People: Beyond Corporate; Assetz Capital; CMS; Open ECX; BDO; Door4; Clough & Willis
Beyond Corporate has appointed Elizabeth Wilkinson as partner and head of its dispute resolution team and Alison Rocca as partner leading on new areas of growth including property disputes and contentious probate.
They are the 10th and 11th partner to join Beyond Corporate.
Over the last 12 months, Beyond Corporate’s Dispute Resolution team has tripled its headcount to support its growing number of complex litigation cases across the UK, advising clients on the full spectrum of complex contentious corporate and commercial matters, with an unmatched track record of obtaining results from large Corporates to SMEs and individuals.
Wilkinson joins Manchester-based Beyond Corporate from Slater Heelis where she was partner and head of dispute resolution. She advises on a wide range of commercial contract disputes, professional negligence actions and claims arising from the sale and purchase of businesses.
Rocca also joins the dispute resolution team as partner, bringing considerable expertise working with clients in the resolution of disputes.
She also advises on disputes involving commercial property, wills and trusts – which is a focus of growth for the group.
James Corlett, managing partner of Beyond Corporate, said: “It has been an unbelievable year of growth for the Dispute Resolution team, and I am incredibly proud of what the team has achieved. The appointment of Elizabeth and Alison will help to drive the team’s growth further and support us in building a stronger national and international presence. We look forward to welcoming them to the team and introducing them to the wider group.”
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Assetz Capital has appointed four senior executives to its board.
The board-level appointments have been made from within the company and will further strengthen its senior management team as it embarks on the next phase of growth.
The business will continue to be led by CEO and co-founder Stuart Law, with newly appointed board members including Andrew Fraser (Chief Commercial Officer), Irene Thomas (Chief Operating Officer), Mark Wardrop (Chief Financial Officer) and Tim Harper (Chief Credit Officer). Dave Allanson will continue to support the new Board as Non-Executive Director.
The newly established team will bring a strong focus on operational excellence, commercial strategy, and credit best practice across the lending business.
The announcement comes as managing director Andrew Charnley will be stepping down from his role in due course to pursue other opportunities.
In recent years, Assetz Capital, which is headquartered in Manchester, has pivoted and is now fully institutionally funded, following a shift in market dynamics. The business is heading towards operating at pre-pandemic lending levels again, and expecting to move well beyond £30m of new lending per month in the next year – supporting SMEs to achieve their property development growth ambitions.
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CMS has strengthened its offering in Manchester with the hire of two new partners.
Stuart Tait
Partner Stuart Tait has been appointed to lead the launch of the firm’s Restructuring and Insolvency offering in the North of England.
Stuart is highly regarded for his expertise advising debtors and their directors as well as a broad range of creditors and investors across the spectrum of financial distress, seeking to deliver financial and operational restructurings and transactions to benefit stakeholders. He also supports insolvency practitioners in connection with pre-packaged and unplanned insolvency processes. While his practice is primarily based in the North and London, Stuart has significant international experience, including advising clients across the Asia Pacific region having led the Hong Kong Restructuring team of a major international firm during his five years based in the territory.
Austin Judson
At the same time, the firm has announced the appointment of Real Estate Partner Austin Judson. Austin has over 28 years’ experience working on large, complex commercial and mixed-use development work, as well as real estate finance and insolvency. He acts for a number of the major property investors and developers, as well as retailers and high street banks. Austin has extensive experience in the sports sector having acted for the administrators on the real estate aspects of a number of the Premiership League and Championship clubs as well as the purchase of a Premier League club. This has led to acquisitions, disposals, leases, and sale and leasebacks of a number of sports stadia.
Austin will initially join the firm’s strong Real Estate team in Manchester, before relocating to Riyadh where he will help strengthen the firm’s real estate capabilities in the Middle East.
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Software provider Open ECX has created a raft of roles to meet growing demand as it expands into a host of new sectors.
The Manchester-based company has secured recent business wins in industries ranging from hospitality and food and beverage to engineering, property services, construction and healthcare.
It has also secured new partnerships with several organisations to help them enhance their customer offering, alongside contracts to provide additional services to existing clients.
The company has made a series of appointments in its commercial and operations teams to support its expansion and the onboarding of new customers.
Joseph Smith, Rachel Kirby and Lucy Murphy have joined the commercial team while Emma Garland, Angus Varndell, Dylan Meadows and Malak Farhat have been recruited to the operations team.
Further recruitment is planned over the coming months to fuel the company’s ability to continue its rapid growth.
The business, which has its headquarters in Blackfriars House in Manchester city centre, is backed by private equity firm MonacoSol.
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Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO has welcomed 85 new trainees across its North West offices this week, with more than 600 starting across the UK.
The trainees, who join the firm’s 8,000-strong workforce across its audit, tax and advisory practices, are a combination of school leaver apprentices, university graduates and students undertaking a 12-month industrial placement.
As part of their training, the majority of new joiners will also have the opportunity to undertake a Level 7 apprenticeship programme, resulting in a qualification equivalent to a masters degree.
Angela Cross, regional managing partner at BDO in the North West, said: “I’m always delighted to welcome our annual cohort of new trainees to our offices in the North West. This young talent never fails to bring a fresh perspective, enthusiasm, energy, and a thirst for knowledge.”
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Digital performance agency Door4 has hired Rebecca Riley, as Business Development Manager, and Kieran Priest, as Project Manager. The Burnley-based agency has expanded its Manchester City Centre office to accommodate the increasing demands.
Rebecca Riley joins Door4 with over five years of business development experience and customer service expertise. In her newly created role, she will collaborate closely with the senior management team, driving new business initiatives, nurturing existing client relationships, and managing the agency’s commercial operations.
Kieran Priest, previously with musicMagpie, brings extensive experience in managing large-scale enterprise projects. With over a decade in the digital industry, including a strong foundation in QA testing, Kieran is well-positioned to enhance project delivery at Door4. As Project Manager, he will work closely with developers, designers, and the client management team to ensure projects are executed on time, within budget, and to the highest standards.
Leon Calverley, founder of Door4, welcomed the new team members, saying: “We are always seeking ambitious, talented individuals to join our 25-strong team. Kieran’s technical expertise, business acumen, and QA background add valuable assets to our operations, while Rebecca’s enthusiasm and experience will help us to capitalise on the strong new business pipeline in the Home and Gardens sector that we’ve been focusing on over the past year. We’re delighted to have them both on board.”
Door4, headquartered in Burnley, with a second office in central Manchester, is known for its growing expertise in the home and garden sector. The agency has seen significant growth in the past 12 months, driven by both new business wins and expanding work with clients like Plumbs, EGO, National Fostering Group, SKIL, and PaintNuts. To support its continued expansion, Door4 is actively recruiting for several new roles.
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John Parker
Bolton and Bury-based law firm Clough & Willis has promoted John Parker, conveyancing solicitor, to senior associate.
John joined Clough & Willis from Linder Myers in 2022. He trained at Woodcock & Sons and has also worked at Eversheds and Countrywide Conveyancing. He studied Law at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and completed his LPC at the College of Law in York.
Since his arrival at the firm, John has handled a wide variety of work including new builds, shared ownership, lease extensions/variations and adverse possession applications. His particular area of expertise is dealing with complicated property law issues.
This follows his previous appointment to Deputy Senior Responsible Officer as part of the firm’s Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accreditation. CQS is a recognised quality standard for SRA-regulated firms working in the residential conveyancing sector. It sets out the expected standards of competence and risk management. It also demonstrates that firms can provide residential conveyancing advice of the level expected by clients, lenders and the wider residential conveyancing community. This is the 12th year Clough & Willis has retained its membership.
Lorraine Stratton-Webb, Head of Property, said: “Over the past couple of years, John has developed a fantastic reputation and has garnered some excellent client feedback. He has also become an integral and much valued member of the team so this promotion is hugely deserved.”
John added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far at Clough & Willis. The past two years have gone by in a flash, and it has been fantastic to work with the team and clients. I am excited to enter the next phase of my career and to help expand our diverse property offering even more.”
