People: Plus Dane Housing; Fisher German; evec; Interpath Advisory; PM+M; Harrison Drury
Plus Dane Housing has appointed Natalie Rose as its new director of customer experience.
Natalie comes to the organisation from another regional housing association and brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked across the public and private sectors in her career, including senior management positions at Manchester Airport Group.
The appointment is a new role as part of a leadership team restructure at Plus Dane that aims to take a fresh approach to tackling issues facing the housing sector. This includes the development of its corporate plan for the next four years, which will shape the direction of the organisation, focus on its social purpose, and take account of current and future operating environments and regulatory requirements.
Natalie said: “I am excited to join the team at Plus Dane. While there are plenty of challenges for the housing sector right now, I am passionate about creating positive experiences for customers, making them feel valued, and working to improve our services across our communities.”
Chief executive, Ian Reed, said: “We are delighted to welcome Natalie to Plus Dane. The director of customer experience is a key role in outlining and achieving how customers perceive our organisation, making their experience as individual and straightforward as possible. This role is pivotal to the delivery of improved outcomes and experiences for each of our customers.”
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Ella White
Property consultancy, Fisher German, has welcomed a record number of graduates and placement students into the business.
It has hired 34 graduates this year, along with 10 staff on placement, across its 27 offices around the country in a range of disciplines.
The firm is making a concerted effort to find young talent and bring them through the company, which includes hiring graduates from all sorts of backgrounds. One such placement student is Ella White, who is working within Fisher German’s commercial team at its Manchester office.
Ella is studying real estate and urban planning at the University of Manchester and said that she was keen to undertake a one-year placement at the firm due to its multidisciplinary service offering. She said: “I’m very pleased to be completing my placement year at Fisher German and am enjoying my role so far.”
Managing partner, Andrew Bridge, started as a graduate himself before working his way up to the top of the firm and has always encouraged staff to realise their ambitions. He said: “At Fisher German, we are committed to improving our colleagues’ career prospects by offering clear pathways for progression and supporting them with important qualifications.
“I know first hand that you can go far at Fisher German if you put the work in, and this is still true today. If graduates have the drive and the attitude to succeed, they will do so at Fisher German, and our record intake this year underlines our commitment to nurturing the next generation of talent.”
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Tom Bloor
Affordable EV charging solutions specialist, evec, has appointed Tom Bloor as its new managing director.
Tom will be responsible for continuing to drive evec’s mission to deliver the UK’s most affordable chargers.
Since being founded in 2022, evec, which is part of the For Everyone Group and based in Manchester, launched into the EV market to shake up the industry with a mission to make electric vehicles accessible to all. The brand has huge partnerships Bumblebee EV, a member of the Arnold Clark family, Jewson and CEF, and has also driven growth in the retail world.
Tom originally joined evec’s parent company, the For Everyone Group, in 2017 – then known as OEM Appliances – working within the sales team, and has been influential in the launch and growth of both the CoolMed and evec brands. He conceived the idea for evec in early 2022. Combining his love of cars with his knowledge of the appliances market via his work with OEM, Tom identified a gap in the market for the growth of EVs.
In the past quarter alone, evec has seen a revenue growth of 398% in H1 of 2023 vs H2 of 2022, and combined with the urgent demand for improved EV infrastructure in the UK, Tom, in his role as managing director, aims to continue this growth.
Stephen Johnson, evec CEO, said: “Tom’s promotion marks our commitment to the growth of evec and Tom’s dedication to the company, which has seen us reach higher than we ever thought was possible in the past six years. I’m really excited to see where Tom will take us as the EV market grows and how he shapes the business as we start to progress into an electric future.”
Tom Bloor said: “Taking on this new challenge is a testament to the progression that our incredible team have delivered. Our goal is to make EVs accessible to everyone. We want to change the infrastructure of EVs in the UK ahead of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars and create a fuss-free purchase journey of having your first electric vehicle.”
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Peter Crompton
Interpath Advisory has announced the arrival of six people, including two associate directors, to its Manchester office, as the firm continues to expand and invest in its suite of Restructuring and Advisory services in the city region.
It said it is pleased to welcome Peter Crompton back to the Manchester office after spending a number of years working with the firm’s restructuring team in London. He has worked with a number of high-profile clients over the past few years including Poundstretcher, Jigsaw, Dune and Joules.
Interpath also welcomed Zoe Swerling to the team, who joins as an associate director in the firm’s value creation practice. Zoe has more than 25 years of supply chain experience, both as an operator and as a consultant. She joins Interpath from The Very Group and has also previously worked at Accenture, Amazon, The Hut Group, Pets At Home and WH Smith.
Additionally, Sam Hibbert has joined the debt advisory team as manager, where he will work alongside director Ben Smith in delivering debt advisory services to companies across the whole of the North of England. Sam joins Interpath from a leading independent asset based lender, and so brings with him a wealth of experience in this particular area of the market.
Also joining the restructuring team in Manchester is Fay Dugmore, who arrives as an associate. Fay previously worked for Teneo, and latterly, the Leonard Curtis Group.
Zoe Swerling
The firm has also welcomed Martyna Trzaska and Adam Bolton who have both joined the Manchester office as part of the Interpath graduate scheme.
Rick Harrison, managing director and head of Interpath’s office in Manchester, said: “As we continue to scale and grow our presence in Manchester, it’s a real pleasure to welcome some new faces – and a familiar one – to our team. Peter is one of the most experienced restructuring professionals in the market, and we’re delighted he’s going to be bringing his vast experience to bear for the benefit of our clients in the region.
“Zoe’s arrival represents another important step forward in the growth of our Advisory business, and in particular, our value creation team. Her breadth of experience working with some of the leading players in the North West’s retail sector will add significant weight to our offering.
“Finally, Sam’s expertise in the asset based lending space further complements our already extensive capabilities in this area.”
The five arrivals join a team of 57 people based at Interpath’s One Marsden Street office, comprising specialists in restructuring, turnaround, M&A, value creation, transaction services, debt advisory, forensic services, valuations and pensions.
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New PM+M apprentices
PM+M, the Blackburn and Bury-based chartered accountancy, business advisory and financial planning group, has named a new 10-strong intake of apprentices who will be working across the firm’s various divisions. This is the largest apprentice cohort in PM+M’s history.
Studying towards the Association of Accounting Technicians qualification will be: Sanah Younis, Sophie Meadowcroft and Haniya Khan – who will be working with the accounting and advisory team, cloud accounting apprentices Samuel Aston and Spencer Haworth, Harvey Holden in the tax team and Ahmed Patel, Ateka Sidat and Zain Akhtar who join the audit team, while payroll apprentice, Zackariya Motala, is studying towards his Payroll Level 3 qualification.
All new trainees will receive hands on experience alongside classroom study as they work towards their qualifications.
Jane Parry, managing partner, said: “We’re exceptionally proud of our apprenticeship programme and I look forward to working with our latest cohort.”
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From left: William Hornby Phillips, Taylor Eastham, James Robbins, Lucy Parkhouse, Casey Moonie, Louise Shaw
North West law firm Harrison Drury has recruited three trainee solicitors and three legal apprentices as it continues developing the next generation of talent.
Lucy Parkhouse, Casey Moonie and Louise Shaw have started their traineeships, while Georgina MacKereth, William Hornby Phillips and Taylor Eastham have begun legal apprenticeships.
James Robbins, partner and training principal at Harrison Drury, said: “We’re committed to creating opportunities for people to grow and have rewarding careers with us, something which is strengthening the firm in all areas. Our trainee programme has expanded rapidly in recent years and we now have people who started as trainees gaining senior positions within the firm, which is fantastic to see.”
Lucy joined Harrison Drury in June 2022 as a paralegal, after graduating with a first-class degree in Law from the University of Liverpool. Her first training ‘seat’ is with the firm’s property litigation team.
Casey, a graduate of University of Lancaster, gained experience as a legal assistant with a Cumbria-based law firm before taking up her trainee role. She will initially join the firm’s property litigation team.
Louise, who holds an undergraduate degree from University of Manchester, previously worked as a paralegal within the real estate team of a Manchester law firm. She will start her training with Harrison Drury’s commercial property team.
Taylor studied law, sociology and criminology at Cardinal Newman College and then gained experience as a paralegal at a Lancashire-based firm before starting her legal apprenticeship. She will be based at Harrison Drury’s Preston office.
Georgina, a legal graduate of University of Cumbria, joined Harrison Drury in 2022 as an executive administrator before starting her apprenticeship. She will be based at the firm’s Kendal office and will qualify in two-and-a-half years as she is already a graduate.
William studied history, geography and physics at Lancaster Royal Grammar School before taking up his legal apprenticeship. He will be based at the firm’s Lancaster office.
