Finance appointments: Clydesdale Bank, Handelsbanken, Deloitte and Grant Thornton

Clydesdale Bank strengthens team in Worcester

CLYDESDALE Bank has strengthened its growing Worcester team with the appointment of two new partners. Sharon Chance, left, has been promoted to Junior Business Banking Partner while Vicky Blagriff has also made the step up to Business Banking Partner – a role which will see her be responsible for supporting business development across Worcestershire and Herefordshire. The duo will both be based at Clydesdale Bank’s Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) and will work closely with colleagues based at Yorkshire Bank in Birmingham. Ms Chance first joined the bank as a Business Associate and is set to utilise her local knowledge in the new role. Ms Blagriff joined the banking group as a Junior Business Banking Partner, having previously worked for the Bank of Ireland.

Handelsbanken strengthens Birmingham office

THE Birmingham branch of Sweden’s Handelsbanken has boosted its city office with the recruitment of four new members of staff. The four are Ross MacKay, who joins as a corporate manager and Amanda Parrish, both with 10 years corporate experience; individual banking manager Lisa Winters and Terry Brown, 30 years in the individual sector. The experienced additions bring the Temple Row staffing levels to 16. The recruitment comes on the back of strong second-quarter net profits for the bank – up 1.7% to 2.57bn Swedish kronor (£230m). Branch manager Pat Hanlon said: “There are some excellent people out there looking to return to traditional values in banking. We can offer them exactly that as we grow our operation in Birmingham and the wider Midlands area.” The group recently announced plans to open its 85th UK branch. In the Midlands they include Birmingham – which has more than 900 customers, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry and Shrewsbury.  Pictured are the new recruits, from left:Ross Mackay, Lisa Winters, Terry Brown and Amanda Parrish.

Deloitte strengthens Birmingham team

DELOITTE has strengthened its corporate finance advisory team in Birmingham with the appointment of Steve White, left, as senior director. Mr White, an experienced transactor, joins the team from Deloitte in the South East, where he led the firm’s corporate finance team in Cambridge and St Albans. During his four years in the role he established a corporate finance team which completed 13 successful transactions. He also led Deloitte’s corporate finance automotive sector team. As a senior director, he is being reunited with his former colleague in the South East, Darren Boocock, now partner and head of the team. “This is an exciting development for us. The sustained pick up in M&A activity in the region over the last six to nine months, and our confidence in the future, suggests that now is the right time to expand our team. It is an important step in our ongoing investment in the Birmingham corporate finance team and our ambition is to grow it further.”

Grant Thornton hosts Chinese students

GRANT Thornton in Birmingham is hosting two third-year students from China as part of the firm’s strategy to forge closer links with the country. Alan Hu and Jason Jiang,  left, are on a two-month internship from universities in Beijing and TianJin and will work across key departments in the firm. Office managing partner Dave Munton, right, who is visiting clients in China this November, said: “An increasing number of our clients are either exploring opportunities or doing business in China.  The greater our understanding of the culture and dynamics of Chinese markets the better able we are to advise them on how to operate effectively. Alan and Jason’s time in Birmingham will be a true cultural exchange, with both sides gaining much as a result.”