People: RSM; Knights; Ashman Bank

Audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK has appointed new employment taxes partner James Hemphill in its employer solutions team.

He will be based in RSM’s Birmingham office after spending more than six years at EY as a people advisory services director and then partner. He has also previously worked at Grant Thornton.

Hemphill has extensive experience advising on all aspects of UK employment taxes. He is a specialist in this area, including all aspects of PAYE and National Insurance (NIC) in the UK, as well as off-payroll workers, employer benefits and expenses.

He also has specialist expertise in the design and delivery of cost-efficient employment tax strategies that generate tax and NIC savings for both employers and employees through salary sacrifice.

He joins a national strong employer solutions team, and his focus will be to continue to grow the employment taxes business across the East and West Midlands.

He said: “The opportunity to build upon the employment taxes practice across the Midlands was an offer I simply could not refuse. The firm has a national employer solutions practice with a clear strategy to increase its footprint in the Midlands market which I am hugely excited to be a part of, as well as being part of a team of very talented people. With the continued focus by the UK government on employment taxes compliance, it can be a minefield for businesses, so it is a great time to be joining the team to support all businesses with managing both their statutory obligations and employment tax cost base.”

Mark Taylor, regional managing partner in the West Midlands at RSM UK, added: “James’ expertise in the employment taxes practice makes him an ideal candidate to realise our ambitions to continue to grow this service offering in the Midlands region. Adding James’ skills and experience will be hugely beneficial for our clients.”

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Lawyer Sean Spinetto has joined Knights, bolstering its agriculture and landed estates teams.

He brings vast experience of advising on the acquisition and sale of development sites, farms and agricultural land, as well as a wealth of knowledge about contracts, options, agreements and financing of agricultural land and assets. Plus, in-depth knowledge of renewable energy schemes.

That experience boosts Knights’ agriculture and landed estates teams, bringing expertise and a client base that spans landed estates, agricultural families, private business owners, developers, trusts and charities.

Spinetto said: “Joining Knights was a really attractive proposition. It’s a great time to join the business as part of a growing time with a clear vision to provide a unique offer for clients. I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Jess Neyt, client services director at Knights, said: “Sean joins a growing private client team at a really exciting time for Knights.

“We’re building an advisory, private wealth business with unmatched skills across key markets outside of London, and Sean’s expertise and contacts will bring even more strength to our team both in Stoke and across the country. We’re really pleased that he’s joined Knights.”

The appointment of Spinetto, who joins Knights’ Stoke office, supports the business’ focus on key markets outside London.

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New entrant bank Ashman has appointed Ben Hynes as chief information officer (CIO) and Mark Holloway as chief technology officer (CTO), expanding its senior team.

In his new role as CIO, Hynes will lead the management of the bank’s IT Infrastructure, systems and operations, and will drive Ashman’s ambitious IT and business transformation strategy.

He joined Ashman in 2019 as programme director and head of transformation. He was responsible for leading the delivery of the bank’s successful application for a UK Banking Licence, which resulted in Authorisation with Restriction in June this year.

Hynes has 25 years experience in project and programme management, having worked with leading financial services and IT services companies. He has most recently held roles as  transformation director for Vive/GKBK and programme director at Aldermore Bank.

As CTO, Holloway will lead Ashman’s technology strategy and the engineering and information security functions. This bank’s technology will support the delivery of a best-in-class customer experience and improved revenue and sales opportunities. He will be integral in bridging Ashman’s technical vision with its business goals, supporting the bank’s growth plans.

He brings more than 20 years experience in delivering IT transformation across a broad range of industry sectors, including banking and financial services. He joined Ashman in 2018 as head of technology, leading on the bank’s IT strategy and technology platform build. As a founding member, Holloway played a pivotal role in achieving Ashman’s provisional UK Banking Licence.

Before joining Ashman, he was regulatory technology consultant and project delivery lead for LiquidMetrix, with prior senior leadership roles at Maple Securities and Intelligent Financial Systems.

This expansion of Ashman’s Senior Management team follows a recent funding round that took the bank’s total funding to date to over £17.5m. Ashman is moving towards launch as quickly as possible, subject to a regulatory timeline and approval.

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