People: Farleys Solicitors; iiCON; Dine Contract Catering; Vista Insurance Brokers; Brightsolid; Praetura Ventures
North West law firm, Farleys Solicitors, has expanded its insolvency offering with the appointment of an experienced partner and a newly-qualified solicitor.
Jane Haymes has joined the firm with more than 30 years of experience behind her in corporate insolvency, formal insolvency procedures, related claims, court applications and recovery work. Jane has spent two lengthy periods as a partner at two Lancashire law firms prior to joining Farleys’ Preston office last month.
Alongside Jane, the team has also welcomed newly-qualified solicitor Olivia Cooper on a permanent basis following the completion of her training contract with Farleys. Olivia originally joined the firm four years ago as an insolvency executive before being awarded a place on the training programme. After completing two years of training including a seat within the insolvency team, Olivia was offered a role as a solicitor within the team.
The Preston-based insolvency and commercial litigation team also comprises partner and head of the team Mark Hague, solicitor Ella Holden, paralegal Armin Pishro, and legal assistant Sarah Hill. The team has been expanding over recent years to meet the high demand for insolvency services in these challenging economic times.
Mark Hague said: “Over the last few years not only has the quantity of work the team has been instructed on increased but the quality of that work has massively improved, too, and the appointments of Jane and Olivia will enable us to grow further. We are currently handling some of the biggest and most high profile cases in the North West and we are constantly competing with the biggest law firms across the country, so adding two further excellent solicitors to our team is very well timed.”
Jane Haymes said: “I have worked alongside Mark on transactions previously and was always impressed with his approach, so when the opportunity arose to join Farleys it felt like the right time to bring the knowledge and experience I have acquired over a long career to a talented team, and I am looking forward to supporting them and strengthening the team’s proposition.”
Olivia Cooper said: “This is the department I have spent most of my time with at Farleys and the one I knew I wanted to qualify into. I have been able to watch the team expand throughout my time here and I am proud to be contributing to its continued growth and success.”
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Dr Mike Egan
The Liverpool-based Infection Innovation Consortium, iiCON, has welcomed a new senior member to its team with the appointment of Dr Michael Egan.
Dr Egan, a Chartered Engineer (IET) and Chartered Manager (CMI) joins the consortium, which works to propel the discovery and development of innovative treatments and products for infectious diseases, as Senior Business Development Manager.
He joins iiCON from his previous role at the University of Liverpool’s Materials Innovation Factory, where he led the development and commercial/academic use of laboratory automation for materials chemistry. His expertise includes the development of a £3m Henry Royce Institute-funded automated robotic platform called the Formulation Engine in collaboration with Labman Automation.
In his new role, Dr Egan will be a key part of an expert team that will specify and design the new laboratories. His expertise in developing automated robotic platforms will aid the development of new products in the iiCON portfolio, helping to commercialise industry innovations. Additionally, he will support the development of new partnerships, offering expertise and guidance on using robotics to facilitate new product development.
Dr Egan said: “I am really excited to be joining the iiCON team and tackle a very ambitious, multidisciplinary project to create pioneering Category 3, AI-driven robotic laboratories which will support a number of iiCON’S research platforms and the development of groundbreaking novel therapeutics.”
Prof Janet Hemingway, iiCON’s founding director, said: “Mike brings a wealth of expertise in automation technologies and we’re very pleased to be welcoming him to the iiCON team. With his engineering experience, he will be a key part of the team we are bringing together to support the design and development of our next generation Category 3 Robotics laboratories.”
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Nick Haynes
Workplace caterer, Dine Contract Catering, has bolstered its senior leadership team following the appointment of Managing Director Nick Haynes.
Nick has put together an exceptional leadership team, appointing Linda McAra as Head of Operations, Gemma Evans-Hurley as Head of Culinary and Sophie Beavon as Marketing Manager.
The appointments follow a relaunch of the brand, putting food, flavour and a promise to be a force for good at the heart of the business, as the company seeks to increase its market share by 30%.
Nick brings with him a strong pedigree in contract catering, having spent the past nine years at Eurest. He said: “We felt it was important to strengthen our operations team and culinary support to take the business to the next level.
“Gemma’s is a completely new role and we are delighted to have her on board. Her appointment reflects our desire to maximise our heritage in food, as well as bringing nutrition, health and wellbeing into the mix. Her history of championing women in food is outstanding, and I’m proud this is an exciting and diverse leadership team.
“Linda’s role, as a third head of operations, is also newly created and she brings extensive experience to the business.
“Sophie, meanwhile, has seven years of experience inside Compass Group, starting her career on the Graduate Development Programme before specialising in Marketing and most recently Digital Engagement. These are appointments that strengthen the business and put us on course to achieve our goals.”
Dine, part of Compass Group UK, is based in Warrington but operates nationally with contracts from Scotland to Wales and the south of England.
Gemma Evans-Hurley said: “This is an incredibly exciting time not only in my own career, but for Dine Contact Catering, too. The business has recently undergone a re-brand and has ambitious growth targets for the next three years. I’m looking forward to applying my learnings from the past two decades to help support these goals.”
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Sam Marriott
Vista Insurance Brokers has appointed Samuel Marriott as Head of Vista Protect, the health and life insurance division of its business.
This appointment comes as part of Vista’s strategy to drive sales growth across the business, helping clients with their group life, health and business survival insurance.
Formerly at Towergate Insurance, Sam joins with more than a decade’s experience in the protection and health space and has created a strong reputation in the sector.
Sam said: “I am excited to start this role.”
CEO, Gavin Ruben, said: “Sam is another great appointment for Vista. His experience will bring in lots of new opportunities and a new and much needed service for Vista clients. As part of our growth strategy this is a key area and one I am excited to see flourish.”
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Tony Capper
Cloud services company, Brightsolid, has announced the appointment of Tony Capper as Regional Sales Director.
Based out of its newly-opened Manchester office, Capper brings more than 25 years of IT and computing sales experience to the role, which will see him leading sales development in support of Brightsolid’s strategic growth across the UK.
Established more than 25 years as part of DC Thomson & Co Group, Brightsolid is one of Scotland’s main managed hybrid cloud and cyber security services providers, with current customers including Aberdeenshire Council, Albert Bartlett, Capita, Dundee City Council, Network ROI, Shell, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and University of Dundee.
Mr Capper said: “With Brightsolid already recognised as one of Scotland’s leading cloud services providers, we will initially be seeking to work with public and private sector organisations across the North of England from our new Manchester office, from which we will also be leading the expansion of our service offering across the UK.”
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Camilla Greenwood and Klarissa Nura
Praetura Ventures (PV), the Manchester-based VC and Northern Powerhouse Investment II (NPIF II) NW Equity fund manager, has appointed two new industry professionals to its growing investment team as it looks to continue building its portfolio.
Camilla Greenwood and Klarissa Nura have joined the company from LDC and Maven Capital, respectively, taking Praetura’s North West investment team to 11 people and the total number of female investors within the team to five.
A Chartered Accountant, Camilla joined LDC’s North West team in 2021 after initially starting out at PwC and brings with her a wealth of investment experience, having been at the heart of the North’s Private Equity sector.
In her new role as an Investment Director at Praetura Ventures, Camilla will be responsible for deploying funds from NPIF II – NW Equity Fund into regional businesses, in line with the British Business Bank’s mission to help fund regional entrepreneurs.
Klarissa, who joins as an Investment Associate, worked on a number of notable deals during her time at Maven and will be responsible for supporting the deployment of capital from NPIF II.
Louise Chapman, NPIF II Fund Principal at Praetura Ventures, said: “We are lucky to enjoy a wealth of investment talent in the North West, and that is evidenced by the work done by Camilla and Klarissa over their careers so far. We are delighted to be welcoming both of them to our growing Praetura team in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest years for us to date, following the launch of the £660m NPIF II and outstanding growth in our portfolio.”
Camilla Greenwood said: “It is an exciting time for Praetura Ventures who have seen significant growth in recent years. I am really looking forward to investing the newly awarded NPIF II fund and providing More than Money. There is a wealth of knowledge within the team of scaling early stage businesses which will be put to good use in a flourishing Northern market.”
Klarissa Nura said: “I’m so excited to join the Praetura team. I can’t wait to get started.”
Simon Cunnington, Investment Manager at British Business Bank, said: “Praetura will play an important role in helping small businesses in the North West achieve their growth objectives through accessing equity finance from NPIF II. These two appointments demonstrate the team’s commitment to successfully deliver the funding across the North West business community.”
The news follows Praetura being named the fund manager for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II – Equity North West mandate, with £100m of the total £660m fund dedicated to helping North West businesses scale.
Earlier this year, Praetura also welcomed former Beer Hawk founder, Mark Roberts, as an Operational Partner. Mark, who joined Praetura in April, successfully exited Beer Hawk to AB InBev, which rebranded Beer Hawk as PerfectDraft. He later served as PerfectDraft’s Global CEO until 2022 and chaired the Leeds City Regional Local Enterprise Partnership until 2023.
