People: Deeley Group; Grant Thornton; Hayfield
Property, construction and development company Deeley Group has appointed a new chief financial officer.
Neil Martin has joined the Deeley Group, which is headquartered in Coventry, as the firm seeks to grow and expand its presence across the region.
He follows in the footsteps of Andrew Cann, group finance director, who is retiring after 26 years with the business.
Martin trained with KPMG in Birmingham where he continued his progression post qualification. He then moved into industry and now has more than 25 years experience. He has spent more than half that time in director roles. He most recently held the position of CFO at a national property and construction plc.
His experience in property roles – including a property centric FTSE 100 business – will be used to support Deeley Group in its continued growth strategy, with plans to grow the around £45m business to £65m within five years.
Martin said: “I’m proud to be joining such a reputable business which is ideally positioned for growth in the coming years.
“My approach as a finance director or CFO has always been to be a facilitator of deals and that is very much my goal with Deeley. I’m looking forward to, alongside my team, providing quality information and insight to support the work we do.
“We will also be looking to improve systems across the business to improve efficiency of how we work and be more lean – with driving lean practices an overall goal of the business, from the site teams to the office staff.
“In my career I’ve been part of businesses that have enjoyed exponential growth and the strategy set out for Deeley is ambitious and achievable.
“Joining Deeley Group is the easiest decision I have made in my career. I’m looking forward to influencing our strategy and with an already strong, robust balance sheet we have a firm foundation to build on.”
:::
Grant Thornton has hired a raft of new starters this September as the firm looks to invest in the future of its Birmingham team.
Thirty one graduates and school leavers have joined the advisory firm’s Birmingham office across a range of departments, including audit and tax.
The new joiners have been welcomed from various stages of education including school leavers, university graduates and placement students.
Nationally, Grant Thornton has more than doubled the number of trainees joining its school leaver apprenticeship programme, achieving a record 193 new recruits, up from 90 in 2021.
The firm has also welcomed a record number across its broader trainee intake in 2022, with a combined 461 new graduates and school leavers joining across the country.
Sue Knight, partner and practice leader at Grant Thornton in the Midlands, said: “I’m delighted to welcome so many new joiners to our team and the new Birmingham office. At Grant Thornton, we recognise the importance of investing in the next generation and the value that this has for the region, its businesses and future. This is why we’re committed to developing a culture that engages our graduates and school leavers to help them kickstart their careers and
fulfil their potential.
“We’re increasingly seeing how apprenticeships provide a valuable and effective route for young people to become trusted business and financial advisors. They’re a great way to promote social mobility in our communities while ensuring a pipeline of highly skilled and diverse talent.”
:::
Housebuilder Hayfield has boosted its technical team with the appointment of a technical director.
Darren Farmer joins with more than 37 years experience in the construction and house building industry, and will be responsible for growing the design, engineering and technical teams.
He said: “Hayfield is a young company with exciting and bold ambitions, which I am very much looking forward to helping deliver.
“The technical team has grown significantly in the last six months and part of my role will be to harness the talent and expertise within it, in order to ensure that we not only meet – but exceed – our targets with professionalism, enthusiasm and commitment.”
Also appointed to the team is technical manager James Conway-Morrison.
He said: “It’s good to join an ambitious company that stands out in the sector and I look forward to utilising my extensive experience as we deliver on some exciting projects.”
Hayfield was formed in 2016 and is on track to increase turnover to £150m this year.
