People: Ice Cubed Property Finance; Circus PPC Agency; Consilia Legal; and more

An experienced commercial finance broker has joined York-headquartered Ice Cubed Property Finance, to head up its SME and leisure offering.  

Richard Swan brings with him over 20 years’ finance experience. An independent broker since 2017, he also has more than 10 years’ experience at NatWest Business and Commercial Banking, specialising in commercial mortgages, leisure, property development & investment finance.  

He will link up with the expanding firm which currently sponsors York Rugby Union Club and also York Knights Rugby League teams.  

Tom Frank, managing director of Ice Cubed Property Finance, said: “Richard will be a fantastic addition to the senior management team and will help us to offer more products to clients, whilst building on our existing leisure finance specialism.  

“This appointment will help us to reach our ambitious growth targets over the coming years.”

Swan added: “I was attracted to Ice Cubed Property Finance because of its recognised brand and market leading presence in the property and bridging finance sector.

“This is well aligned to my own background and given my previous experience in business and commercial banking,

“I’m excited to be able to widen the scope of the company’s finance offering to even more general trading and leisure businesses, via commercial mortgages, leveraged finance and cash flow solutions.”

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Leeds-based marketing firm, Circus PPC Agency, has made several promotions as its continues its growth into the second quarter.

The agency, which recently confirmed an upcoming move into a larger office space to facilitate its expanding team, saw its biggest quarter on record in quarter one 2024, growing 32% year-on-year.

In addition to this growth, Chloe Tetmajeris and Inny Vaiciute have been promoted to PPC manager, while Claudia Morris, Ramneet Panesar, Donya Broadhead, and Ru Watt have been promoted to PPC analyst.

Rick Tobin, managing director, said: “The growth we’ve seen so far this year is really exciting, and we only expect this to continue as we onboard more and more clients and expand the agency.

“The whole team have worked incredibly hard and are the reason we’ve been able to see such incredible growth, so the promotions we’ve been able to give are extremely well-deserved and a reflection of the commitment of the team.”

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Leeds-based Consilia Legal has confirmed the promotion of two of its senior associates in the employment team – Victoria Horner and Andy Boyde.

Horner and Boyde have become legal directors from April 2024.

Marie Walsh, who leads the team, said: “I am thrilled to have been able to offer the positions to both Andy and Vicky who are an essential part of the firms growth and have contributed massively to the success of the team.

“Their dedication to client work and also to developing junior team members is invaluable.”

In addition, Kieran Conlon has accepted a position to stay with the firm on qualification and take on an NQ post in the employment team.

Walsh said: “ Kieran is a hardworking and driven individual who I am happy to have retained.

“He has great potential and is definitely one to watch in the Leeds employment law scene. I am very much looking forward to working with Kieran moving forward and helping him to develop in the role.”

These appointments will lead to a five-strong qualified employment team at Consilia, which is set to grow further this year with the appointment of an apprentice paralegal.

Walsh added: “I am pleased with the growth of the team and also the calibre of solicitors in it.

“They are all genuine and compassionate people who provide an extremely high level of client care and I am very proud of them all.”

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The North East Business Resilience Centre (NEBRC) has appointed two new Advisory Board members from CISCO and Net-Defence, to strengthen governance and drive future planning.

Scott Manson, head of cyber security in UKI at Cisco and Debra Cairns, managing director at Net-Defence will be representing the two brands respectively as part of the NEBRC Advisory Board.

The NEBRC is a police-led, non-profit which provides cybersecurity support for businesses across the Yorkshire and North East region.

The Advisory Board is made up of experts and organisations in the cybersecurity field, led by Rebecca Chapman, ex-superintendent and CEO at NEBRC and supported by Simon Newton, CEO of ITPS and chair of the Advisory Board at NEBRC.

Board members meet quarterly and provide oversight governance for the NEBRC, reviewing the organisation’s direction and progress against plans.

Manson said: “I’m excited to be a part of the team at the North East Business Resilience Centre, pooling knowledge and insights to help support businesses in the region to better prevent and manage cyber risk.

“My current role focuses on enhancing Cisco’s Security Architecture business by helping customers defend themselves before, during and after security incidents, so there’s huge potential to collaborate with the NEBRC to identify and drive the future needs of businesses in the region.”

Cairns added: “The goal of the NEBRC strongly aligns with our focus at Net-Defence, we’re committed to simplifying cyber security, educating businesses on best practices, and ensuring training, support and knowledge is affordable, attainable and available for all.

“The NEBRC does so much valuable work in this area and it’s important for leaders in the community to work together to deliver on our shared goals.”