People: Anthony Collins; Crowe; Paragon Bank

Law firm Anthony Collins has appointed a new partner to the firm’s local government team, bringing more than 16 years of experience to the role.

Emma Lloyd, who qualified as a solicitor in 2010, will lead the firm’s real estate offering to the public sector, specialising in major development, regeneration and infrastructure projects.

Her role within the team will see her advise local government and housing clients on acquisitions, development agreements, and building licences, building on her previous work with the likes of Homes England, National Grid and HS2.

She has also previously worked with Stoke City Council on its Capital Works Programme and LUF-funded regeneration schemes.

Lloyd has acted for London boroughs and councils nationally in the delivery of mixed-use, residential and town centre regeneration schemes and for education authorities in the delivery of newly built schools alongside the Department for Education.

Emma Lloyd said: “Following Anthony Collins’ B Corp accreditation this year, now is the perfect time to be joining the growing team and help to continue this work towards the firm’s mission to improve lives, communities and society.

“The firm is known for its work in both the local government and housing sectors, and I am excited to be joining a team of like-minded, passionate people that are driven by this shared ethos of social purpose.”

Matthew Wort, senior partner at Anthony Collins, said that Lloyd, “brings a wealth of experience in regeneration and infrastructure projects, having advised Homes England and HS2, and she brings strong experience of advising investors in development schemes that will be invaluable to us as a firm as we extend our local government offering.

“We always aim to recruit people that are passionate about our strong sense of social purpose and that want to work towards improving lives through the work they do, and I am confident Emma’s involvement in large-scale regeneration and development projects with our clients will further increase our social impact.”

Dan Town

Audit, tax, advisory and risk firm Crowe has appointed Dan Town to partner in its audit practice.

Dan Town, who is based in Crowe’s Midlands office in Oldbury, has more than 22 years of experience providing audit, risk and accountancy support to businesses of all sizes from owner-managed businesses, large corporates, international groups and AIM-listed entities.

He has a wealth of experience, working with clients across a wide variety of sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, contracting, retail and sport, advising clients on accounting, technical matters, and group reorganisations. Town’s area of focus at Crowe is providing audit and advisory services to the corporate market, both public and privately owned, ensuring they meet their audit compliance requirements and advising on changes in reporting requirements while delivering a quality-led and insightful audit.

Dan Town, audit partner, said: “I am delighted to join the partnership team at Crowe and look forward to working alongside talented colleagues across the country.

“Crowe has continued to grow in key markets such as its number of AIM listed clients and I look forward to contributing to that growth in my new role, as well as developing my focus on property and real estate across the Midlands and Southwest region.”

Johnathan Dudley, managing partner of the Midlands office, said: “Dan has been a fantastic asset to the team throughout his time here at Crowe and I am so pleased to welcome him to the partnership.

“With his depth of experience and sector knowledge, Dan’s expertise will be essential in continuing to support our clients through upcoming changes to the regulatory environment in these turbulent economic times. Congratulations Dan.”

Greg Dunne

Greg Dunne has been appointed as relationship director in Paragon Bank’s development finance division.

Dunne brings two decades of development finance experience to Paragon and joins the team following six years as a lending director at Pluto Finance. He will report to Senior Relationship Director, Nigel Jackson, and will oversee the management of an expanding client portfolio.

Paragon’s Development Finance division grew lending by 24% over the last financial year to £623.2 million, with the loan book increasing to £719.9m.

Dunne said: “I am delighted to join Paragon’s Development Finance team. With a strong reputation in the market for client service and expert knowledge of the sector, Paragon is ready to support developers in achieving their goals.

“Paragon has an outstanding portfolio of clients with whom we share a mutual understanding and passion for delivering high-quality developments. It’s a great time to join the business and I’m looking forward to building strong relationships with both existing and new clients over the years ahead.”

Senior relationship director, Nigel Jackson said: “I’m excited to welcome Greg to our team. With Greg’s significant property development experience, he will offer invaluable support to our clients by developing bespoke financing solutions designed to meet their requirements.”