People: KPMG, Paragon Bank, Filstorage
KPMG UK has appointed Phil Murden as its new office senior partner for the Leeds office.
Murden will lead the professional service firm’s remit in the North East and takes over from Euan West, who after four years in the role will move to lead KPMG UK’s private enterprise business. As part of this new role, Phil will lead 1,100 colleagues in the firm’s Sovereign Square office.
Murden, a qualified accountant, held roles at HM Treasury and Livingbridge before re-joining KPMG 10 years ago. More recently, he led KPMG’s consulting practice in the North.
His appointment will become effective on 1 March 2024. He will maintain his role as a consulting partner while leading the growth of the firm’s audit, consulting, deals, legal and tax practices in the region. Phil will also focus on enhancing KPMG’s market presence and expanding the client base as well as championing diversity, inclusion and sustainability in the regional practice.
Murden said, “It’s a huge privilege to be leading KPMG’s profile in the market alongside my colleagues. As a region we are fortunate to have a thriving business community and a collaborative and engaged public sector. We have a combined authority making a real difference and many stand-out infrastructure investments such as the railway station, City Square and exciting developments in healthcare, education and transport. This creates an ideal environment and opportunities for private businesses and people who live across the region.”
West added, “The role of office senior partner in Leeds has been the highlight of my career to date, getting the chance to see the work of our incredibly talented teams and the exciting businesses that our region has to offer.”
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Paragon Bank has appointed Karl Kent as relationship director in the development finance division, focusing on Yorkshire and North East.
Kent has enjoyed a successful career in development finance and joins Paragon from Shawbrook Bank, where he spent three years as a relationship director in the north of England.
Karl Kent
In a 30-year financial services career, he has spent the last 20 years focused on the property, real estate and development finance sectors for companies including RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, Assetz Capital and RateSetter, where he worked with Paragon Development Finance Managing Director Neal Moy.
Kent will be supporting SME housebuilders and property developers in Yorkshire and the North East across a range of property types, including residential, retirement housing, purpose-built student accommodation and build-to-rent. He will report to senior relationship director Nigel Jackson.
Kent said: “I’m looking forward to bringing my experience to the role and hope that together we can build on the division’s existing success. Yorkshire and the North East boasts some fantastic developers and I will work with them to deliver much-needed new homes to the regions.”
Neal Moy, managing director of Paragon Bank’s development finance division, added: “Karl’s experience in the development finance sector is extensive and will be of great benefit to both our team and our clients. At Paragon, we strive to recruit the best talent to enable us to support our clients and deliver great results. Therefore, hiring experienced team members like Karl is essential in helping us to build on our success.”
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Racking and storage solutions specialist Filstorage has bolstered its commercial team with two key appointments.
Craig Jackman and Phil Hatch
Craig Jackman joins the East Yorkshire business as regional account manager for the South East and Phil Hatch has been appointed as regional account manager for the North East, replacing well known industry stalwart Gary Winter who retired last year after almost a decade with the company.
Jackman brings a vast array of experience to the role having started his career at Vodafone, providing mobile phone solutions. He joined the storage and racking industry five years ago after taking a role at Anco Storage, where he worked as a supplier to Filstorage.
Hatch also brings experience from a range of sectors to Filstorage, including tool and plant hire, materials handling equipment, and racking solutions for the builders merchant and logistics industries.
“I cover a big patch, from Newcastle down to Leicester and west to Halifax area,” Hatch said. “Presently, I’m working my way around that patch to let people know Gary is no longer with the business and I’m their point of contact. I’ve worked merchant-side in the plant hire division of some the biggest names in the industry, so this feels like my natural territory.”
Jackman, who covers an area south of the Thames including South London, Surrey, Hampshire, Kent and parts of Dorset, said with all the development going in the South East, there were a lot of opportunities for the Yorkshire business.
He said: “I’ve spend the past five years building my knowledge and a customer base in London and the South East which is going to be hugely valuable in my new role. I worked closely with Filstorage as a customer when I was at Anco and I’m really excited to be joining their team.”
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