People: Levi Solicitors; Interpath Advisory; Sheffield Forgemasters; and more

Leeds-based Levi Solicitors has confirmed the promotion of Navjit Singh Degun to partner.

He has been with the firm since 2018, and is a valuable member of both Levi’s Commercial Property and Residential Conveyancing teams.

Degun has built up a loyal commercial property client base, dealing with the sale and purchase of businesses, Commercial Property refinance and Commercial Lease matters.

He said: “I am thrilled to have been made partner and I am excited to further contribute to my team’s and the firm’s success.”

Ian Land, senior partner and head of commercial property, added: “We are happy that Nav is joining the partnership. He is an asset to our team and the firm as a whole.

“We are committed to nurturing and developing talent, and rewarding our colleagues’ hard work.”

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John Midgley

Interpath will launch a Loan Portfolio Diligence (LPD) offering this month, following the appointment of securitisation specialist John Midgley – who will be based out of the firm’s Leeds office – to its Financial Services Deal Advisory practice.

The LPD team will provide in-depth, tailored analysis and testing of loan portfolios for lenders and originators initially across private securitised structures and loan portfolio sales transactions.

It will deliver factual reporting and opinion-based diligence on organisations’ origination and servicing processes and their loan portfolios throughout their lifecycle.

LPD will form part of Interpath’s wider structured finance and securitisation services to the debt markets, led by managing director Jenna Picken, and support its wider Financial Services Debt and Capital Advisory proposition headed by Stuart Mogg.

Midgley will join Interpath as a director and has almost 25 years’ experience in the structured finance and securitisation market across multiple asset classes.

He began his career at KPMG in financial services audit, spent time as a senior securitisation analyst at HBOS, before rejoining KPMG to support the growth of its securitisation and transaction services business in the UK and UAE.

Interpath’s Leeds office is now home to more than 50 professionals. Midgley’s appointment follows several notable hires for the team, including the hire of managing director Louise Smith and director Robbie McFaul to its transaction services team.

Most recently, the firm appointed experienced financier and managing director Matthew Jubb, who joined from Endless.

James Clark, managing director and head of Interpath’s Leeds office, said: “John’s arrival is further evidence of the depth and breadth of team we have here in Leeds across our service lines and the office’s significant role within our UK and international network as we deliver complex, multi-disciplinary engagements for our clients out of the city.

“It also reflects the calibre of Yorkshire’s financial services advisory community and its ability to field top class professionals that can push the sector forward.”

Jenna Picken, head of securitisation, said: “Loan Portfolio Diligence is an important aspect of any transaction and I am happy to welcome John to the team as we continue to deepen Interpath’s reach into the securitisation market.

“The combination of John’s significant background in AUP and portfolio diligence, and the broader team’s experience in executing securitisations as both originators and lenders, will enable the Interpath LPD offering to deliver real insight into the results of testing, for both investors and originators.”

Nick Parkhouse, head of financial services transactions, said: “We are methodically assembling an exceptional financial services transactions team, and I am incredibly excited to announce John’s addition to our Loan Portfolio Diligence (LPD) offering.

“Lenders and originators have long expressed frustration and a need for LPD services that provide insightful and judicious analysis of loan portfolios, surpassing the standard agreed-upon procedures, and offering comprehensive support throughout their lifecycle.

“John is an outstanding professional, and it is a genuine pleasure to welcome him to our team.”

Midgley added: “Interpath has given me the mandate to bring a fresh, innovative and progressive approach to loan portfolio diligence in the securitisation market.

“We have a proposition that will offer tailored and opinion-driven assessment of loan portfolios and that can flex with the natural growth of the originator.

“The opportunity to make such an impact on the market brought me here and, above all, the ability to work closely with a truly integrated, multi-disciplinary team dedicated to the financial services sector.”

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South Yorkshire specialist engineering company, Sheffield Forgemasters, has completed two key leadership appointments.

Craig Fisher takes on the role of programme director, overseeing the company’s substantial recapitalisation programme, and Ken Stevenson joins as strategy and transformation director, responsible for the company’s overall business strategy.

Both directors bring high levels of experience to their respective roles and will oversee significant levels of change for the 200 plus year-old business, as it reshapes under Ministry of Defence ownership.

Gary Nutter, chief executive officer, said: “The appointment of two key directors to oversee both physical, and operational changes for the company’s ongoing evolution, is an important development for us.

“Craig Fisher will deliver the investments made by our owners, to create a whole new forging line and to build a world-leading machining facility, which will transform the speed, accuracy and delivery of some of the world’s most complex forgings and castings.

“Ken Stevenson’s role is to work with the leadership team to deliver the strategy and business plan for the company, which will set out our aims, objectives, values and vision for the next several decades of manufacturing across defence and commercial markets.

“They will take responsibility for some crucially important projects to ensure that we deliver against our stakeholder commitments as we build an exciting future for UK manufacturing.”

Fisher joins the company from a former role as head of delivery/programme director for Aerospace, Defence & Energy (Mott MacDonald Bentley) working for Rolls-Royce, delivering on a £2bn investment programme.

He also previously acted as project director for Anglian Water Services’ Strategic Pipeline Alliance for one of the country’s largest infrastructure programmes with an investment of c£1bn over five years.

Stevenson worked as a consultant to Sheffield Forgemasters, advising the company on its MoD acquisition and transition into public ownership over a period of three years.

He formerly served with Rolls-Royce, leading several strategic change programmes, most recently in the Civil Aerospace division, responsible for the successful delivery of a major global cross-Civil Aerospace transformational programme.

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York-based energy solutions provider, Green Building Renewables (GBR), has appointed a new sales director, Alex Parkinson and learning and development manager, Craig Stewart.

Parkinson brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in sales and business development.

His career includes influential roles at industry giants such as Bosch and Mitsubishi. Notably, Parkinson also spent seven years at Nest and Google, where as senior sales leader within Google Nest Pro he helped launched Nest PRO across UK, Ireland, Spain, France and Italy.

At Bosch, he was head of sales I-NC at Bosch Commercial and Industrial and at Mitsubishi Electric he led the UK Commercial Product Group helping to launch MEL Cloud Commercial, Mitsubishi Electric UK’s first SaaS platform.

In total he has worked within the energy saving and renewable industry for over 20 years, including beginning his career as an engineer with qualifications in Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, Commercial Gas and Electrical works.

In his new role, he will spearhead Green Building Renewables’ efforts to expand its market presence, develop new business opportunities, and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders.

Parkinson said: “I am excited to have joined Green Building Renewables at both a pivotal time in the country’s history and the renewable energy industry.

“The company’s buy-and-build strategy to bring together the top renewable technology experts from across the county is enabling us to rapidly accelerate our market growth.

“By combining our talents, we are collectively developing industry-leading capabilities that sets us apart from others in the market. Growing our sales team will play a significant role in meeting our ambitions.”

Stewart brings a dynamic blend of corporate and coaching experience. Previously at Simply Business, he developed training programs that empower employees and drive organisational success.

In addition to his corporate achievements, he is a successful sports coach.

He is currently head coach of Northampton Men’s Own Rugby and the former head coach of Old Northamptonians Ladies team.

In his latest role, he will be responsible for designing and implementing comprehensive training programs aimed at equipping the renewable energy experts of the future.

His focus will be on fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, ensuring Green Building Renewables remains at the forefront of industry innovation.

Steward said: “I am passionate about education and development, and I am thrilled to bring my experience to Green Building Renewables,” said Stewart.

“Together, we will build a robust training framework that supports our employees and drives the industry forward at a time when it has never been more crucial.”

Managing director Chris Delaney, who won Leader of the Year at the Yorkshire Business Desk Leadership Awards earlier this year, added: “Alex and Craig’s appointments reflect our ambition and aims as a company to help more people live sustainable lives.

“Alex and Craig bring a wealth of experience in their respective fields and will play a critical role in our expansion over the next few years.”

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