People: Global Managing Partner taken on for law firm; Chartered surveyor returns to business as a Director; Glazing specialist reinforces its commercial management team; and more

Suzanne Liversidge

The law firm Kennedys has appointed Sheffield-born Suzanne Liversidge as the firm’s first global managing partner.

She will work alongside Nick Thomas, who has been the firm’s senior partner for over 20 years and was re-elected for a fifth term in 2017, following an uncontested ballot.

The new role has been created in recognition of the firm’s recent growth and Liverside, who becomes the first female global managing partner for a UK top 30 law firm, will work closely with Thomas on the strategic and operational management of Kennedys’ global network of 37 offices.

Liversidge, who joined Kennedys as head of the Sheffield office in 2010, qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 1993 and built a practice that saw her working with insurers, self-insured corporates and local authorities, and specialising in employers’ liability, public and motor claims, as well as health and safety advice and prosecutions.

She was named Sheffield Businesswoman of the Year for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008, before becoming the first female president of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce in its 242-year history, in 2011.

She is actively involved in the women in business regional network. As well as being an ambassador for Welcome to Yorkshire, she is vice chairman of Sheffield United’s Community Foundation and a patron for charities Cavendish Cancer Care and Ashiana Sheffield. She has also held several non-executive director roles in Sheffield’s theatres, galleries and museums; and spearheaded the inception of the Inspiring Women in Business group in Sheffield.

Liversidge is a member of Kennedys’ Global Strategy Board, as well as the R&D and Innovations Boards.

She leads the firm’s Women in Insurance Network, is an active member of Link, the professional network for members of the LGBT+ community and their allies who work in the insurance sector, and leads Kennedys’ involvement of the firm’s global sponsorship of Dive In, the Festival for Diversity & Inclusion in Insurance run by Lloyd’s of London.

Thomas said: “The Board and I are of the view that there is no better person to help oversee the management of Kennedys, globally.

“Anyone who encounters Suzanne knows she brings boundless energy and enthusiasm to her work. She is immensely driven and has shown outstanding commitment to Kennedys over the past nine years.

“Suzanne has a deep understanding of the insurance industry, our clients and our global network having worked with all Kennedys’ offices. She has great vision and I am proud to appoint her in this new position.”

Liversidge said: “Kennedys is a firm with great ambition, and I am looking forward to working even more closely with Nick and colleagues to continue, and improve upon, the excellent work that we are doing in the UK and Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and Bermuda and Latin America and the Caribbean.

“We do things differently at Kennedys so I’m particularly energised about our client innovations and collaboration initiatives.

“I’m honoured to have this opportunity to take Kennedys to the next stage of its evolution working alongside Nick and the Global Strategy Board.”

In May, Kennedys reported record turnover of £218m for the financial year 2018/19. This growth was supported by a 7% increase in the number of fee-earners worldwide, with Kennedys’ total headcount exceeding 2,000 for the first time in its history.

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Chartered surveyor Nick Salkeld has returned to Leeds-based Fox Lloyd Jones as a Director in the agency and development team. Working alongside Paul Fox, he will help build on the company’s successes and add value to the next stage of development.

He will be involved in major schemes in Leeds including CEG’s £350m Leeds South Bank scheme and the Kirkstall Forge development.

Salkeld initially spent seven years at Fox Lloyd Jones, having joined the company as a placement student. He left in 2016 to join one of the North of England’s largest workspace providers, Bruntwood, as Head of Commercial, where he worked on commercial leasing, flexible workspace and the strategic asset management of its Leeds portfolio of more than 350,000 square feet, while exploring new acquisitions.

He helped to deliver the award-winning Platform, consisting of 120,000 sq ft offices, which reached 100% let or under offer, with record-breaking office rents in the city. He also pioneered Bruntwood’s ‘made and managed’ product, securing a 12,000 sq ft temporary home at West Gate for Channel 4.

In his new role, Salkeld will maintain his relationship with Bruntwood as a client.

Speaking about his return, he said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Fox Lloyd Jones, the first time around, where I gained invaluable experience across a number of sectors and disciplines.

“I was keen to gain experience ‘client side’ and Bruntwood gave me the opportunity of working with a leading property company.”

Director of Fox Lloyd Jones, Paul Fox, said: “Nick was always a valued member of our team and had a strong relationship with our clients. We fully understood that he needed to broaden his experience, and Bruntwood was a good opportunity.

“It is great to welcome him back and we were delighted to offer him a directorship to reflect his evolved experience. The fact he will continue to work with Bruntwood demonstrates his value and professionalism.”

Craig Burrow of Bruntwood added: “It has been great to work with Nick over the last few years. He has been an asset to the company and well-respected by our customers. I look forward to working with Nick again in the future in his new role at Fox Lloyd Jones.”

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Richard Rutherford

A string of new six-figure contracts has ensured a busy summer of work for manufacturing and installation staff at a Hull-based commercial glazing specialist.

Teams from EYG Commercial have headed to sites across the country as it works on residential, educational, healthcare and office projects.

Part of the national EYG Group, which also has a successful domestic home improvements business, all its products are manufactured and distributed from its headquarters in Wiltshire Road, Hull.

Now, new members have been added to the commercial operations management team to ensure the firm continues to deliver on its promises to an ever-increasing list of clients. These recruits include Aluminium Factory Manager Emlyn Hughes, Commercial Operations Manager David Ward and Group Operations Manager Mark Hughes.

Richard Rutherford has re-joined as part of the company’s Commercial Sales team after a successful spell at Granada Secondary Glazing and returns to focus on driving new business opportunities.

Morris Jones, a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, has been appointed as a Commercial Draughtsman in EYG’s Commercial Technical department.

He brings a wealth of experience in the façade industry, having worked for APA Façade Designs, Solinear Ltd (solar shading), Fendor Ltd (aluminium curtain walling) and Drawn Metal Ltd (windows, doors and curtain walling).

Matthew Addison has also joined as a Trade Sales Rep, helping meet demand after the firm sadly lost Pete Skipper, who died suddenly in April.

“We’ve added some really strong industry expertise to the team who we feel can only help us reach the next level as we move on,” said Commercial Director Steve Swallow.

“We’re expecting to be able to announce more significant contract wins in the very near future, and a couple more key appointments, so we are looking ahead with a lot of positivity.”

Included in the firm’s ongoing work is a £258,000 contract with North Midland Construction, for which EYG is manufacturing and installing 260 windows across three school sites in Leicester, one of which is a newly-developed college.

A £267,000 contract with Carter Lauren, due to start later this month, will see EYG install curtain walling, windows and doors at a new care home facility in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

Closer to home the firm is fulfilling a £210,000 contract with Ward Homes (Yorkshire) to manufacture and install uPVC windows and composite doors on new-build houses in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor.

Other contracts include working for Mid Contracting & Consulting to supply windows, doors and screening at a new-build school in Dagenham, working for Proici Associates on the refurbishment and renovation of offices in Bristol and supplying and installing windows, double doors, curtain walling and aluminium doors on a care home in Cambridge, for McGoff Construction.

Swallow said: “It has been a pleasing run for us in terms of securing contracts which have given us a healthy order book and workload over the summer and into the latter stages of 2019.

“Although we have picked up a number of very large and specialist glazing contracts in recent years at new hotels and accommodation complexes, we have also seen a steady but continual increase in the number and percentage of contracts valuing between £600,000 and £1m.

“That is a reflection of how we have established ourselves in the market for handling this kind of contract, as the combination of our products, expertise and experience delivers great value for money for developers.

“On many occasions our advice and knowledge has led to significant savings being made for our customers, who have benefited from using alternative, better-performing products because of our advice.

“We have a great track record on developments of this size and specification, and it is great to see the EYG name spreading into new areas.

“With a number of other small contracts we are currently working on, we have taken on about £1m of new business over the summer alone.”

The EYG Group of businesses had a turnover of more than £25m in 2018, increasing its staff numbers across domestic and commercial operations to close to 300.

In recent years it has secured work including a £5.13m glazing contract with the St Monica Trust, at one of UK’s biggest care homes in Bristol and at two major hotel developments at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4.

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A property finance expert has joined specialist lender Together as its Corporate Relationship Director covering the North of England.

Alex Garland, who has worked in commercial real estate finance for nearly 20 years, will be responsible for nurturing existing relationships and widening the specialist lender’s network of corporate clients and advisers as it grows its presence across the UK. A former senior director at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group (CYBG), Garland will operate regionally, covering Leeds, Manchester and the North East.

He is the latest addition to Together’s growing corporate relationship team, which was set up to provide customers ranging from large businesses to individual investors with finance of more than £1m.

Garland is returning to the company where he started his career as a commercial underwriter 17 years ago.

He said: “It’s great to be back. I’ve been working in mainstream banking for a long time now and that market has changed significantly over the last decade.

“I’m ready for a new challenge and, having started off in specialist lending, I’ve come full circle. Over the years, I’ve always kept an eye on Together’s amazing growth and its ambitions for the future. It’s fantastic to be part of the team again.”

Garland has spent his career in the commercial and corporate real estate sectors, lending on deals of between £25,000 and £200m.

He joins from CYBG, where he had been a senior director for its national real estate finance team. Previously, he was a senior manager for Anglo Irish Bank, based first in Manchester, then in London.

In his new role, Alex will report to Andrew Charnley, who joined Together from Lloyds in November as its Head of Corporate Relationships. Last month the lender announced the appointment of Alex Bodie, Corporate Development Director for the North West. Together has also hired Sonia Mann in the Midlands and Andrew Fouli in London and the South East.

Charnley said: “We’re delighted to welcome Alex as the latest recruit to our highly-successful and growing business. He will team up again with our commercial CEO, Marc Goldberg, and offer his vast expertise in commercial and corporate lending as we continue our expansion.”

In its latest quarterly results Together, which now employs more than 750 staff, revealed its loan book had increased to £3.47bn in May from £2.78bn the previous year.

 

 

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