Appointments: Matthews & Goodman; Lambert Smith Hampton; Colliers and more
MATTHEWS and Goodman has promoted three senior members of staff in its Manchester office to a joint head of office role.
The firm said that the promotions of David Laws, Dominic Evans and Graham Cooke will provide the office with “a revitalised leadership role” as it expands ints regional operations following its recent acquisition of Liverpool-based Edmund Kirby.
All three men will continue with their fee earning roles in office agency, investment and valuation respectively.
Laws said: “The current market provides opportunity and with a strong team of highly professional surveyors, building consultants and planners, Matthews & Goodman is extremely well placed to continue to capitalise on its stable foundations.
The firm has also said that it is searching for new office space within Manchester.
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LAMBERT Smith Hampton (LSH) has recruited Abid Jaffray as a director of its Capital Markets divisions.
Mr Jaffray will be based in the firm’s Manchester office and will head its investment practice across the north of England.
He has more than ten years’ worth of trading experience, and until recently was a member of Knight Frank’s investment team, but was squeezed out in a reshuffle following the closure of the firm’s Liverpool office.
Roger Tunnicliffe, head of LSH’s Manchester office, said: “As the market continues to evolve, it is important that we carry on building our business to ensure that the high standards we have set are maintained, both for our existing clients and also for the new ones that we are attracting.
“I am confident that, combined with our already strong teams across the UK, Abid will ensure we capitalise on the growth of value added opportunities as they spread further into the regions.”
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COLLIERS International has announced that Manchester-based Julian Troup is to take on a new role as Head of the firm’s UK Hotels Agency team.
Troup, who joined Colliers in 2007 to head the UK Corporate Hotels team, has now been appointed as Head of the entire UK Hotel Agency operation.
Since the beginning of 2003 Troup has sold or acquired more than 100 UK provincial hotels on behalf of clients with asking prices ranging from £1.2m to more than £20m. Earlier this year, he handled the sale of the entire share capital of Forestdale Hotels (a privately-owned collection of 18 three-star hotels) in a deal funded by a mixture of equity, deferred consideration and a new £32m credit facility to Akkeron Hotels.
He said: “I’m looking forward to the challenge the market offers but will be particularly focused on promoting Colliers International, what we stand for and what we are able to deliver.”
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LIVERPOOL-based marketing and PR firm Kenyon Fraser has appointed Davide De Maestri as an associate director.
De Maestri has previously worked as a brand director for Liverpool Football Club and has also previously worked as a group account director at M&C Saatchi Advertising, where he lead a £20-30m business unit and managed top client accounts such as British Airways and lastminute.com.
He is also an SME ambassador for the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the North West.
Managing director, Richard Kenyon said: “I’m really looking forward to working with Davide and I am certain he will have an enormous impact on our team and clients.
“Davide is one of the best and most respected marketers around and adds even more valuable experience to our team.”
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WILMSLOW-based Brandspace has appointed former Land Securities commercialisation manager, Graeme Hay, as its new Venue Development Director, completing the recent shake-up in its management which saw Paul Soanes installed as new CEO.
Mr Hay brings over 20 years of commercial and entrepreneurial experience to Brandspace, having previously also founded commercialisation company Prophet Consulting which ran promotions across rail networks.
Brandspace, which is owned by Octopus Private Equity, runs product demonstrations and events in shopping centres throughout the UK.
Brandspace CEO Paul Soanes said: “Graeme’s appointment is a fantastic addition for Brandspace. His experience is a perfect fit for our venue strategy and for what our venue partners want to achieve.”
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RECTORY Food Group has taken on 12 new members of staff at its Manchester headquarters, bringing the total number of employees at the firm to 40.
Among the new recruits at the poultry supplies firm, which increased turnover to £45m last year, are new group financial accountant Mike Tansey, purchase ledger clerks Sarah Addinall and Matt Peters, sales administrators Jane Marsh and Paul Wickham and business development manager Junez Primos and assistant Karen Lamb.
Meanwhile, Anabela Sequira joins as an export assistant, while Amanda Copeland and Oluyomi Tunde-Olaitan have been appointed as quality assurance technologists. Dinesh Mistry has also been employed as an accountant and stock controller.
Charles Woolley, founder and CEO said: “This is an exciting time for us at the Rectory Food Group. The launch of our dedicated ingredients division, Rectory Foods Ingredients, will help drive the company forwards.
Having branched out into this sector, we welcome the new recruits who will all contribute to business growth as we continue to expand Rectory Food Group’s portfolio.”
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MANCHESTER-based live events and marketing agency WRG has appointed Sharon Russell as the firm’s first HR manager.
Russell joins the agency after six years at advertising agency TBWA\Manchester, in a move which will see the development of a brand new internal human resource function following the recent investment in the business by private equity firm LDC.
On the challenge presented by her new role, Russell said: “Along with WRG’s excellent professional reputation, the development and management of the HR structure for WRG’s Worldwide business was the driving reason for me to join the company. I am truly excited to be able to be involved in the creation of a human resources strategy which reflects the agency’s commitment to creativity and growth through its people.”
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CROWE Clark Whitehill has expanded its MAnchester-based tax investigation team with the appointment of Martin O’Kane.
O’Kane has more than 30 years of experience as a tax investigations specialist within HMRC and a further 10 years in another top 10 accountancy firm.
He is a member of the ICAEW’s Tax Investigation Practitioners Group and an associate member of the Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association.
Michael Jayson, Manchester office managing partner, said: “I am extremely pleased that Martin is joining our Manchester team. With Martin’s significant experience in dealing with HMRC, he will be a real asset and should be well placed to support not just Crowe Clark Whitehill but also many other accountancy firms across the North West in dealing with their clients’ tax investigations.”
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PWC has appointed four new recruits to work in its debt advisory team spanning across the north of England.
Nick Atkinson has joined as partner to head up the expanded business unit, having previously headed the European Leveraged Finance team at Royal Bank of Canada.
He has been joined by fellow partners John Williams and David Godbee, while Nick Carmichael joins as director. All are highly experienced leveraged finance practitioners who have worked at a number of investment banks.
The debt advisory team will be targeting businesses seeking to refinance their capital structure, as well as those looking to raise new capital. It will work with both listed and private companies, the financial sponsor community and management teams running levered businesses across the UK.
Andy Parker, corporate finance partner in PwC’s Manchester office, said: “This is a significant investment for us. It reflects the issues we foresee in the debt markets as well as the funding challenges and opportunities companies, including many in the North West, will face over the coming years.”
