People: Jackson Lees; CG Professional; YFM Equity Partners; Institute of Directors; Landwood Group
North West law firm Jackson Lees has expanded its corporate and commercial department with two new appointments.
The offering was launched in February with the appointment of head of corporate and commercial Charlotte Mills, a highly experienced and well regarded corporate and commercial expert.
Now, with expansion plans in the pipeline, she has recruited two new colleagues.
Jen Goodwin, a corporate and commercial solicitor, joins the team following six years’ experience at Lancashire practice Farleys Solicitors. Specialising in general corporate work as well as a variety of commercial matters, such as data protection and terms and conditions of business, Jen will be leading her own cases.
Jen said: “I’m really excited to be joining the Jackson Lees team and it’s fantastic to be coming into such a fresh department that’s already beginning to expand.
“From the outset, it was clear that Jackson Lees is incredibly passionate about growth and each individual’s development, so I’m looking forward to being on board and a part of its future, helping to create a strong, robust department with Charlotte and the team.”
Angela Kelly, joining the team from within the Jackson Lees Group, has been appointed as corporate and commercial paralegal, supporting Jen and Charlotte across cases.
With an abundance of experience in client liaison, business development and consultancy, she has been with the firm for almost two years and will now hone her skills in the new department.
Having been in corporate law for more than 15 years, Charlotte trained in the South East before working for a Lancashire-based firm and, later, making the move to Manchester where she has practised since 2013. She now works across the Jackson Lees Group offices in Manchester, Liverpool and Hoylake.
Charlotte said: “Following our practice area launch earlier this year, we’ve built a strong team with experience in corporate transactions, commercial contracts and client relations.
Having Jen and Angela on board broadens our skillset as well as our network with businesses and professional advisors across the North West. We look forward to working collaboratively with corporate clients, helping them to navigate and implement change within their business.”
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CG Professional, the North West law firm, has this week announced further appointments to support its rapid growth across the region.
Michelle Hinks joins the CG team as a senior associate in the real estate division along with Surayya Munshi who joins as a solicitor bolstering the commercial team numbers. The appointments were necessary to support the increased growth in demand in both sectors for CG.
Michelle Hinks
Michelle who has dealt with a wide variety of commercial property matters across a range of sectors, comes with seven years’ experience having worked in the real estate team at DLA Pipers’ Manchester office. She said: “CG Professional’s vision and culture is unique in the legal market, and I found that very exciting and refreshing. I’m really pleased to be a part of their growing real estate team.”
Surayya, who was previously in the commercial team at Addleshaw Goddard in Manchester, said: “I’m excited about the move to CG, their impressive and growing client list and the opportunities that it will bring at this stage in my career.”
Surayya Munshi
CG which has offices in Chorley and Manchester, is now working with national businesses including Everton FC and has managed a growth in demand for its services during the pandemic with numerous key appointments in the past 12 months.
CG managing partner, Stacey Turner, said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Surayya and Michelle to the CG family. We’ve seen continued month on month growth in demand for our services during the past 18 months, especially in our commercial and real estate departments, but it’s always important our strategy of high quality additions remain in place, so we strengthen our team with the right people to service that demand.
“We pride ourselves on offering the level of service usually restricted to the typical big city law firms, and for that we need the right calibre of team. Surayya and Michelle certainly fit the bill and we’re looking forward to them progressing their careers with us as we continue to pick up the pace on the CG journey.”
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YFM Equity Partners in the North West is continuing to grow with the appointment of portfolio director Gavin Chadwick.
Gavin joins the five-strong team in its new Manchester home in the recently-refurbished ABC Building, part of the St John’s and Enterprise City Development in Spinningfields.
With a strong financial background, Gavin’s 20-year career includes 10 years’ board level commercial, financial and operational experience. He joins from Ardenton Capital where he was director of strategic development, responsible for a portfolio of operating companies in the UK, providing strategic support across all core business functions.
In his new role, Gavin will further strengthen YFM’s portfolio team in the management of its investee companies as the firm continues to deploy its Buyout Fund II, typically investing between £3m and £10m per transaction, into businesses with strong growth potential located across the UK regions.
YFM’s expanding portfolio of high growth technology businesses in the North includes Manchester-based data validation platform Vypr which saw a £2.5m growth capital investment in December 2020, and award winning marketing automation platform, Force24, which was supported with a £4.8m investment in November 2020.
Gavin Chadwick
The Manchester team has continued to drive the growth of its investee businesses including data transformation software company Matillion in Manchester with the rising star of the tech scene completing its fourth round of funding in February 2021 which secured a further $100m from prestigious Silicon Valley investors, one of the largest growth equity investments in the North in the past five years.
David Bell, partner-head of portfolio at YFM, said: “2021 has been another busy year for us with YFM continuing to support over 35 portfolio businesses as they have adapted to the post-COVID environment with its challenges and opportunities. The arrival of such an experienced professional as Gavin is a welcome addition to the team as we continue to support fast growing businesses across the UK.”
Gavin Chadwick said: “As well as having a fantastic reputation as a supportive and forward looking investment partner, YFM has an exciting and diverse portfolio from high growth SaaS ventures to a health and fitness nutrition business. At a time of so much change, I am looking forward to using my experience and expertise to drive the growth of our investee businesses.”
Andy Thomas, partner in the North West, said: “We are looking forward to backing even more North West businesses and Gavin’s recruitment adds further strength and depth to the team based here as we build relationships with management teams and their advisers in the region. We are excited that he will be joining us at our new home in Manchester – a modern, centrally located office space where colleagues, clients and contacts can safely come together to work and collaborate.”
YFM’s Manchester team also includes managing partner David Hall, partners Andy Thomas and Dan Freed, investment manager Laura Sisson, and marketing and business support manager Viktoria Harrison.
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The Institute of Directors (IoD) has appointed four leading business figures to be the voice of directors across the North West.
The new chairs for Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire join as the Institute ramps up its support for regional directors to recover from the pandemic and prosper.
Jen Cormack
IoD Cumbria welcomes Jen Cormack, sales and marketing director at Windermere Lake Cruises, as its new chair.
Jen has considerable experience in the leisure, travel and tourism industry and sits on the board of Cumbria Tourism.
She previously spent 14 years with UK and overseas leisure park operator Pure Leisure Group, based in Carnforth.
Martyn Jones, management partner with Ampios Management Partners, joins the IoD as chair of its Lancashire branch.
Martyn Jones
Martyn is a highly experienced and qualified chair, director, independent board adviser, mentor and speaker specialising in leadership, strategic direction, governance and change management.
The IoD Part 1 Chartered Director has experience with companies ranging from FTSE 100 to SMEs across a wide range of industry sectors.
Debbie Francis joins as chair for IoD Greater Manchester. Debbie is best known in Manchester and across the North of England for her vocal support for transport infrastructure investment in the North and the need for levelling up, alongside her efforts and strong advocacy for equality, diversity and inclusion.
Debbie Francis
She is the chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and her business career has also included senior executive roles with Arcadis UK, Direct Rail Services, London North Western Route Finance and Network Rail.
Richard Huxley, managing director of Nantwich-based NWF Fuels, has been appointed as chair of IoD Cheshire.
Richard has held senior executive and commercial leadership roles in complex businesses including Brammer and RS Components and is an active mentor within The Prince’s Trust and Virgin StartUp.
Richard Huxley
He brings considerable international experience to the IoD, having achieved business success in countries around the world for global companies including Hitachi, Samsung and Arrow Electronics Inc and has lived both in Europe and Asia where he developed and managed multi-country, diverse teams to serve both local and global customer bases.
Steve Bennett, chair of IoD North West, said: “We are delighted to secure four fantastic individuals to lead these dynamic branches. Their diverse and complementary range of skills and experience will be a huge asset for the IoD North West region, but most importantly for IoD members we seek to serve and support.
“They will be the standard bearers for local directors, providing support where it is needed most, along with inspiration through a programme of business events as we recover and rebuild the IoD across the North West region.”
The new chairs will work alongside a team of branch ambassadors to provide local directors with connections, professional development, and an influential lobbying voice.
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Property experts Landwood Group has bolstered its asset management team by appointing Louise Dean as an associate director.
Louise joined the Manchester-based group in July and has been tasked with managing and maximising client assets and growing the division alongside director Anna Main.
With more than 15 years of experience in surveying, Louise has extensive knowledge in both industrial management and property management. She has worked for firms including DTZ in Australia and, most recently, CBRE in the UK, where she stayed for seven years.
At CBRE, she worked on the M&G Real Estate team before moving into commercial real estate, where she specialised in Grade A office stock, including the prestigious Two St Peter’s Square in Manchester city centre.
Louise said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Landwood, which has an excellent reputation in commercial property and asset management across the North West and beyond.
“Landwood’s smaller team and personal, director-led approach will enable me to forge my own path in the industry and make a real, tangible difference to both the business and to clients.”
Louise, who has recently returned from maternity leave, also credits Landwood’s flexible approach to working as one of the main reasons for wanting to join the team.
She said: “Landwood is a very forward thinking company operating within a very traditional industry which expects colleagues to be in office all day every day.
Louise Dean
“The team works hard and goes above and beyond for clients, but they also have the understanding that many people can’t work the typical nine to five – including many of our clients, who often work outside conventional business hours.
“The group recognises collaboration is important, while also acknowledging that being in the office isn’t always the best way to maximise productivity.”
Anna Main, director and head of commercial asset management at Landwood, said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming Louise to the team and excited to see what she achieves at Landwood.
“She has an impressive track record working with high profile clients and on high calibre commercial properties, so we know she’s going to be a real asset to the company.”
Louise’s appointment comes after a strong year for Landwood’s asset management team, which has won a string of high profile instructions alongside experiencing rapid growth.
With offices in Manchester and Liverpool, Landwood Group is expert in property, plant and machinery and business assets.
