People: Yodel; Champion Accountants; Proicere; Urban Splash; Aztec; Swift Cheshire
Regeneration company Urban Splash has strengthened its marketing team with the appointment of Feargal McKenna and Beth Richardson.
Feargal McKenna joins from printing company Hobs Group, where he led UK-wide marketing efforts and at Urban Splash, he will leverage his extensive experience to enhance its marketing strategies and strengthen the company’s brand presence.
Beth Richardson, formerly of Truth PR in Manchester, will oversee the brand’s social and digital channels, crafting compelling content that resonates with the company’s audience and showcases its innovative projects. Richardson’s background in public relations and creative approach to storytelling will be instrumental in driving engagement and highlighting the unique aspects of regeneration projects.
CEO Julian Curnuck said: “We have been diligently working behind the scenes in recent years and are now poised to bring our pipeline of 4,500 new homes and 500,000 sq ft of commercial space to life.
“Our newest colleagues bring their own unique brand of ambition, with Feargal and Beth both perfectly positioned to elevate our marketing efforts and build stronger connections with the communities we serve.”
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Alison Richardson
Liverpool headquartered parcel carrier Yodel has announced Alison Richardson as its new HR director.
Richardson previously led the HR business partner and recruitment teams at Yodel.
In this new role she will lead the full people division with overall responsibility for all 30 HR workstreams. The role will see her focus on organisation design, trade union relationships and ensuring colleagues continue to be provided with the support and opportunities for a successful career at Yodel.
She said: “People are at the core of Yodel’s operations and it’s an honour to be taking on such an important role as the business continues to grow. I look forward to continuing to develop our innovative HR processes to provide the best support to our colleagues across the business.”
Mike Hancox, CEO of Yodel said: “Alison’s hard work and dedication in her role has positioned her as a core member of the team. Alison has been instrumental in Yodel’s recent transformation, is an innovative leader and plays a key role in Yodel’s future digital development.”
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A partner at Champion Accountants’ Preston practice has retired after a 50-year career.
Client partner Stephen Robinson was instrumental in building Champion’s Preston practice, merging his family accounting firm to create the new enterprise in 2008.
His legacy will grow further after his official retirement, as he has committed to providing consultancy support for a small number of Champion clients in the charity sector. His wife Mary Robinson was the MP for Cheadle from 2015 to 2024, when she lost her seat.
Meanwhile, most of Robinson’s clients have undergone a phased handover to Champion partner Lucy Panchal. She joined the business in November 2023, bringing a 20-year track record as an expert advisor to SMEs and entrepreneurs.
Robinson said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the skilled and professional team at Champion for the past 16 years. The group’s commitment to doing the right thing, always, stretches into every corner of the business and has provided me with a fulfilling end to my full-time career, which I greatly appreciate.”
Champion’s group managing partner, Ged Cosgrove, added: “It’s been a privilege to spend several years working closely with Stephen, who is a dedicated and principled professional. I know he’s inspired many colleagues to deliver their best efforts, and so his impact reaches far beyond the work he delivered directly.
“In his own work, Stephen’s guidance and financial management have supported a great number of charities through particularly challenging circumstances. During the crises of recent years, from Brexit to Covid and the rising cost of living, Stephen’s expertise has been a lifeline for a great many organisations changing lives in Lancashire and beyond. He is generous with his time and expertise, and it is no surprise that he feels compelled to continue providing the most critical elements of his support to those who need it.”
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Warrington based consultancy business Proicere has appointed Kurt Metcalfe as Associate Director.
Having a background in Digital Engineering within the nuclear and energy sectors, Metcalfe will play a key role in helping Proicere – whose clients include Sellafield Ltd and Urenco – in its ambitions to deliver intelligent and cutting-edge Digital techniques.
Of Metcalfe’s appointment, CEO Karl Dooner says: “Now is an exciting time for the nuclear and energy sector. With the Labour Government committing to investing in new renewable infrastructure, digital solutions are going to play an important role in ensuring taxpayer’s money is spent efficiently. Kurt has a proven record in managing and supporting the delivery of digital and BIM services on numerous multi-million-pound construction projects. He will help us push new boundaries in the delivery of intelligent and cutting-edge digital techniques for our clients in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) services sector.”
Metcalfe joins Proicere from Babcock International where he led a Digital Engineering Function, delivering engineering design compliance to BIM, providing Digital services to projects and re-educating on the BSi ISO19650 project delivery modules.
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Aztec has created a series of new roles for its next generation of skilled tradespeople and professionals, creating six new positions across the Group.
The Liverpool-based business is growing in terms of both geographical and customer reach and is committed to delivering services from an in-house workforce where possible – alongside a long established and trusted supply chain.
Amongst the new team members includes Michael Rowlands, age 18, who joins as an apprentice bench joiner, alongside Maxwell Weaver 19 at Fire Doors and Frames. Daisy Roberts, 18, takes on an apprentice site joinery role, working across various sites and joins Ellie Moran, 19, an apprentice electrician. Owen Jones, age 18, also joins as an electrician’s mate, all at Interiors. Finally, Molly Dean, 22, a newly graduated interior architect will join the design team.
Iain Peacock, Group Managing Director at Aztec explained: “It’s great to be able to take on these six new young team members in their respective roles. It’s exciting to look ahead and see what our diversifying workforce of the future will look like and to have them all join us at the start of their career is a really exciting prospect.
“We were able to explain exactly what we were looking for in terms of skills and attitude and they listened. We are keen to build on our relationship with them, so much so with them and have been invited to input into the curriculum to build on the needs of industry.”
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Sandbach-based marketing agency Swift Cheshire has announced three additions to its team.
Completing the now 11-strong team, Conner Davies joins as graphic designer and photographer, Matt King takes the role of social media manager and Paul Roscoe joins as head of sales.
Operations manager at Swift Cheshire Jessica Brown said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Conner, Matt and Paul on board. Each of them bring a unique set of skills and expertise that will support our ambitious growth plans for the agency in the next 12 months and beyond.”
