a few months ago with the incredibly successful biofuel trial reducing the carbon footprint of some three million beer and spirits bottles by some 90%.

“Juergen joining us also provides a tremendous opportunity for Glass Futures’ members to benefit from his vast experience on the delivery of innovation and technology across the glass and other foundation industries.”

Juergen Maier

Granted planning permission in May this year, the 160,000 sq ft Glass Futures Centre of Excellence will be the world’s first openly accessible, multi-disciplinary experimental glass melting facility for research and development trials. The facility will be used to deliver industry and government backed R&D projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of glass production and will provide a platform for industry to test and trial their own ideas, both collaboratively and individually.

The facility is being funded through a mix of public and private investment. A £15m UKRI grant has been secured for the installation of a globally unique, experimental furnace and state-of-the-art infrastructure capable of producing 30 tonnes of glass per day and will enable the glass industry to implement change in a safe experimental space. Landowner and developer, Network Space, is securing private sector investment to support the construction costs alongside a £9m grant from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Glass sector companies will also contribute a further £20m in resource, time and equipment to support the project.

In addition to creating 80 permanent jobs, the project will lead to much needed apprenticeships, training and general up-skilling within the glass sector and attract further inward investment to the region as leading international glass companies focus resources to be within geographical reach of the facility.

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Altrincham-based personal injury law firm Jefferies Solicitors has welcomed five new faces.

The new appointments follow nine new hires already this year, bringing the total of new hires at Jefferies to 14 so far in 2021.

Ruth Alexander

Managing director, Michael Jefferies, said: “We are delighted to welcome all our new starters who I am sure will help the business to continue to expand and develop into the future.”

The appointments include legal assistant, Ruth Alexander, who said: “I have worked in law firms for many years in various areas of law, ranging from very large to very small companies. Joining Jefferies has taken me back to my preferred area of law.”

Digital marketing assistant Ben Ledgard has just graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Marketing. His role involves social media management and content creation.

Fatimoh Efunkunle

Ben said: “I am looking forward to entering marketing in the legal sector, that is a niche dynamic industry that allows for learning about various real life cases.”

Also joining Jefferies is a new member of inception, Fatimoh Efunkunle, new receptionist Vyta Eimonte, and finance assistant Henry Appleyard.

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