People on the move: BPS Family Law; Morris & Spottiswood; VST Enterprises; Oltec FM

BPS Family Law, based in Manchester and Cheshire, has bolstered its headcount by recruiting solicitor Karen McLaughlin.

Formerly with Merrick and DWF McLaughlin is an experienced lawyer and her arrival at BPS Family Law takes the size of the Matrimonial and Family Division to seven.

BPS Family Law Partner Caroline Swain said: “We’re delighted to welcome Karen to the BPS Family Law team. We pride ourselves on delivering an out of hours’ service to meet clients’ needs and Karen understands our ethos. 

“She has the experience, the understanding nature and tenacity to deliver for clients across family and matrimonial disputes.”

McLaughlin’s remit will include focusing on the Children’s Act and proceedings involving disputes over parental contact.

Born in Northern Ireland, she moved to Manchester in 2007 and has since built up experience in different areas of law.

After working in employment law for Manchester-based Peninsula Business Services she moved to DWF Law to complete her training contract.

McLaughlin said: “Working for a family law firm which focuses on the whole family and offers an accessible and dependable service is really inspiring. BPS Family Law’s commitment to customer service and care has ensured their growth and I’m looking forward to being part of an expanding firm.”

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WARRINGTON fit-out contractor Morris & Spottiswood is targeting facilities management contracts across the UK after appointing a new operations director.

John Murphy has joined the £88m turnover firm as divisional director of maintenance with a key mission to target the facilities management sector.

The former Carillion, EMCOR, Balfour Beatty and COEFLY UK manager brings formidable skills and expertise managing nationwide mobile engineering teams.

Morris & Spottiswood UK Group managing director Jon Dunwell said Murphy’s role will involve ramping up the firm’s ‘soft facilities management’ offering including cleaning, security and health and safety.
 
“A key aim for the last two quarters in 2016 and beyond is to target facilities management, maintenance and technical services contracts,” said Dunwell.

“Morris & Spottiswood has developed a strong reputation for delivering ‘hard facilities management’ work covering areas such as building fabric, mechanical and electrical services.”

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MANCHESTER-based VST Enterprises has announced the appointment of global sports marketer Mike Farnan to its board of directors.

The senior hire comes at an exciting time for the company, which is in the final stages of its fifth round of funding at a £30m pre-money valuation ahead of opening two US offices later in the year.

Farnan, founder of international sports brand, Red Strike Marketing, will be an executive director, handling further company expansion in to Europe and Asia.

His 25 years’ experience of marketing sports brands internationally, includes Manchester United, Jordan Grand Prix and Sunderland FC, and has most recently been brought in to help steer Ferrari’s growth strategy in China.

Farnan said: “This is one of the most exciting technological developments that I have come across on my global travels.

“I believe that this ground breaking technology will have limitless boundaries in how it will affect our daily lives and the way we do business.”

VST Enterprises recently launched the second phases of its award-winning scanable symbol technology, VCode.

Designed and developed by entrepreneurial partners, Louis-James Davis and Andy Giblin, the secure identifier has functionality lies in tracking and traceability as well as fraud prevention, and also has broad applications across the retail, banking, tourism and charity sectors.

Davis, chief executive and founder of VST Enterprises, said: “Words can’t express how excited the whole VST Enterprises team is to be welcoming Mike on board.

“This year has already proven to be quite the journey for our company, which is still essentially in its start-up phase, as we establish ourselves as a global leader in scanable, secure image technology.

“We’re already involved in a number of exciting projects all over the world and we’re thrilled to welcome such great talent onto our board of directors. I’ve no doubt that Mike has the experience and expertise to elevate our company even further in the months and years to come.”

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EXPERIENCED cleaning practitioner Bill Jordan has joined leading facilities management provider Oltec FM, bringing more than 30 years’ experience in the cleaning industry.
 
Jordan has a wealth of experience with previous roles including working for City FM as a store cleaning manager, at ASDA and a senior role at ISS as a national account manager for the Unipart Contract.

His new role as FM business support manager at the Oltec FM head office in Wigan, will see him supporting team managers with new contract mobilisations, sourcing new equipment, monitoring innovations in the cleaning industry and overseeing all health and safety and disciplinary matters at the business.

Olivier Cavaliere, chief at Oltec FM said: “Bill has an in-depth knowledge of the cleaning industry that will be invaluable to Oltec FM – he’s held a number of positions within the sector, from relief cleaner to general manager of a site.
 
“This vast experience will be crucial to the business at a time when we are rapidly expanding our services and refining our offering to clients.”