People on the move: KBS Corporate; Nick Freeman; Brown Turner Ross; Shop Direct; Muse Developents

BOLTON-based KBS Corporate has made two senior appointments to its deals team and also welcomes the first intake to its newly-launched graduate corporate finance academy.

Fahim Amdani has joined as head of buyer Intelligence from J P Morgan, where he was a private banker in the global wealth management division.

Amdani has also worked at Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, covering high-net worth clients in London.
 
At KBS Corporate, Amdani’s role is to secure and further develop relationships with private equity firms, acquisitive listed companies, international family offices and ultra-high-net worth individuals to deliver investment opportunities and M&A advisory services.

Jessica Edwards (pictured) has joined as a corporate finance director from Manchester-based Convex Capital where she was an associate director.

Edwards, who is a qualified chartered accountant, previously worked at Dow Schofield Watts and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Joing the academy are George Dibb, who is studying economics at University of Leeds, Anne Pritchard and Brett Tharme-Loose, international business students at Sheffield Hallam and Oliver Ballard, business studies undergraduate at University of Liverpool.

KBS chief executive John Rigby said: “We are delighted to welcome Fahim and Jessica to KBS Corporate. Both have a wealth of experience and expertise in their sectors and will be a valuable addition to the growing team.

“It also gives me great pleasure to welcome the first of the undergraduates to our academy. At KBS we are firm believers in nurturing and developing home grown talent and George, Anne, Brett and Oliver will gain hands on experience in corporate finance and the chance to get a foothold on the career ladder of this much sought after industry.”

::
 
CELEBRITY lawyer Nick Freeman has further strengthened the in-house team at his Manchester practice with the appointment of a talented senior solicitor.

Damien Simmonds, who has spent his entire legal profession working in the North West, will work closely with “Mr Loophole” assisting him on road traffic cases, which is his particular speciality.

Freeman, who is the country’s most high-profile defence solicitor, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Damien to our growing team in what is proving to be one of our busiest years on record.

“Damien brings with him a wealth of experience gained from working at a number of well-known law firms in Manchester and Cheshire.  Whilst he will work on a raft of different cases, the majority of his time will be devoted to those involving road traffic offences.”

Simmonds said: “Joining Freeman & Co gives me a golden opportunity to work with Nick, who is without a question the most influential defence lawyer in the country.

“I’m looking forward to not only learning from ‘the best of the best’, but also putting into practise everything I have learned over the last decade, to ensure Freeman & Co retains its position as the law firm of choice for clients based all over the country.”

::

NORTH West law firm Brown Turner Ross has expanded its property department with two new solicitors to meet demand.

The firm. with offices in Liverpool, Southport and Birkenhead is also investing in current staff, with three team members gaining qualified solicitor status.

Matthew Skeels joins from Mark Reynolds Solicitors and will specialise in property transactions. He qualified as a solicitor in 2013 having studied at The University of Chester & Chester College of Law.
 
Joining Skeels is Nadya Makarova, who brings a wealth of experience in residential and commercial property negotiations after qualifying over 10 years ago.

A busy mum of two, Makarova hails from Russia. After studying in her native country, she completed her studies and training in the UK at The University of Liverpool and Chester College of Law and will be handling a raft of property transactions.

Kevin Ross, director, said:“Nadya and Matthew are two highly skilled and experienced solicitors, a fantastic addition to the firm, who will guide Brown Turner Ross through this period of growth and help to shape the future of the property department.
 
“We have also strengthened our litigation team and are very proud of Kendra, Gemma and Pat who all qualified recently. The level of expertise we can offer our clients is second to none, thanks to the dedication and hard work of our team.”

Kendra McKinney and Pat Hitchen have recently qualified as solicitors. McKinney joined the firm as a trainee in 2014 and will practice family law. Gemma Fleetwood joined as a trainee in January 2015 and will qualify in August of this year to practice civil litigation.
 
Hitchen qualified as a personal injury solicitor at Chester College of Law in her spare time and self-funded, all of which came as a surprise to the firm upon her return from annual leave. She had previously qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive in 2014.

::

LIVERPOOL-based Shop Direct, the UK’s second largest pureplay online retailer, has hired its first business development director to help grow commercial partnerships that can accelerate the company’s journey to becoming a world class digital retailer.

Sally-Anne Newson (pictured) brings 16 years of retail experience in business development – as well as in digital, marketing and trading – to the company.
 
She has previously held roles at online fashion retailer Atterley, where she was chief executive, ASOS, where she was business development director, and the largest multi-channel retailer in Australia Woolworths Group, where she was head of multichannel retail. Sally-Anne also spent eight years at eBay in Australia, where she rose to head of buyer experience.

Key partnerships, including with blue chip companies like IBM and SAS, have helped to support Shop Direct’s ongoing transformation into a world class digital retailer, which has seen it become a £1.8bn turnover, 100% digital business.
 
Alex Baldock, chief executive at Shop Direct, said: “Building strong partnerships with innovative, like-minded companies is helping us offer the best experience for our customers.

“That’s why we’ve brought in Sally-Anne. She’s got the skills to take us even further; developing new and existing relationships to accelerate our journey towards world class.”
Newson said: “Shop Direct’s recent transformation has been stellar. I’m excited to be joining such an ambitious, digital business.

“Supplier relationships have been critical in Shop Direct’s transformation to date, and I can’t wait to continue creating and nurturing partnerships that can take us to the next level.”

::

MUSE Developments has strengthened its North West team with the appointment of project manager Nick Hague.
 
Hague has 20 years’ experience in the construction industry and joins the national developer and urban regeneration specialist from Buro Four, where he led the delivery of projects across a range of sectors, including Salford Central and Stockport Exchange.

He will support Muse’s Manchester office in the delivery of its projects across the region.
 
In the North West, Muse’s current projects include Salford Central, Stockport Exchange, Chester’s City Place, Time Square in Warrington and Talbot Gateway in Blackpool.

The company’s wider portfolio includes 40 developments across the UK, spanning residential, commercial, retail and leisure sectors. It was recently crowned Property Week’s national Developer of the Year and best North West developer at Insider’s regional Property Awards.

Mike Payton, director of project management for Muse, said: “It’s a great time to welcome Nick to the team, with £400m of construction works currently on site and £1bn in the pipeline over the next 3.5 years. He has extensive experience in delivering projects across a range of sectors, which will be invaluable in helping us to deliver our increasing portfolio.”

Hague said: “I’m really excited about taking on this new challenge and working alongside such experienced and respected professionals in the industry. I’m particularly looking forward to helping shape schemes from initial inception, right through to completion.”