People on the move: LHS Solicitors; Brabners; Orchard Facilities Management; New Care; Duchy Homes; OBI Property

Law firm LHS Solicitors has expanded its commercial and litigation team with the appointment of Donna Harper as a lawyer.

Harper, who excelled throughout her three years training with LHS, now joins the team as a qualified lawyer to its Manchester office.

She will mainly advise on commercial and civil claims, including data protection issues, contentious intellectual property matters and defending and bringing claims for injunctive relief.

Harper has also recently advised the Association of Principle Fire Officers on its duties in relation to the Data Protection Act 1998.

Oliver Wright, lawyer at LHS, said: “Donna’s passion and deep understanding of information law is inspiring. Along with her excellent rapport with clients, tenacity and determination makes a key member of the Commercial and Litigation team.

“We look forward to seeing her career develop even further within the firm.”
Harper said:  “Having completed my training with LHS, I’ve experienced first-hand the firm’s pioneering attitude towards legal services.

“Combined with the commercial and Litigation team’s impressive track record, team ethos and fantastic support record, I’m delighted to be remaining here at LHS to continue the exciting work I have been undertaking during my training.

“I’m particularly eager to further develop LHS’s information law offering, which will help our clients adapt to the forthcoming changes to Data Protection law.”

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Commercial law firm Brabners has bolstered its corporate practice with the appointment of senior associate Nicola Whittle.

Based in Preston, Whittle joins the firm from Stephensons Solicitors.

She specialises in corporate, restructuring and insolvency work and brings with her a wealth of experience, having acted for a range of corporate clients, from SMEs to large corporates, and has particular expertise in mergers and acquisitions, MBOs, joint ventures and retirement sales.

In restructuring and insolvency work Whittle advises a national client base on both contentious and non-contentious matters.

She works with purchasers and insolvency practitioners on transactional activity, such as implementing business recovery plans and assisting clients in the appointment of an administrator, as well as advising on contentious matters regarding the recovery of assets under The Insolvency Act.
 
The move gives Brabners’ corporate practice a permanent presence in Preston, and will enable the firm to develop its practice across Lancashire.

Whittle said: “Brabners’ corporate practice is not only one of the most active in the North West, it is highly-regarded by clients and continues to act for a range of ambitious businesses right across the UK. This provides a strong platform for future growth and I’m looking forward to working with the team as we develop this.

Building a stronger presence in Preston will enable us to support a wider range of businesses in the area, as well as better serving our existing clients.”

David Bowcock, corporate partner at Brabners, added: “We have always worked with businesses in Lancashire and Nicola’s appointment gives our team an on-the-ground presence that will benefit many clients.

“Her experience of providing the full spectrum of corporate advice also ensures she will play an integral role in the future of our practice. This hire is a clear statement of intent when it comes to our commitment to the region.”

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Orchard Facilities Management has appointed a fire safety and compliance specialist to expand its client base in the North West as it prepares to open a second office in Manchester.
 
Marc Cork has worked extensively as an engineer, designer and salesperson for fire protection, prevention and security and will be responsible for developing Orchard’s presence in the Oldham, Rochdale and North Manchester areas.

He helped design and manufacture the fire protection for Eurostar’s electrical cases and is FETA (Fire Extinguishing Trades Association) and IOSH qualified.
 
Orchard will move its Yorkshire headquarters from Elland to Huddersfield next month.

The firm works with businesses nationwide offering a complete range of outsourced operational and compliance services including waste management, IT managed services, fire safety and security, pest control, electrical testing and maintenance.
 
Gareth Henderson, managing director, said Cork’s appointment was part of a wider push by the company to expand its in-house expertise.

He said: “Marc’s experience in fire safety systems, fire risk assesment and compliance will be invaluable to our clients as we work with them to minimise risk and cost throughout their organisation.

“Marc has also spent a number of years delivering best practice and safety training in cleaning and sanitisation, working with hospitals, care homes, restaurants, hotels and schools.

“This is another core area of our business and we are pleased to have the benefit of his knowledge and expertise.”

Cork said: “I am looking forward to working with Orchard’s clients to apply my fire safety and compliance experience and help them improve the operational efficiency of their business.”

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Fast growing Manchester-based care home operator New Care has appointed Cathryn Fairhurst as its chief operating officer.
 
In her new role, Fairhurst takes responsibility for the quality of care and commercial performance of the care homes that operate under the New Care banner.

This includes the existing care centres and the recruitment and operating systems of the planned new builds.

New Care claims to be the care home of choice for those looking for quality residential care, and an exceptional place to work that is also highly employee-focussed.

Fairhurst  has held senior roles at other national healthcare providers including Barchester Healthcare and Four Seasons Health Care.
 
She said: “I’m delighted to be joining the New Care team.  Every single individual within the company has the residents’ best interests at heart and is committed to delivering the best possible levels of care, nursing and individual support.”

Chief executive Chris McGoff said:  “With the appointment of Cath, I am confident that we now have an exceptional team in place to help New Care expand at a faster rate and deliver our vision of quality, person-centred care.  We are all looking forward to working with her over the coming months.”

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Housebuilder Duchy Homes is expanding its presence in the North West after strengthening its team with two new appointments and relocating to larger offices on Manchester Business Park, near Manchester Airport.

Commercial manager Brian Evans and technical manager David Coppack have both joined as the housebuilder looks to deliver on its commitment to bringing luxurious living to the region.
 
The duo have a considerable wealth of experience in the housebuilding industry, with Evans having previously been employed in both the commercial and technical environments of major house building PLCs and Coppack having worked in the industry for 37 years, most recently as an architectural design consultant.
 
Headquartered in Leeds, Yorkshire, Duchy Homes has an impressive reputation throughout Yorkshire for building large, luxurious, executive homes and is focused in 2017 on bringing new developments to the North West region.
 
Managing director in the North West Ian Honeybill said: “I am delighted to welcome Brian and David to Duchy Homes and to strengthen our team in the North West.

“They both have a huge amount of experience in the industry and having personally worked with them previously, I know that they deliver the standard and quality of work that we require.”

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OBI Property has announced Adam McLoughlin has joined its building consultancy team, taking the number of people employed at the Manchester based real estate firm to 22.

McLoughlin has arrived following three years with architecture firm AHR, working in its building consultancy team on projects including the refurbishment of Crewe station.

In 2014 Adam completed his Master’s Degree in Technical Architecture while working with Watson Batty Architects.

Joe Weilding, OBI Property, building consultancy, said:  “It’s great to have Adam on board at OBI.  His architectural skills and experience will be a great asset to our team.  We’re working on high profile and complex projects including several Listed buildings and Adam has made a valuable contribution to the projects already.”

McLoughlin will specialise in project management and contract administration across OBI Property’s building portfolio which includes the Bonded Warehouse at St Johns for Allied London and Canada House for LJ Partnership.

He said: “I am thrilled to join OBI Property and I am relishing the challenge of working on historical and beautiful buildings such as the Bonded Warehouse and Canada House, giving them a whole new lease of life for the future.”

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