People: Banner Jones Solicitors and Journey Further
Law firm Banner Jones Solicitors has announced the further expansion of its Sheffield employment law team with the appointment of solicitor Danny Smith.
A member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Industrial Law Society, he brings with him extensive experience specialising in redundancies, as well as the preparation of settlement agreements, contracts of employment, policies, and staff handbooks.
Working with a range of clients, including individuals, SMEs and larger companies, he joins Banner Jones with immediate effect.
He will help the firm’s employment law team manage a surge in enquiries fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic, relating to key issues including the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention scheme, changes to company policies and procedures, as well as company restructures.
Katie Ash, director and head of employment law at Banner Jones, said: “This last few months for business owners has been a tough one, and as we look towards the latter half of this year we know that many business may need additional employment law support to deal with the challenges ahead.
“This includes implementing flexible working agreements, as well as managing the end of furlough and the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme.
“Sadly, in some cases, this may mean businesses have to trigger redundancies, or go through a restructuring process.
“Danny joins our team with a wealth of appropriate experience, and I am confident he will further enhance our team to ensure we can provide this necessary support to our clients during these times.”
Smith added: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining such a prestigious and well-established employment law team, and I’m looking forward to drawing on the expertise of my colleagues to further my own experience and knowledge.
“Many businesses are very overwhelmed at this current time with changes being made to support available daily, so I’m excited to make a positive contribution to the firms existing and growing client base.”
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Performance marketing agency Journey Further, says Deepa Shah, former CFO at Publicis Sapient and Omnicom-owned Hall & Partners, has joined the company’s advisory board as non-executive director to support the firm’s growth plans.
Shah will be working with the agency’s founders, Robin Skidmore, Matt Kwiecinski and Chris Rowett, to drive the continued success of the agency, with a particular focus on international expansion and supporting growth of the new Consultancy arm of the business.
Since launching in January 2017, the agency has grown from three to 65 people, working with the likes of Sky, PrettyLittleThing, Evans Cycles, Villa Plus and Majestic Wine.
In 2019, the agency saw revenue, excluding media spend, increase 78% year-on-year to £3.25m. Total turnover, including media spend, was up 55% to £5.5m.
The Leeds, Manchester, and London-based agency is forecasting 45% year on year growth, despite the Coronavirus pandemic.
Robin Skidmore, founder and CEO at Journey Further, said: “The current pandemic has presented many challenges for Journey Further but despite this, the business is still in an extremely strong position.
“I’m delighted to have someone of Deepa’s capability alongside us to support our growth. Deepa’s track record at some of the world’s biggest agency groups speaks for itself and her expertise will be invaluable as we start to explore acquisitions and new openings abroad now and through 2021.”
Shah said: “I am thrilled to join the Journey Further team during an incredibly exciting period for the company.
“I love working with ambitious businesses who see no end to their potential or growth, and Journey Further is certainly one of these.”
She is currently an active mentor for The British Library and NatWest, and has won multiple awards, including Acquisition International Magazine’s Technology CFO of the Year 2020 and 2018 CFO of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards.
Earlier this year, she founded her own management consultancy, Lab Eight.
