People: Platinum Live; Evelyn Partners; Livv Housing Group; Haydock Finance; Logros Advisory Partners; Primas Law; Together
Cumbrian PR and marketing agency, Platinum Live, has welcomed two new team members ahead of its fifth birthday in March.
Marie Jedlickova and Kerry Hyslop have joined the firm, based at its Whitehaven office.
Marie works in the agency’s social media and digital team, focusing on content creation and influencer marketing, with an audience of more than 40,000 people across her socials. Marie, originally from the Czech Republic, has worked with brands such as Steve Maden, Pretty Little Thing and VEVO.
Kerry leads on the commercial and finance side, with more than a decade of experience in senior finance and growth positions. She supports the firm’s founder, Oliver Hodgson, with the commercial functions ensuring robustness across sales, customer relationships and finance.
Oliver said: “In these last five years we’ve worked with some truly innovative and talented businesses and individuals. I’m grateful for those who continue to trust us and our supportive network of associates and partners who’ve enabled us to have a terrific five years.”
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Julie Moore
Evelyn Partners, the wealth management and professional services group, has appointed Julie Moore as a tax partner who will help drive the continued growth of the firm’s employee solutions offering across the North.
Moore, who joins the firm’s professional services business from RSM, has more than 15 years’ experience specialising in employee solutions compliance, and has developed strong relationships with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Employer Duties teams in this time.
In her new role as tax partner, Julie will act as a trusted adviser to businesses of all sizes, on the complexities of employment tax and compliance.
Based in Evelyn Partners’ Manchester office, Julie will lead on the existing pay governance support area, which includes workforce engagement and reward strategies, pay, expenses and benefit structures, incentive planning, international employment matters and global mobility.
Julie’s appointment comes ahead of the re-brand of Evelyn Partners’ professional services business to S&W later this quarter. The professional services business strengthened its position in the North last year with the acquisition of three former Haines Watts offices in Manchester, Leeds, and Newcastle.
She said: “I am extremely excited to join Evelyn Partners’ professional services business ahead of its re-brand as S&W and as the team continues to drive business growth in the North region.”
Justin Arnesen, Partner at Evelyn Partners, said: “Julie adds extensive experience with her depth of expertise and will complement our existing strong regional and national employer solutions team.”
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Helen Ward
Liverpool-based Livv Housing Group has named Helen Ward as its new Executive Director of Resources.
Helen joins the 13,000-home Knowsley-based housing association from Anchor, where she served as Director of Transformation. With extensive expertise in business improvement, culture change and people management, alongside a strong background in the housing sector, Helen is primed to make a positive impact at Livv.
She said: “My passion for understanding people and driving meaningful change, rooted in my early career as a psychologist, has always been a guiding force for me.
“I believe the resources function is crucial in supporting our colleagues and empowering our teams to deliver an exceptional service. I’m looking forward to getting started, and together we’ll continue to foster a culture of inclusion, innovation and continuous improvement, ensuring we meet the evolving needs of our colleagues and customers.”
Léann Hearne, Chief Executive at Livv Housing Group, said: “Helen is a superb addition to our executive team. Her diverse sector experience, passion for people and focus on transformation will be invaluable as we do even more to support our colleagues and communities. Helen’s leadership will be key in helping us seize opportunities, create a positive impact and foster an ambitious culture that supports our colleagues to thrive.”
Alongside her role as Executive Director of Resources at Livv, Helen is a board member and Chair of the People & Remuneration Committee at Cobalt Housing.
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Tim Edwards
Blackburn-based Haydock Finance has strengthened its position in the asset finance market with the appointment of two experienced materials handling specialists.
Tim Edwards has been appointed as Head of Materials Handling and is joined by Lee Hughes, who will take on the role of Vendor Manager.
With a strong background in materials handling finance, Tim Edwards brings a wealth of expertise to Haydock. He joins from Societe Generale Equipment Finance (SGEF), where he led the Broker team, and has previously held key roles at De Lage Landen and BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions.
Lee Hughes
He said: “Haydock has ambitious growth plans, and this is an exciting opportunity to support SMEs in acquiring the essential equipment they need.”
Lee Hughes brings more than six years of asset finance experience, having previously worked at Lloyds Bank and the Bank of Ireland. His expertise lies in growing market share through strategic business development, working across both direct sales and intermediary partnerships.
He said: “I am looking forward to developing and expanding this new specialist channel at Haydock.”
Andy Taylor, Sales Director at Haydock Finance, said: “Their deep understanding of the materials handling sector, coupled with their extensive finance experience, will be invaluable as we grow our specialist offering further.”
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Martyn Burke
Salford-based Logros Advisory Partners is strengthening its corporate finance offering with the addition of Martyn Burke, who joins the team to enhance support for business owners navigating M&A, growth, and funding strategies.
Martyn, based on the border of Hertfordshire and Cambridge, brings more than 30 years of corporate finance experience, having led 43 global transactions and secured a range of investments.
His expertise spans private and public organisations, covering M&A, business growth, funding solutions, and strategic advisory across industries, including manufacturing, logistics, software, travel, and distribution.
Lee Dinsdale, Managing Partner at Logros Advisory Partners, said: “We are pleased to welcome Martyn to our team. His extensive corporate finance background and his experience in funding and M&A align perfectly with our mission to support business owners in achieving successful transactions and long term growth.
“His appointment strengthens our ability to serve more clients and attract top-tier advisors from across the UK.”
Martyn Burke said: “Logros provides a dynamic platform for experienced advisors to collaborate and deliver real value to business owners. Having spent my career supporting SMEs through growth, acquisitions, and funding strategies, I was looking for a firm that aligned with my expertise, approach and offers flexibility with limited restrictions.
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Nicki Knappett
Corporate law firm, Primas Law, with offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Cheshire and London, has welcomed Nikki Knappett as Commercial Partner to support ongoing plans to grow the firm’s presence across the North West.
Nikki will bring more than 30 years of legal experience to the firm, including 20 years of in-house experience working in Head of Legal and General Counsel roles across a broad spectrum of businesses. With a wealth of experience providing strategic guidance to high growth owner-managed businesses and entrepreneurs, Nikki’s in-depth understanding of business operations and legal strategy will strengthen Primas’s commitment to providing innovative and commercially astute legal solutions.
The strategic senior hire follows the appointment of Corporate Partner Jennifer Gallagher at the end of 2024, and marks the firm’s plans to enhance and expand service offerings across the North West to meet client demand.
Nikki said: “The North West boasts a thriving business community, and I’m excited to bring my experience to our new and existing client base to drive business growth across the region.”
Adam Kerr, Managing Partner, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Nikki to the team. Her years of experience across both in-house and private practice roles bring a competitive edge to our service offering.”
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From left: Rebecca Alden, Jonathan McCarthy, Emma Carpenter
Property lender, Together, has announced the promotion of several long term employees in its underwriting team.
Rebecca Alden will be returning to underwriting, taking up the position of underwriting operations director after nearly four years with the Cheadle-based company. With previous experience at Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest over two decades, Rebecca will be moving from her current role overseeing servicing and collections to lead the Together underwriting team.
Jonathan McCarthy and Emma Carpenter will both be moving into head of department roles.
Jonathan has worked at Together for 25 years in a variety of positions, including as a processor, underwriter and team manager. His remit will be covering personal finance for the lender.
Emma, who will oversee commercial finance, has worked in the industry for 18 years, six of them with Together. She began her career at the specialist lender looking after the operations support team, before moving through several roles in broker underwriting and commercial operations.
Together will also be further strengthening the Underwriting Director team, promoting two colleagues to underwriting director – Ben Wilson and Emma Barker – to its personal finance team, and Ben Storey will be re- joining commercial finance.
John Barker, CEO of personal finance at Together, said: “Our colleagues are our most important asset and helping them to grow and develop is at the heart of our ethos. We are a lender whose culture is built on relationships, and to achieve that it needs to start with our employees.
“Each of these individuals has been with Together for several years, offering their passion and skill to help the company grow and develop. We are pleased to be able to reward that dedication and look forward to seeing them continue their careers here.”
Together has also announced the departure of underwriting operations director, Duncan Abraham, who has spent the past 26 years with the lender and will shortly be joining WestOne Loans.
Marc Goldberg, CEO of sales and distribution at Together, said: “We are sad to say goodbye to Duncan, but delighted to be able to provide opportunities to so many of our valued employees.
“We wish them the best of luck in their new roles, and look forward to seeing them continue to grow.”
