People: Urban Splash; Morecrofts Solicitors; EY; Naturecan; RSK UK; Alcedo Care Group

Suzy Jones

Manchester-based regeneration and property company Urban Splash has appointed former RIBA North director, Suzy Jones, as its first director of the future – a move set to help the company tackle the challenges of future development.

Suzy will be responsible for using foresight and innovation to develop the purpose-led ambition of Urban Splash and the strategy required to support it.

Suzy, who previously worked at Urban Splash as part of its sister company House, said: “Director of the future is quite some job title to live up to. Much of the role’s focus is on ESG, which is well embedded at Urban Splash so not too much of an uphill struggle.”

The company celebrates its 30th birthday this year and has recently announced a new funding deal with Grosvenor, and a pipeline of projects that will create an impressive 4,500 new homes and 500,000 sq ft of commercial space in the next five years. Suzy added: “The projects we are initiating now will be realised over the next decade or so, impacting people’s lives and our planet for considerably longer. The way in which people will want, and need to live, is likely to change dramatically during this period and we need to be prepared for that as we imagine, design and create neighbourhoods of the future.”

Urban Splash co-founder, Jonathan Falkingham, said: “It’s rare for a property company to have a director tasked purely with thinking beyond immediate horizons. Climate change, ecosystem collapse, the unprecedented speed at which technological leaps are adopted, and the socio, political and economic impact of these things is going to have significant impact on the requirements of the built environment. Our sector needs to change and this is Urban Splash’s way helping to do that.”

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Amy Knowles

Morecrofts Solicitors has made five senior promotions across its specialist teams.

Alison Williams has been promoted to senior associate solicitor, specialising in residential property, while Laura Monti and Ellie Slater have both been promoted to the role of associate solicitor, working in the litigation and family law teams, respectively.

Liz Potter also steps up to associate legal executive in the matrimonial team and Emma McNamara has been promoted to senior paralegal, specialising in private client.

Alison Lobb, managing partner at Liverpool-based Morecrofts Solicitors, hailed the group of five, saying: “We have been proud to see the continued development of these five excellent legal professionals. Ellie started her career with us as a trainee solicitor, while the others have now worked with us for several years, having chosen to develop the next stage of their careers with our firm.”

Two new trainee solicitors have also begun their journey to qualification with Morecrofts in recent weeks. Amy Knowles has taken her first seat in the matrimonial team in Liverpool, while Megan Williams has joined the private client team in Crosby.

Alison added: “We have an incredible wealth of young legal talent within Morecrofts and we wish every success to Megan and Amy as they embark on their training contracts.”

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Elizabeth Armstrong

EY has appointed Elizabeth Armstrong as an insurance partner, located in its growing Manchester office. Elizabeth will play a leading role in supporting UK insurance clients with global tax compliance and reporting activity.

Elizabeth joins EY from Royal London, the largest mutual insurance company in the UK, where she spent the past seven years as head of tax. Prior to this role, she held a variety of tax specialist and managerial roles with Royal London after joining from Deloitte, where she initially trained as an auditor, before being seconded into a tax role.

Elizabeth Armstrong said: “I am really excited to join EY as it grows its insurance practice – the team is well respected in the market and I look forward to working with ambitious and talented new colleagues. The UK’s tax landscape has changed materially across the series of Budgets that have been announced in quick succession over the last few years, and tax continues to be affected by economic headwinds. I am looking forward to supporting EY’s clients as they navigate change and look to the future.”

Stephen Church, EY’s North Market leader, said: “I’d like to extend my congratulations to Elizabeth, and we’re delighted she is joining our Manchester team. Elizabeth’s deep sector knowledge and tax expertise will undoubtedly strengthen what is already a strong team.”

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Richard Thompson and Freddie Flintoff

The chairman of M&C Saatchi UK has joined Stockport-based CBD brand Naturecan to support its growth.

Richard Thompson has been appointed non-executive chairman of the firm and said he thinks Naturecan can become the ‘world’s number one CBD brand’ in five years.

He said he was ‘very happy’ to become non-exec chairman and build on the work of founders Andy Duckworth, former boss of supplement brand Myprotein, and entrepreneur Paul Finnegan.

He added: “I very much bought into Paul and Andy’s vision. They are two individuals with such unbelievable drive and ambition. Every target appears to be smashed, growth continues to be prolific and they have credibility having done this before with other wellness brands. There is no stopping the brand and the people.”

Thompson said he would help the brand to grow internationally as well as build sales in the UK where the CBD market has only taken off in the past few years – way behind America and territories such as Japan.

Thompson also chairs the English and Wales Cricket Board and is the founder and chairman of talent management agency M&C Saatchi Merlin.

At Saatchi he has guided the career of ex-England and Lancashire Test cricketer Freddie Flintoff since he retired from the game in 2009.

Thompson said that he and Flintoff were happy to be shareholders in Naturecan and they were both excited to be working together to make sure its value grows.

Paul Finnegan said: “With such a formidable line up of excellence behind us, we are confident that we can achieve Richard’s ambition of becoming the world’s leading CBD brand in the next five years.”

Andy Duckworth said: “Richard’s achievements in private equity and as chair of at M&C Saatchi UK and founder of M&C Saatchi Merlin, Surrey County Cricket Club, and his impact at the ECB speak for themselves, and we look forward to a successful partnership at Naturecan.”

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Rob Adams

RSM UK’s Rob Adams has been appointed Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants’ new president.

Rob is an associate tax director at the audit, tax and consulting firm, and is based in Liverpool and Chester, acting for clients in the North West and supporting the firm’s growing portfolio across the region.

Prior to working at RSM, Rob worked at Grant Thornton, where he worked as an associate tax director for 20 years. He has more than 30 years’ experience advising on corporate and private client tax issues and specialises in advising entrepreneurial and owner managed businesses.

He has published books on tax planning, is a former chair of the Merseyside branch of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and, prior to his new appointment, served on the committee of the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants as deputy president.

Rob takes over from Justin Lang as president, following a number of RSM colleagues in the role including Graham Bond and Andy Lloyd. Nick Leddingham of Morris & Co is appointed as deputy president and Mark Kearsley of DSG as vice president.

Rob Adams said: “It is a privilege to be taking the reins of the oldest society of chartered accountants in the country and I know I have some big shoes to fill.”

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From left: Maria Dobreva, Francesca Wellman, Jordan Panayi

A trio of talented individuals has been appointed by Alcedo Care Group to strengthen its marketing team.

Francesca Wellman, Maria Dobreva and Jordan Panayi join the team as digital marketing manager, digital marketing assistant and graphic designer, respectively.

With some exciting campaigns in the pipeline, Francesca’s key responsibility is to improve brand awareness, positioning Alcedo as a provider of great quality care and employer of choice for those wanting a career in care.

Supporting Francesca is Maria, who is tasked with looking after the organic digital and social media content, focusing on the portfolio of services the company provides.

Completing the marketing team is Jordan, who joins as a graphic designer. He is responsible for designing brochures and flyers, creating presentations, animation, editing social media content and capturing video footage for campaigns.

Francesca said: “With Maria and Jordan supporting me, together we can implement effective marketing campaigns that have been carefully considered to address key messages and highlight Alcedo’s core service offering.”

Maria said: “I hope to develop more skills and am looking forward to seeing the outcomes of our marketing campaigns later this year.”

Jordan said: “In time I will learn more about the clients and their conditions so I can produce material that appeals to those in need of our services.”

Alcedo Care offers domiciliary care services, live-in care, nurse-led complex care services, supported living and children’s services across the North West.

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