BCRS raids banking sector to strengthen its Wolverhampton team

BCRS Business Loans has strengthened the team at its Wolverhampton Science Park base with two new appointments.

Wesley Lovett, 29, and Neil Johnston, 33, have joined the 10-strong team to support the increasing number of businesses looking to access the loans they need to grow their businesses.

Johnston has joined in the newly-created role of Portfolio Manager. As an experienced banker following a 10-year career with Lloyds, he will be drawing on his knowledge to support customers on the existing loan book. He will also promote BCRS’s established capabilities in providing support to businesses unable to access finance from traditional sources such as banks.

His banking experience includes credit management, client relationships and commercial banking.

Lovett, left, joins BCRS as a new Business Development Manager following an 11-year career in commercial banking, of which the most recent six years were at Barclays.

He said: “I’ve always had a passion for lending money to businesses and found it the most rewarding part of the roles I held in the commercial banking sector.”

His banking experience includes retail, operational and business banking.

Paul Kalinauckas, chief executive of BCRS, said: “We are delighted to have been able to attract commercial young bankers to our team, who see BCRS as a good career move.

“We are excited about our new structure, which demonstrates BCRS’s commitment to its customers’ growth and the non-bank lending market as a whole.”
 
“We grew by over 40% last year and these new appointments will help shape and direct our plans. We look forward to benefiting from the insight, dynamism and experience that they will bring to BCRS now and into the future,” he added.

Moorfields strengthens Midlands presence with Smith and Williamson duo

RESTRUCTURING and insolvency firm, Moorfields Corporate Recovery, has strengthened its presence in the Midlands with two new appointments.

Neil Hickling joins the firm after 16 years with Smith and Williamson as partner leading its Worcester office. He brings with him knowledge of 30 years of advising financially distressed companies.

Joining him is senior manager Claire Morris, who was also previously at Smith and Williamson’s Worcester office. An insolvency expert, she has serviced the Midlands area for 13 years and has experience in both corporate and personal insolvency.

Phil Smith, partner, Moorfields, said: We are delighted to welcome both Neil and Claire to the team. They will significantly strengthen our service offering outside London and allow us to provide an enhanced service to intermediaries.”

Fellow partner Simon Thomas added: “Both Neil and Claire are well recognised in the region and have strong relationships with a range of professionals, so are well placed to intermediaries and their clients.”

Mazars appoints new VAT manager to focus on housing associations

ACCOUNTANTS Mazars has strengthened its VAT offering in Birmingham with the appointment of a new tax advisor.

Daniel Guy, left, will concentrate on the not-for-profit sector and housing associations in particular. His role as VAT manager will run across the Birmingham, Nottingham, Milton Keynes and Leicester offices.

A Chartered Tax Advisor and member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Guy was previously with PwC for eight years. Prior to that he was part-time at HM Revenue & Customs for four years while at university.

He has worked with a number of local authorities, housing associations, universities, government departments and other not-for-profit organisations, carrying out a number of different reviews to either highlight risks or identify cash saving opportunities and windfall payments.  

His experience extends to dealing with partial exemption issues and advising on complex land and property projects.

James Hurst, Mazars’ Central Region VAT director, said: “Dan has extensive experience in public sector VAT, which includes local authorities and education. However his particular market focus has been, and will continue to be, housing associations.”