People on the move: KPMG; Russell & Russell; Parkinson; Slater & Gordon; NJL Consulting

BUSINESS advisory firm KPMG has announced nine new director promotions and the appointment of Alex Hartley as partner in the North West.

KPMG’s tax practice made three promotions with corporate tax specialists David Lindsay, John Monds and Gohar Khan named as directors, while Richard Hassan and Urrffa Rafiq from the pensions team were also promoted.

The Liverpool office has promoted Jennifer Lee within its corporate tax team.
 
The firm’s deal advisory practice in Manchester also announced promotions for Jenny Quinn in transaction services, Paul Birrell in restructuring services and Zoe Davidson in infrastructure advisory, while the audit practice named Roger Nixon and Julie Radcliffe as directors.
 
Alex Hartley, who has led the development of KPMG’s private equity business in the North of England since 2009, has been named partner.
 
He now takes on a national role, leading KPMG Corporate Finance’s mid-market private equity focus across the whole of the UK, building on his recent work in the North of England, which, over the last six months has seen him lead on deals such as ECI’s investment in MPM, NorthEdge’s investment in Bellfield Furnishings and LDC’s investments in Giacom World Networks and Mitrefinch.
 
The news follows a round of partner promotions in April 2016 of Steve Heath, who leads the firm’s deal advisory tax team in the North, Midlands and Scotland, and John Moth from KPMG’s transaction services team, as well as the appointment of internal audit, risk, compliance and advisory services partner Craig Wright from BDO.
 
Jon Holt, office senior partner at KPMG in Manchester, said: “Advisers will have a pivotal role to play in supporting industry and government as the North West, and the rest of the country, prepares for what will be a significant period of change in the coming years.
 
“We are committed to constantly developing and building our team in the region to ensure that our clients have access to the insight and rigorous analysis to help them plan of the future and seek out opportunities that the ‘new normal’ may present.”

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BOLTON-based law firm Russell and Russell has promoted two members of its property department.

Alex Walsh, who deals with commercial property law, has been promoted to salaried partner.

Working from Russell and Russell’s head office on Wood Street, his remit is to grow the department across all the firm’s branches.

Conveyancing solicitor Richard Querelle has also been promoted to salaried partner. He deals with all aspects of home moves and, in particular, specialises in high value and complex residential sales throughout England and Wales.

Stephen Crompton, managing partner at Russell and Russell, said: “Both Alex and Richard have exemplary track records and have shown outstanding commitment to the firm.

“They’ve built a solid customer base and have been instrumental in growing business in their respective fields. I’ve no doubt they’ll continue to do this and their promotions are a reflection of their dedication.”

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NORTH West real estate company Parkinson has made two new appointments at its Manchester office.

Neil Higson has been appointed as an associate director, joining from the Manchester office of Gerald Eve having previously been associate director at Nolan Redshaw.

A chartered surveyor with a BSc in Estate Management, Higson has a wealth of experience and specialises in investment acquisitions and disposals throughout the UK.

“Neil strengthens and helps to broaden the scope of the business – his arrival is a significant event,” said head of commercial agency, Daniel Crawshaw.

“To be able to secure the services of such a respected investment agent, shows the progress we have made over the last 5 years.”

Mark Smith has been appointed to the position of director.

Having joined Parkinson in 2007, he qualified as a chartered surveyor and became an associate director in 2011.

Smith will continue his activity in the Valuation department of the business and is leading the introduction of new client focused initiatives. Mark operates from the company’s offices in Manchester city centre.

“Mark has consistently proven over a number of years that he values high levels of client satisfaction as well as being a natural leader,” said Tony Bellis, director at Parkinson.
 
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FAMILY law firm Slater and Gordon is launching the first national team specialising in cases involving children in Manchester.  

It says the creation of the team will widen the breadth of legal knowledge available in the region and enhance the firm’s focus on ensuring children’s voices are heard during legal disputes, such as abduction, surrogacy adoption and abuse cases.

The new children team will be led by Nick Hodson, who joins from Stephensons Solicitors, and brings with him more than 20 years’ experience including being a previous chair and current committee member of Child Concern.
 
Hodson is currently the solicitor representative of the Greater Manchester Family Forum, a member of the Association of Lawyers for Children, Reunite and has been a member of the Law Society’s Children Panel since 2001.
 
He said: “I passionately believe that children need to be put first in any legal dispute. It’s great to be part of a team which will put this ambition an absolute priority. We have a strong team who have expertise in all types of cases which affect children.”

Hodson will be supported by Paul Webb and Chris Fairhurst, also joining as partners from Stephensons Solicitors and on the Law Society’s Children Panel.

Fairhurst is involved in local charity Fathers Against Violence.

Natalie Bruce, who joins from Heaney Watson Solicitors, specialises in children law – representing parents and local authorities and has a wealth of experience in disputes over contact, residence and domestic abuse cases.
 
Vicki Mclynn, will also be supporting the team, working on cases involving child abduction, surrogacy and adoption.

Amanda McAlister, head of family law at Slater and Gordon: “Our approach has always been to give our clients access to a team of leading specialists in this area of the law – it’s so important to be able to get the best advice when going through life-changing events which have major implications for you and your loved ones.”
 
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MANCHESTER-based planning firm NJL Consulting has hired Katie Delaney as associate director following the company’s expansion into Leeds earlier this year.

She joins the growing Manchester team from Preston based PWA Planning. She will continue to work with her established residential clients along with growing NJL’s residential portfolio.
 
Delaney said: “It’s great to join NJL Consulting which through work on high profile projects, such as the recently approved Trafford Waters and MediaCityUK schemes, has a brilliant reputation in the planning sector.

“I’m looking forward to expanding NJL’s residential offering across the North West and the UK.”

Nick Lee, Managing Director at NJL Consulting, added: “Katie has a wealth of experience in planning and we’re delighted to have on board someone so passionate about offering planning solutions to key residential developers across the UK.”

NJL Consulting has a 15-strong team across its Manchester and Leeds offices.