People: Roxy Leisure; Wrigleys Solicitors; Huddersfield Unlimited; and more

Roxy Leisure has appointed Ben Warren as managing director to support the CEO Matthew Jones as it ramps up expansion plans.

Warren returns to Roxy Leisure, where he held a previous operations manager position, most recently performing the role of managing director at Concept Taverns for the last five years.

His role at Concept Taverns saw him channel his passion for products, services, and customers for the independent operator’s venues in the heart of Leeds and in surrounding areas.

He was responsible for all operations with a turnover of £9m, managing operational performance and new site opening strategies.

Warren’s work at Concept Taverns resulted in the company growing from three to 11 sites between 2018 and 2022, increasing its team from 35 to 185.

He also implemented a new head office team and a long-term goal of 20 sites for the company before 2025.

At Roxy Leisure he will assist in overseeing the growth within the company across its Roxy Lanes and Roxy Ball Room sites around the UK. The business has growth planned from 14 sites to 20 in 2023, with a further six sites following in 2024.

Warren said: “I am thrilled to be joining Roxy Leisure as their managing director. I have been familiar with the brand for a long time after serving as its operations manager from 2013 – 2017 and I’m a big fan of their concept.

“We’re set for a very busy 2023 and I’m excited to be jumping straight in.”

CEO Matt Jones said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Ben back to the Roxy Leisure family as our managing director.

“Ben is bringing a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the role as well as plenty of passion for the hugely successful Roxy brand.

“With a busy year ahead with six openings planned, we’re excited to get stuck in with Ben and work on growing Roxy Leisure even further.”

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Wrigleys Solicitors has welcomed partner Suzannah Farnell, consultant Julia Rangecroft and solicitors Bella O’Keeffe and Abigail Walker to its Leeds office into the Probate, Trusts and Estate Planning team. 

Joining as a partner, Farnell brings almost 20 years of experience within the private client sector.

She provides specialist inheritance tax and succession planning advice with a particular emphasis on advising entrepreneurs and clients with family businesses.  

Her advice covers all aspects of lifetime tax and succession planning including wills, trusts, powers of attorney and the use of family investment companies. 

She also has experience in the administration of high value and complex estates often including business assets.

Farnell said: “My experience to date has been primarily focused on advising entrepreneurs, business owners and senior execs and I am really excited to join the family business team.

“There is wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise within the team, and I am looking forward to working collaboratively both within the team and the wider firm to provide the best possible advice to our clients.”

Rangecroft has many years experience of advising both UK and international clients on all aspects of private wealth with particular emphasis on tax efficiency. 

She advises high net worth individuals and trustees as well as business owners and her clients include entrepreneurs, family businesses, landed estates, and property owners.

She said: “After so many years of working with the leading private client, property and charity lawyers at Wrigleys, I am happy to now be part of the Wrigleys team.

“I am thoroughly enjoying working with friendly and supportive colleagues who are talented and committed professionals focused on delivering quality advice that meets the needs of our clients.”

O’Keeffe qualified as a solicitor in 2015 but has worked in the industry since 2006.

She specialises in the field of private client and deals with a range of matters including the administration of estates, wills, trusts, powers of attorney and tax planning.

O’Keeffe said: “I am thrilled to have joined such a prestigious firm. Wrigleys has a reputation for providing a first-class legal service in Yorkshire and further afield due to the wealth of knowledge and expertise within the firm.

“I am looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues and getting to know our clients during what is a very exciting time for the firm, having secured fantastic new offices at Wellington Place.” 

Walker has been offered a permanent role with Wrigleys Solicitors following her successful training contract. She will be dealing with all aspects of private client work. 

She said: “I feel very fortunate to have worked alongside some of the best solicitors in their field over the past two years.

“The high quality and complex work I have been involved in throughout my training contract has given me the confidence and experience moving forward into this next stage of my career.”

Sue Greaves, training principal, said: “From day one of her training contract, Abi has shown exceptional ability and commitment.

“She has made a fantastic start to her career, and is already an able lawyer, a valued colleague, and a trusted advisor to the firm’s clients.”

Marie-Louise Hamilton, joint head of probate, trusts & estate planning in the Leeds office and managing partner, said: ‘I am pleased to have Suzannah, Julia and Bella join us and to have kept Abi in our team following her very successful training contract.

“Each of them brings their own flare to the role and their skills complement much of the work across the team and the needs of our clients.”

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Huddersfield Unlimited, a business-led organisation which stands for the town of Huddersfield, has appointed Leah Stuart as its new director of transport.

She will chair the organisation’s transport and connectivity group to help drive forward its aims to improve transport links and increase infrastructure investment in the town.

Stuart brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge from her background working in urban regeneration, infrastructure engineering and transport planning  across the UK.

A chartered civil engineer with more than 20 years’ experience, she is also a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Climate, Energy and Environment Committee, which oversees projects and spending to reach net zero in West Yorkshire,

She said: “I am passionate about making great places and I know the value that inclusive movement networks and good public realm can bring.

“My work across the country has shown how supporting active travel and public transport, so that it is easy and accessible for everyone, can have a huge positive impact on communities, businesses, and the environment.

“I want Huddersfield to be a better place to live as it has so many fantastic assets.”

Stuart will be working with social enterprise, Create Streets. The organisation works with neighbourhoods and communities to understand more about what people like and dislike about where they live.

She will also be acting as a ‘critical friend’ during the consultation processes for the Transpennine Upgrade and associated local network improvements, which are led by Kirklees Council.

Sir John Harman, chairman of Huddersfield Unlimited, said: “We are pleased to appoint Leah as our new board director of transport, chairing the transport and connectivity working group.

“We believe with her vast policy creation, strategic planning and design experience, she will be an asset not only to the Huddersfield Unlimited team, but Huddersfield as a town.”

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Leeds-based plastic pipes manufacturer, Genuit Group, has appointed Shatish Dasani as a non-executive director and audit chair designate with effect from 1 March 2023, and Audit Committee chair with effect from 7 March 2023.

Dasani will also be a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees.

He is an experienced former FTSE chief financial officer and current Audit Committee chair of UK publicly listed companies, with a career in financial roles spanning over 30 years.

He was previously chief financial officer of TT Electronics plc, a global manufacturer of electronic components and Forterra plc, a maker of building products for the UK construction industry.

Dasani was previously non-executive director of Camelot Group plc and public member at Network Rail.

Genuit says his historic and current experience within the construction industry, manufacturing, and engineering sectors as well as finance experience “brings further invaluable knowledge, experience and skills to the Board.”