Appointments: BNP Paribas; Stephensons; BDP, Clough & Willis
BNP Paribas Commercial Finance has appointed Martin Yates to its national sales team in Manchester.
He will be responsible for new client acquisitions in the North. A banker with over 25 years’ experience, Yates has spent 12 years working in the invoice finance and asset-based lending sectors.
He said: “BNP Paribas Commercial Finance’s cross border funding capabilities set it apart from its competitors. I look forward to forging new relationships and partnerships with growing businesses in the north of England and drawing upon and maintaining my existing and very valued contacts in the corporate finance and private equity sectors.”
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BURY-based law firm Clough & Willis has bolstered its commercial and corporate department following the appointment of Guy Lachlan who joins as an associate solicitor.
Lachlan advises businesses in various sectors such as healthcare, engineering, food, insurance, utilities and retail.
He has joined Clough & Willis from Thursfields Solicitors in Worcestershire; prior to that he worked in Leeds after starting his career in London. He graduated from Durham University and completed his studies at the College of Law.
He said: “I am delighted to be joining Clough & Willis and am looking forward to driving the commercial and corporate department forward with an emphasis on meeting and exceeding what our clients expect of us.”
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THE Manchester office of architects BDP has appointed George Smith as a town planning consultant.
The appointment will see Smith working on a range of town planning consultancy services.
He will be involved in statutory planning activities including submitting and managing major planning applications, advising on and making representations to local plans across the North and developing BDP’s planning capability in environmental assessment.
Smith joins BDP following several years as a graduate town planner at GVA. He said: “BDP’s Manchester studio is rightly renowned for its diversity of exciting and
challenging town planning work in the UK and abroad. I look forward to working on the many town planning, urban planning and regeneration projects in the North West and further afield, particularly the incredibly exciting Kuwait Commercial Land Use project.”
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THREE new solicitors have qualified at law firm Stephensons Solicitors.
Lauren Evans, David Kitchen and Ryan Bradshaw have qualified as solicitors after concluding their intensive two-year training contracts with the law firm, which saw them complete six months of working within four different areas of the practice to gain experience in a wide range of legal settings.
Ryan Bradshaw has qualified in the dispute resolution department in Stephensons’ Leigh office. Lauren Evans has qualified into the probate team in Middlebrook, and David Kitchen has qualified into the residential conveyancing department at Stephensons’ Altrincham office.
Chairwoman Ann Harrison said: “The process of becoming a solicitor is long and very competitive, but it leads to a rewarding career in law for the successful candidates. We invest a great deal in coaching and mentoring our staff, and many of our trainees progress their entire careers with Stephensons, going on to become the partners of the future. We are extremely proud to be able to appoint our newly qualified solicitors. I’m sure they will do very well in their respective fields of law and serve our clients well.”
