People: Veritas Solicitors; Vista Insurance Brokers; Harrison Drury; Boost; Homesure Property; TDC
A Northern law firm is bolstering its auditing division as part of a company-wide expansion.
Veritas Solicitors, in Manchester, is looking to grow the department which seeks to optimise its legal strategies and enhance performance.
The new Head of Auditing, Tayy Ara, is an experienced professional in the field and has vast experience with compliance and regulatory requirements. She said: “Veritas currently benefits from an exceptional array of legal talent. I am thrilled to join the team and contribute to the continuing success and growth of the firm. As I step into the Head of Audit role, I am eager to drive meaningful impact and innovation within our firm.”
Since obtaining her Law Degree in 2013, the 33-year-old has experience in a range of sectors, from corporate law to legal expense insurance services.
As part of its latest expansion, Veritas Solicitors is seeking two new legal auditors who will work within the department.
The firm, based at Cardinal House in Parsonage Gardens, recently announced a raft of new job opportunities in its housing disrepair department.
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Gary Brotherton
Vista Insurance Brokers has boosted its offering to the recruitment sector with the appointment in Manchester of Gary Brotherton as Head of Recruitment Insurance.
His appointment comes as part of Vista’s strategy to drive sales growth across its specialist sectors, namely Recruitment, Corporate Business Solutions, Private Equity, Tech & Life Science, Construction and International insurance.
Gary brings a wealth of knowledge, having worked with some of the biggest names in the recruitment sector while at Kingsbridge as a Development Executive, and prior to that Marsh Commercial for nine years.
Vista’s Director of Sales, Mark Thomas, said: “Vista remains committed to expanding into selected niche sectors, and we are confident that with Gary leading the Recruitment risks team we will grow our footprint within the sector successfully.”
Gary said: “It’s an exciting time to join Vista as they approach their 10-year anniversary. I can’t wait to get going at an insurance broker ‘created to shake up the insurance industry’ and to work with our clients and insurer partners to bring that ethos to the recruitment sector.”
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Nicola Beneduce and Hannah Hughes
North West law firm Harrison Drury has announced that Hannah Hughes and Nicola Beneduce will be the new joint heads of its commercial property team.
Hannah and Nicola, who are both partners in the firm, will oversee the 38-strong commercial property team working across the firm’s seven North West offices, having already led two of the three teams that make up the commercial property team.
The team advises on a wide range of commercial property matters including landlord and tenant issues, property sales and purchases, property development and investment, and rural property law.
Nicola has been with Harrison Drury since 2015. She was chosen to lead the firm’s Clitheroe office in 2020 and was made a partner in 2021. She said: “It’s been amazing to see the journey the firm has been on in the time I’ve been here, and I am proud to be part of an exceptional team who are quickly growing to become one of the foremost commercial property teams in the region. I’m thrilled to have been chosen to lead the team alongside Hannah.”
Hannah also joined the firm in 2015. She was selected to lead the firm’s Lancaster office in 2020 and was made a partner in 2022. Hannah said: “Our goal is to provide an unrivalled service to our commercial property clients, with a team that loves what they do and in a firm which supports them. Nicola and I look forward to delivering this and enabling our colleagues to have the same progression opportunities we have had and more.”
Partner, Simon England, who previously headed up the team, continues to lead the wider growing property division, which also encompasses the specialist property litigation team led by Colin Fenny, construction law team led by Kath Sibley and licencing team led by Malcolm Ireland.
Simon England said: “As our property division has continued to grow it has created more leadership and career progression opportunities within the firm – something we’re always striving to do.”
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From left: Peter Capper; Cllr Carole Haythornthwaite; Mark Gibbons; Iain Duncan; Amanda Farrington; Andrew Leeming, programme manager, Boost
Lancashire’s Boost Access to Finance service has recruited two new advisers as part of a new-look support programme designed to help ambitious Lancashire businesses secure finance to achieve their growth ambitions.
Peter Capper, a business finance adviser who has more than 50 years’ experience at organisations including Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and FW Capital, has joined the service alongside Amanda Farrington.
Amanda has around 13 years’ experience advising businesses in roles at Santander, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC.
Both will advise eligible Lancashire businesses how to achieve their potential by reviewing their current finance facilities, understanding the best options and working with them to secure growth finance.
The fully-funded service was previously delivered by national business support organisation the Growth Company and will now be managed directly by Lancashire County Council through Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub as part of its £3.9m support programme.
The service’s team of four finance specialists also includes lead adviser Mark Gibbons and adviser Iain Duncan.
County Cllr Carole Haythornthwaite, lead member for economic development and environment, Lancashire County Council, said: “Helping businesses unlock growth finance is key to Lancashire’s economic growth and is a real focus for Lancashire County Council.”
Mark Gibbons, Access to Finance – lead adviser, Lancashire County Council, said: “Since 2015, Access to Finance has helped Lancashire businesses secure over £35m funding and create more than 800 jobs. Our new funding and delivery structure allows us greater flexibility to give businesses who want to innovate, grow their team and expand internationally by giving the right type and amount of support to suit their needs.”
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From left: Matty Kay, Nick Stott, Adam Keown
Independent Liverpool agency, Homesure Property, has appointed two trainee property managers. Adam Keown (24) and Matty Kay (24) are both new to the industry. Their hirings represent the latest step in Homesure’s ambitious growth plans.
Since launching 17 years ago, Homesure Property has grown from a team of two, to one of more than 40. The company is a full-service agency, providing property management, investment support, estate agency and auctions. The Homesure Group has acquired five property companies in the past seven years and now operates across three sites – Woolton, Old Swan and Prescot.
Matty Kay previously worked in an SEN school but has been interested in property from a young age. He learnt from members of his family who work in the industry, and even attended property lectures in his spare time, before joining Homesure.
The other new starter, Adam Keown, joins from a background of corporate sales. Adam said: “Having always had a strong interest and desire to get into property, but not having the slightest clue about where to start, I thought it made sense to start fresh and a trainee role seemed perfect.”
CEO, Nick Stott, said: “There are few things more rewarding than hiring ambitious young people who are excited to learn about our industry.”
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Mark Adams and Roisin Wherry
Manchester-based private credit investor, TDC, has strengthened its lower mid-market offering with two new appointments and two promotions. This follows an active end to the year for the TDC team, having committed more than £180m of new capital across 2023 and delivered three successful exits.
Joining the team as a Portfolio Director, Mark Adams brings 15+ years of experience working across risk, restructuring and corporate finance transactions. Adams previously spent 10 years at HW Fisher, before moving to Grant Thornton where he was most recently seconded to a North West-based alternative lender, Praetura Commercial Finance.
In his new role, Adams will focus on TDC’s growing investment portfolio, collaborating with and supporting ambitious management teams and Sponsors across the UK’s lower mid-market.
In addition, Roisin Wherry has joined as Portfolio Data Manager. She will be responsible for developing and strengthening TDC’s data capabilities, a crucial element in supporting the expanding portfolio. Wherry gained experience at AstraZeneca, The Co-operative Bank, and, most recently, at Manchester-based Grayce, supporting the business with data modelling and analytics, data migration and reporting.
In addition to the new appointments, TDC has also promoted Tom Chappell to Investment Director and Tom Scatchard to Investment Manager, where they will both continue to drive TDC’s deployment of capital across the UK lower mid-market.
Rob Hanley, Head of Portfolio and Risk at TDC, said: “It’s been an impressive period of growth for TDC and I’m looking forward to working with Mark and Roisin as our portfolio team continues to expand to meet the needs of our growing investments. We have deployed significant levels of capital throughout 2023 and these appointments demonstrate our continued commitment to reaching our target of funds invested of £1bn. Attracting and developing exceptional talent is crucial to achieving our strategic growth plans.
Mark Adams, Portfolio Director at TDC, said: “TDC has built an impressive investment platform, having raised over £1bn of capital for investment, and I’m excited to be part of the next stage of growth. The opportunity to be part of the next phase in TDC’s journey is an exciting one and I’m looking forward to working closely with Rob and the team to ensure we continue with this momentum.”
