People on the move: Foresight Group; Harrison Drury; Glendale; Redrow; Vardags; Haleys Business Advisers; Fletchers Solicitors
INDEPENDENT infrastructure and private equity investment manager Foresight Group has appointed Rob Jones as investment manager in the private equity team.
Jones is the fourth team member to be recruited for Foresight’s Manchester office and will focus on investing the Foresight Regional Fund, focused upon equity investments of up to £5m in SMEs in the North West of England, North Wales and South Yorkshire.
He brings an extensive knowledge of private equity and mid-market corporates in the North West, joining Foresight from Ernst and Young where he advised on a broad range of transactions as an assistant director in the M&A team. Over a period of eight years he gained M&A expertise whilst successfully closing many deals across the region.
Jones said: “I look forward to working with Foresight’s dynamic private equity team and to harness the network of professional contacts I’ve gained throughout the region.
“Foresight’s focus on developing SMEs aligns well with my broad transactional knowledge of mid-market businesses gained in previous roles, and it will be a pleasure to support Foresight’s deals in the North West.
Foresight partner James Livingston added: “Rob’s experience in transactions across the North West and across a broad range of sectors will be indispensable to the execution of successful deals from our Manchester office. Rob’s strong network across the region is also particularly valuable and is already driving a greater volume of investment opportunities.”
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NORTH West commercial law firm Harrison Drury has recruited four trainee solicitors as part of its annual intake of new legal talent.
The firm has offered training contracts to Gill Ashcroft, Emily Leeming, Robert Burn and Matthew Astley.
Harrison Drury has significantly expanded its trainee programme in recent years alongside impressive growth for the firm, which is headquartered in Preston and also has offices in Garstang, Clitheroe, Lancaster and Kendal. The latest recruits mean Harrison Drury has now offered a total of 11 trainee contracts in the last two years.
John Chesworth, managing director at Harrison Drury, said: “I’ve been impressed once again with the quality of applicants we’ve had for our training programme, which gets stronger each year. The competition for these places has been fierce and it proves to me that we are capable of keeping the brightest legal minds in the region.”
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LANCASHIRE-based green services provider Glendale has bolstered its senior management team with the appointment of Alan Wilkins who returns to the company as regional director for the North.
Wilkins will be responsible for overseeing financial performance of the Chorley company in the region, maintaining strong client relationships, driving business development and ensuring continued compliance with health and safety arrangements.
He joins the company from Ground Control where he was operations director. He has 38 years of industry experience having begun his career as a tree surgeon and later working as a grounds maintenance officer for the British Forces in West Berlin.
Wilkins, who attended the Lancashire College of Agriculture and Horticulture, worked for the company as a contract manager in the 1990s.
He said: “Because I have spent many years gaining valuable industry experience, I fully understand the issues which affect day-to-day operations and will be able to relate to all staff by establishing a strong support network. I’m really looking forward to guiding the north region to maintain technical excellence, setting the standard for profitability and building excellent client relations across the company.
Alex Paterson, operations director at Glendale, said: “Alan’s extensive knowledge and experience means he’s well placed to take charge of the north and achieve success for the region, helping to maintain the highest level of service delivery. I’d like to welcome him back to the company.”
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NEWLY promoted engineering manager Steve Cole and design manager Chris Dobson have risen through the ranks as national housebuilder Redrow expands it technical team in the North West.
Recently promoted to managerial positions from their respective roles as senior engineer and senior designer at Redrow’s Daresbury-based NW division, Cole and Dobson have both climbed the career ladder since joining the company and their success is reflective of Redrow’s reputation for promoting from within.
Both are part of an expanding team at Redrow NW, which is targeting continued growth this year. Over the last 12 months the division has increased the size of its design and engineering team by a quarter to keep pace with the number of homes being built.
Cole, 54, originally from Leeds, joined Redrow in January 2013 with a wealth of experience and graduated in July with an MSc in Construction Project Management.
Dobson, 31, from Durham, joined Redrow in September 2011 having gained significant experience as an architectural designer and completing his MSc in Project Management. He has steadily developed his career at Redrow, securing a promotion to senior designer in 2014, before his most recent promotion to design manager.
John Grime, managing director of Redrow Homes (NW), said: “Our emphasis continues to focus on strategic growth, illustrated by the expansion of our technical team.
“Steve and Chris have both been important members of this team for some time and I’m delighted to see them develop their careers with us.”
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FAMILY law firm Vardags has announced the promotions of three members of staff at its Manchester office, due to extensive growth in its client base.
Naomi Rainey has been promoted to senior associate, Annemarie Bradley to solicitor and Bethany Davies to trainee solicitor.
Nikki Hale has also joined the firm as a paralegal. Each of the women has shown exceptional skill, talent and astute legal awareness, providing the foundation for their respective elevations.
The new appointments take staff numbers at the Ship Canal House office from zero to six in just three months with ambitious plans to recruit more of the best legal minds in the area.
Vardags, which also has offices in London, Winchester, Cambridge and Newcastle, was founded by Britain’s top divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag in 2005 and acts in some of the world’s most complex and high profile divorce cases, involving billionaires, celebrities, sporting stars and royalty often with landmark rulings.
The Manchester practice is led by Manchester’s top divorce lawyer, the “ferociously bright” (Legal 500) Emma Gill who specialises in complex divorce and matrimonial finance cases.
Gill said: “Vardags is experiencing incredible growth as we continue to push the boundaries and provide a cutting edge legal service to clients in Manchester and across the North-West, Cumbria and Wales. This is testament to our brilliant Manchester team who work tirelessly to deliver life-changing results for our clients and I am excited see the inevitable further growth in the coming months.”
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PRESTON-based Haleys Business Advisers can now boast the power of three. That’s three professionally qualified accountants who are also qualified chartered tax advisers.
The newnew member of the Haleys team Phil Hartley, has successfully completed his chartered tax adviser exams. Hejoined Haleys in May as a tax manager. He is a chartered accountant and member of the ICAEW and has worked with a wide range of clients throughout the North West. He specialises in all aspects of tax and in particular corporation tax and income tax planning.
His success now makes him one of three chartered tax advisers at Haleys.
“For a firm of its size this is exceptional and underlines Haleys commitment to having the best possible team to help clients achieve their business goals,” said Tim Haley, MD of Haleys.
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SOUTHPORT-based Fletchers Solicitors has appointed Alexandra Hatchman as a non-executive director to its board.
Hatchman has more than 10 years’ experience as a senior executive, specialising in running and transforming large retail operations.
For the past two years, she has been head of stores transformation for Coles Supermarkets, a leading Australian food retailer, where she was responsible for step-changing the cost base and service offering across its 800 food stores.
Prior to this she was head of food logistics and supply chain at Marks & Spencer where she transformed the function and was in charge of leading and developing a team of 50 professionals, who collectively oversaw thousands of operational resources.
On the board, Hatchman will be providing independent advice based on her extensive experience to help take the business forward.
She holds a first class masters degree in Engineering from Oxford University and an MBA from INSEAD. She also completed the strategic leadership executive programme at Oxford University in 2013.
Founder and chairman Rob Fletcher said the appointment of Alexandra was an accomplishment for the firm and would strengthen the board greatly: “On behalf of the board, I am very pleased to welcome Alexandra to the team. Her extensive experience will add to the expertise of our existing board of directors as we continue to grow our business in line with our vision of becoming a top 100 law firm by 2018.”
Hatchman said: “I am looking forward to contributing to the ongoing success of Fletchers and cementing its position as the leading medical negligence and serious injury law firm in the country.”
