People: MS Lending Group; Time Finance; Detectronic; Hurstwood Holdings; Pennington Choices
Wilmslow-based MS Lending Group has appointed Rob Goodall as managing director.
Rob will build on the company’s successful first year of growth, as well as use his insight and knowledge of the market to support the team, brokers and clients.
In the new role, Rob will focus on harnessing growth opportunities in specialist lending, and work closely with brokers to further develop the business.
A Chartered Surveyor who has almost 29 years’ experience in the property industry, Rob has joined the business from Together, where he was head of specialist lending. Prior to this, Rob had his own property consultancy.
He said: “As managing director of MS Lending Group, I feel privileged to be joining Michael Stratton and the team who have created a formidable business. My experience and the past nine years within the financial sector have been invaluable. I am very excited to get started.”
Having worked across many different areas of the property industry, Rob brings with him a unique skill set as well as extensive experience and knowledge of the industry. He is also very well connected and highly regarded amongst property professionals.
CEO Michael Stratton said: “His experience will be invaluable as we set large growth targets for 2022. His knowledge of the industry, as well as his reputation and ambition make him a great fit for the MS Lending Group team.”
MS Lending Group has amassed a loan book of more than £20m in its first year of trading and has ambitions to double this in 2022.
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Time Finance has appointed Michael Freebury as head of sales in its invoice finance team to drive business growth in Wales.
Michael joins with a wealth of experience and a credible reputation having worked in the business finance sector for more than 25 years. Starting his career as a business development manager at Liverpool-based Bibby Financial Services, Michael worked alongside introducers to help UK business owners access invoice finance solutions. He progressed quickly and moved on to become a regional sales director at Close Brothers before returning to Bibby. In his most recent role as head of sales he was responsible for generating awareness of Bibby’s product offerings across the South Wales and South West regions of England.
Michael Freebury
He said: “I’m excited to start the next stage of my career with Time Finance. They’re a well established market player who have built a fantastic reputation over recent years for delivering excellent customer service levels and offering an extensive portfolio of funding options to introducers and clients.
“I’m looking forward to using my experience and connections to support the momentum that Time Finance is seeing in the market and using this to drive business growth throughout 2022 and beyond.”
Phil Chesham, head of invoice finance at Time Finance, said: “Over the last few months we’ve witnessed a significant rise in demand for invoice finance, both from introducers and business owners, and off the back of that are continuing to invest in our presence across the UK.
“Michael’s appointment is an important part of our growth plan to continue bringing excellent talent into our firm and respond to the rise in demand for funding support. I’m confident that with Michael’s arrival we will be able to further bolster our support to businesses in his region.”
Michael’s recruitment is the latest in a string of appointments at Time Finance in recent months, including Lauren Maloney and Jonathan Johnson as business development manager in the invoice finance team, Jake Bebbington as broker manager in the commercial loans team, and Dan Hindmarsh as broker manager in the asset finance team.
Time Finance, which has offices in Manchester and Warrington, also specialises in the provision or arrangement of Asset Finance, Commercial Loan and Vehicle Finance solutions.
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Colne-based Detectronic has strengthened and restructured its leadership team following strong global sales and a series of ground breaking new product developments.
The wastewater network monitoring specialist, whose clients include the UK water utilities as well as national construction firms, food and drink manufacturers, industrial and chemical companies, has secured significant new long term contracts in the past 12 months. In support of this growth, Detectronic’s managing director, Steve Woods, has restructured his leadership team.
Steve has assumed the newly created role of executive chairman and has appointed current sales director, Neil Butler, as managing director.
Neil Butler, left, and Steve Woods
“After over 14 years at the helm of Detectronic, it’s time for me to move away from the coal-face and refocus on strategy and guidance,” said Steve.
“Since joining us in 2018, Neil has made a huge impact on the business in terms of sales growth and business development. In his role as sales director, he has opened lots of new doors and taken advantage of every opportunity that’s arisen to expand our horizons. He is ideally placed and connected to take us to the next level and beyond – I have every confidence in his abilities to further grow and diversify Detectronic.”
Neil said: “I’m honoured and inspired that Steve has invited me to lead the business at such a key stage in its development.
“It’s my focus to continue our commitment to collaborative working within the global wastewater industry and the development of exceptional products and services that will benefit all of our clients.”
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Hurstwood Holdings has boosted its in house team with three strategic new appointments. Jayne Hindle, who previously worked at CMS, has been appointed as group solicitor. Phil Brassell has become Hurstwood’s new in-house quantity surveyor, and Seamus Dickens has relocated from Dorset to join the Manchester-based estates management team.
Managing director, Andy Park, said: “Last year, we increased our portfolio across all sectors which saw us acquire our first shopping centre as well as several new landmark office buildings and increased new house building activity across the North West. Most recently, we secured planning permission for a further 200,000 sq ft industrial scheme in Lancaster.
From left: Phil Brassell, Jayne Hindle, Seamus Dickens
“As we continue to go from strength to strength and prepare for our next phase of growth we are always looking for the right people to join our team. Having Jayne come on board is a real coup for us as her knowledge and professionalism allows us to complete deals more efficiently than ever. Phil’s expertise will provide a vital role in ensuring our developments remain on track and cost effective, and I am confident that Seamus will fit in quickly into our asset management team.”
Jayne said: “Hurstwood is a dynamic and ambitious company and to be a key part of its growth was a fantastic opportunity for me. I am very excited to be working with the Hurstwood team and look forward to the new challenges that this role presents.”
Hurstwood now employs 100 people nationwide.
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The board at Warrington-based Pennington Choices has appointed a new non-executive director/chairman. Paul Crook, who joins the board this month, brings a wealth of experience to the existing team.
Pennington Choices, which provides property surveying and consultancy services across the UK, has enjoyed a period of significant growth in the past five years. The appointment is the result of a need for ongoing strategic business planning and operational management in this continuing phase of development, it said.
Paul has more than 20 years of experience in leadership and operational management, most recently as a member of the executive leadership team at RMS. His experience as chief operating officer for a retail change and allied services business group since 2017 enhances his record of outstanding achievement and demonstrable strong leadership qualities. It is hoped his appointment will maximise his breadth of industry expertise to make a positive contribution across all business areas.
Paul Crook
Following the appointment, the board of Pennington Choices will comprise managing director Mark Seaborn, commercial director Gary Brampton, corporate services director Becky Crook, professional services director Sarah Davies, operations director Lee Woods, and non- executive director Paul Crook.
Mark Seaborn said: “Paul was my line manager at PSEC 25 years ago. He was undoubtedly the best manager I worked for, and I am confident his expertise will make a significant difference to our business. We are looking forward to him bringing a renewed sense of purpose around organisational discipline and additional competence around our ongoing growth.”
Paul Crook said: “I am thrilled to be joining the board at such an exciting time of their development. This is a great opportunity for me to use my business planning and operational experience and expertise in the FM, consultancy, residential and commercial property management and building services sectors to help increase Pennington Choices’ continued growth plans.”
