People: BGF; The Wilkes Partnership; Centrick; Claritas
Growth capital investor BGF has appointed a new investor to strengthen its Midlands team.
Kyle Long joins from KPMG, where he spent more than four years in the firm’s corporate finance team, specialising in the TMT sector and advising on a range of transactions. This included sell-side and buy-side M&A, leveraged buy-outs and debt and equity financing. During his career, the qualified chartered accountant has worked alongside a number of owner-managed, private equity-backed and listed clients.
At BGF, Long will be responsible for all aspects of the investment process, from identifying and executing minority, non-controlling investments, to supporting new and existing management teams as they strive to achieve their long-term goals. He will be based at BGF’s Birmingham office.
Neil Inskip, head of BGF in the Midlands, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Kyle to BGF, as we continue to extend our reach in the Midlands market.
“With an experienced team of talented individuals, we are perfectly positioned to support ambitious management teams with a vision for growth and the potential to capitalise on market opportunities, particularly those in resilient and thriving sectors.”
Long said: “I’m hugely excited to be part of BGF and its unique approach to investment that centres on partnership working, a supportive nature and a strong balance sheet, which enables us to support the growth ambitions of dynamic founders and management teams – companies that are making a positive impact on the local economy and the diverse sector capabilities of the Midlands.”
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Law firm The Wilkes Partnership, which has offices in central Birmingham and Solihull, has announced the promotion of three specialist lawyers.
Head of Business Immigration, Pam Sidhu, has been promoted to partner after joining the firm in 2013 and will continue advising UK and international clients on business immigration matters and working closely with employment partner James Leo.
Kate Campbell-Gunn, a key figure in the firm’s Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence team, led by Annmarie Wilde, has been promoted to senior associate.
In its Corporate team, Helen Smart has been promoted to senior associate.
Eleanor Holland, managing partner at The Wilkes Partnership, said: “We are proud to recognise the hard work and dedication of these individuals and each of these promotions is fully deserved. They underline the strength of talent we have across a variety of departments and specialisms in the firm.”
“Each of these individuals has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the firm and our clients and we look forward to supporting their career growth within the firm.”
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Centrick has recruited Eric Tang and Kalum Sohota.
Tang has joined the valuation team at Centrick’s head office in Birmingham. As a valuation surveyor, he will carry out commercial and residential property valuations across the West and East Midlands for a range of clients. These include banks and other financial institutions, developers, housing associations, charities, property owners and private individuals.
The former director of Vigers Appraisal and Consulting in Hong Kong recently relocated to the UK. He has 20 years’ experience in the property sector in Hong Kong where he worked for Savills before joining Vigers where he spent most of his career to date.
Katherine Nolan, director and head of valuation at Centrick, said: “It is great to welcome someone of Eric’s calibre to Centrick’s growing valuation team especially in such a competitive labour market, and it will help to increase our coverage across the West and East Midlands including the key cities of Birmingham, Leicester and Derby.”
Sohota, a real estate masters graduate from Nottingham Trent University, has joined the building and estate management team as an assistant portfolio manager in the Birmingham office. He will support the growth of ‘reactive’ portfolio management which is an expanding model for Centrick and proving to be in high demand.
Robert Angell, asset property manager, said: “Kalum’s appointment comes as a result of a significant client win and I’m confident that his arrival will bolster our already strong team, adding fresh talent and expanded skills to support the growth of our services in 2023 and beyond.”
Centrick founder James Ackrill said: “We are delighted to welcome Eric and Kalum to the Centrick Group. Our valuation and building and estate management teams have experienced significant planned growth over the last two years as the result of our service levels and we look forward to continuing success in the months and years to come.”
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Claritas has welcomed Nikhil Trivedi as its latest recruit.
He will join Claritas’ expanding employment taxes team while being supported to study for the ICAEW and Chartered Institute of Taxation qualifications.
He said: “I am very excited and fortunate to be joining a fast-growing, competitive, and reputable firm such as Claritas. I hope to gain invaluable experience while working on employment tax matters, as well as a variety of different areas that Claritas offers which supports clients with practical tax advice, and in turn, helps Claritas achieve its ambitious future growth plans.”
Iain Wright, partner, said: “Our team continues to grow in order to meet the demand from clients. Talent is at the core of our business and the continuous investment in people helps us sustain the momentum from our record year in 2022. The firm benefits from having a wide and diverse pool of people, and Nikhil only strengthens and builds upon our full-service tax offering to the mid-market.”
Matt Hodgson, partner, adds: “The recruitment of Nikhil is is a testament to our commitment to developing the next generation of talent and having our people at the heart of what we do. The field of Employment Taxes, like most areas of taxation, is constantly evolving and it’s great to bring in some junior talent focused on this specialist area so early on in his career.”
