People: Squire Patton Boggs; Medicines Technologies Catapult; Howard Worth & more
MANCHESTER law firm Squire Patton Boggs has appointed Debra Cooper as financial services.
Cooper, who joins from Pinsent Masons, has more than 10 years’ financial services experience, particularly in the area of real estate finance.
Recommended by the recently published Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 UK client guides, she also advises clients on acquisition finance transactions, general corporate lending, and is regularly instructed on cross-border matters.
She has also spent time on secondment within the Real Estate Finance Transaction Team at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Cooper joins the firm’s expanding financial services practice group, noted for its strength in asset-based lending, acquisition finance, development finance, project finance, leveraged finance, real estate finance and structured finance.
Andrew Knight, head of Squire Patton Boggs’ global financial services practice group, said: “Financial services is an area of strategic investment for our firm and Debra is the latest in a number of senior appointments we’ve made across the UK during the course of the past 18 months, significantly strengthening our financial services offering.
“Debra is well-connected and has generated a broad base of instructions from the North and in London. Her experience also presents synergies with our Real Estate Practice, particularly since some of her work originates off-shore and has cross-border components.”
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LIFE sciences businessman and academic Professor Graham Boulnois has been appointed as chairman of the Medicines Technologies Catapult, one of the latest technology and innovation centres set to open this year.
The Catapult was announced by the Chancellor George Osborne in July 2015. It will be located at Alderley Park, Cheshire.
Boulnois is founder and managing director of B-V Life Sciences, a company offering consultancy support to healthcare companies.
For 12 years he was a partner at SV Life Sciences, and has been chair or non-exec director of numerous biotechnology companies.
Previously, he held roles at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, as senior vice president Discovery Research, and at Leicester University.
Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said: “The Government’s investment in the Medicines Technologies Catapult is securing a bright future for medical innovation in the UK.
“Graham’s impressive experience across industry and academia will be important as he leads this exciting project. Under his guidance, the Catapult will play a pivotal role in bringing new technologies to a global market that will benefit our health, create new jobs and cement the UK as the best place in Europe to innovate.”
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CHESHIRE-based Howard Worth Chartered Accountants has strengthened its agricultural team with the appointment of Dylan Jones.
Richard Barnett the firm’s managing partner said: “We are delighted to welcome Dylan to the practice. With our growing agricultural client base it is important we have the very best people in place to work with our farming clients.”
Jones is a qualified certified accountant and brings more than 20 years’ experience in the accounting profession.
Howard Worth looks after around 600 farming clients from its Cheshire offices in Northwich and Nantwich. Their client base spreads well beyond the Cheshire borders with almost half the client being located over a dozen or so UK Counties.
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PROPERTY consultancy Gerald Eve has installed Thomas Relph as a senior planning consultant in its Manchester office.
Relph joins the from the Manchester office of Nexus Planning, where he advised clients including Countryside Properties, Infrared Partners and UK Power Reserve.
He joins Gerald Eve’s national planning and development team – which has now grown to more than 80 people – with current clients and projects including Jaguar Land Rover, Redrow Homes and Hiscox.
Relph is the 12th new recruit to Gerald Eve’s Manchester office in the past year, bringing the number of employees based there to 27 across eight departments offering planning, development, investment, agency, rating, valuation, building consultancy and corporate advisory expertise.
Harry Spawton, partner at Gerald Eve, said: “Thomas’ arrival underlines not just the ambitions for the firm’s national planning and development team, but also the increasingly strong nature of the regional development market.
“He brings with him a host of specialist experience and further strengthens our market-leading team, helping Gerald Eve offer clients an even better level of service.”
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BOLTON-based digital marketing agency Bring Digital has appointed Tom Williams to join its business development team as the company looks to expand its ever-growing client base throughout 2016.
Williams’ role as business development executive will be to work alongside the existing business development manager and commercial director to create new ways to promote services to new and existing customers.
By adjusting current systems and approaches, he will be looking to build on the impressive progress that the firm has made since it was set up in 2012.
Williams previously worked for Bring Digital in 2013 as a PR executive, before becoming a sales manager at David Lloyd Leisure where he spent two years honing his expertise.
“I am delighted to re-join Bring Digital and I believe the experience I have gained since leaving the company two years ago will stand me in good stead to help build the brand and the growing number of high-profile clients the company has brought on board,” he remarked.
“Bring is a great company with fantastic people at the helm. With so much expertise and ambition in the company, the sky really is the limit.”
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CHRISTIAN Mancier, a corporate and commercial Partner at Gorvins Solicitors, has taken over chair of the Stockport Economic Alliance, an active partnership of senior business representatives from the town’s major employers.
Mancier, who was officially voted in by the existing Alliance board members took over the post from Wayne Jones, chief sales ifficer for MAN Diesel & Turbo.
Working at Gorvins Solicitors since he started his training contract in 2001, he has long been an established and influential figurehead in Stockport.
He is a leading member in the North West business community emphasised by his time as the president of the Stockport branch of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce from 2011 to 2013.
More recently Mancier has been one of the co-founders of Gander Careers; an initiative to bring education and business together in Stockport and has also been a judge for Stockport Business Awards since 2012 as well as judging the SPARK Business Competition run by the Stockport Business and Innovation Centre since 2014.
