People on the move: Zeus Capital; Radius Payment Solutions; Creed Communications

INDEPENDENT investment bank Zeus Capital has appointed Rachel Birkett as research analyst in its Manchester office.

Birkett, who is a qualified chartered accountant, joins from Brown Shipley where she spent two years as a company analyst and fund manager.

In this role, she researched the consumer discretionary sector of the FTSE350 to identify trends and support investment cases, as well as managing a concentrated portfolio of £90m fixed income investments.

Birkett also worked for three years as an audit assistant manager at business advisory firm Deloitte, covering field managing statutory audits across a range of industry sectors.

Having completed an ACA qualification during her time at Deloitte, she has developed an extensive knowledge of both UK and international accounting standards.

Birkett’s appointment is the latest in a series of hires across Zeus Capital’s research team, which focuses on mid and small-cap clients across both public and private market.

The firm also has experts in other sectors including healthcare, construction, natural resources and automotive.  

Over the past three years, Zeus Capital has raised £2.9bn as Sole or Joint broker, working on a number of high-profile transactions such as student property developer Watkin Jones’ IPO, Conviviality Retail Plc’s £200m acquisition and reverse takeover of national drink wholesalers Matthew Clark and the flotation of tissue paper manufacturer Accrol Group Holdings.

Mike Allen, head of research at Zeus Capital, said: “Over the past few years, Zeus Capital has advised on a number of significant transactions in the small cap space. We have done this by hiring the best talent in the industry who can spot the latest developments and identify top quality management teams.

“Rachel’s extensive expertise will make her a great addition to the team and she will play a vital role in developing our deal pipeline across a range of key growth sectors.”

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CREWE-based Radius Payment Solutions has appointed Simon Williams as managing director of telematics.

He will oversee the expansion of the Telematics business including the Kinesis brand, into new markets and to further develop strong relationships with strategic partners.
 
Kinesis telematics, a cloud-based fleet management solution that enables fleet managers to monitor the location activity and behavior of vehicles within their fleet.

Williams joins Radius after spending the last three years building and running a successful telematics business and a further 15 years of telecommunications experience. He has held senior executive positions across a number of leading telecoms service providers, advancing through business development and sales management roles.

He said: “What drew me to Radius is its dynamic leadership team and the energy and vision of CEO and founder, Bill Holmes. I’m looking forward to building on the telematics business’s current level of success and profitability, expanding the customer base globally.  
 
“Within three to five years we aim to be a global leader in telematics.  We have exciting plans for growth, which include new product development and strategic acquisitions and I’m eager to get started.”

Bill Holmes, chief executive and founder of Radius, said: “Simon’s experience will help our next phase of growth both nationally and internationally. It’s exciting for our telematics business to have someone of his calibre on board and we’re confident his work will contribute to the continued growth and success of the business.”

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ALTRINCHAM, Greater Manchester-based employer marketing agency Creed Communications has expanded its team with the hire of two new specialists.

Ted McDermott has over two decades of experience as a copywriter and was previously a director at Epigram Communications and Design. He has joined Creed’s creative team to provide a wide range of content, including full support for social media campaigns.

Clare Blabey is Creed’s new digital marketing executive having previously worked at the Lowry in Salford. She’ll be helping clients to enhance their digital campaigns and optimise their SEO and paid media investment.

The new arrivals follow the hire of account director Dan Walsh in August.

“We’ve experienced tremendous growth over the past few years and this is the next exciting stage in our development,” said director Simon McLoughlin. “Ted and Clare bring skills and experience to our talented team that will really help our clients to attract and to recruit the best people.”