Barclays Wealth renews patronage of Birmingham Forward

BARCLAYS WEALTH has renewed its patronage of Birmingham Forward for a third consecutive year.

Gary Cardin, chairman of Birmingham Forward, said: “I am delighted that Barclays Wealth has agreed to continue to be a Patron of Birmingham Forward. Barclays Wealth is a major force in Birmingham’s financial and professional sector and therefore to have their support is very important to our organisation. I look forward to working closely with the team at Barclays Wealth in ensuring that Birmingham Forward continues to represent strongly and effectively the business, financial and professional sector at time of great change in our city.”

Ben Gulliford, Barclays Wealth’s regional centre head for Birmingham, added: “Our continued commitment to Birmingham Forward demonstrates our belief in the city and the Midlands region as a centre for business growth. Birmingham is a dynamic place to do business and there is a collective ethos between the members to contribute to its success. This is just one of a number of initiatives Barclays Wealth is involved in to benefit the city.”

Birmingham Forward is a not-for-profit organisation that is recognised as the voice of Birmingham’s professional services community.

The patronage comes at a time when the organisation is involved in a series of high profile regeneration schemes including the high speed rail link HS2.

Catalyst strengthens deal-making team

CATALYST Corporate Finance has strengthened its deal-making team with the appointment of Simon Gillott from KPMG. The appointment comes as the firm looks to build on its deal-making activity, which has seen three deals already completed in 2012.

Mr Gillott, left, is a management graduate from the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology. As part of his degree he spent a year at Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Bordeaux in France. While at KPMG he gained his ACA in 2008 and post qualification he gained experience in corporate finance advising on both buy and sell-side transactions, with a focus on the mid-market.

Andy Currie, managing partner, said: “We continue to attract top quality candidates as we invest in our business. I am delighted that Simon has joined Catalyst. He will be an excellent addition to the team as we continue to win work throughout the UK.”

Paragon Group appoints new corporate development director

SOLIHULL-based Paragon Group has appointed Richard J Woodman as Director – Corporate Development with immediate effect. Mr Woodman, who originally joined Paragon in October 1989, is also the Managing Director of the group’s investment division, Idem Capital and is responsible for the group’s portfolio acquisition and servicing contracts programme. He previously held various senior strategic and financial roles at Paragon and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.