People: Law firm expands private client division; four in at corporate finance advisor

A Midlands law firm has expanded its private client division following an increase in demand for services such as will writing, probate and power of attorney.

mfg Solicitors has announced the appointment of Tristan Lewis as a senior associate, with Will Jones joining at associate level and the third in the trio, Sarah Ben-Tarifite, joining the team as a solicitor.

Jones and Ben-Tarifite, both wills and estate administration specialists, will be based at mfg’s Bromsgrove offices, while Lewis, a power of attorney, inheritance tax and wills expert, will be based at the firm’s offices in Worcester.

All three will report to Giles Scott, partner and head of division.

He said: “Tristan, Will and Sarah have many years’ experience between them working with clients ranging from those in farming communities to people in care who need to arrange power of attorney and allow trusted relatives to make decisions for them.

“With an ageing population across the UK, more people than ever will require some form of assistance in later life and it is vital that they make plans for this and receive the best and correct advice.

“It’s partly down to this that demand for our private client services is at an all-time high and so I am delighted to be welcoming Tristan, Will and Sarah to the team during what is a hugely busy period for us.”

mfg has offices in Kidderminster, Worcester, Bromsgrove, Telford, Ludlow and Birmingham.

Corporate finance advisor Springboard Corporate Finance has recruited four new members to its team.

Claudia Haywood joins as an executive from EY where she worked in Audit and qualified as a chartered accountant. She graduated from University of Bristol with a degree in Biochemistry in 2018.

Saquib Hussain graduated from the University of Warwick in Accounting & Finance in 2017, during which he undertook an internship in audit at KPMG. Post-graduation, he re-joined KPMG in the Transaction Services department where he qualified as a chartered accountant.

The pair join as executives at Springboard and will work on a variety of buy and sell-side assignments.

Shivan Vallabh graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Accounting and Business in 2021. During his time at University, he had audit placements at PwC, before joining Springboard.

Hamza Rehman graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Finance, Accounting and Management in 2020. Prior to joining, he worked as a senior analyst within Deutsche Bank, providing an in-depth risk analysis of clients across the bank.

They join as analysts at Springboard and will assist the team across a variety of M&A and advisory projects to provide company and sector valuations and assisted in the identification of global strategic acquisitions.

Springboard partner Simon Ward said: “We have seen high levels of activity across all areas of our business over recent months. For founders there remains strong interest from acquirers both in the UK and overseas whilst our private equity clients remain keen to grow via acquisition and new investments.

“The recruitment of Claudia, Saquib, Shivan and Hamza is a demonstration of our continued optimism about the future and our commitment to providing great client service across our business. We are delighted to welcome them to the team.”