People: Clive Owen; Hospitality Association York; Shipley Towns Fund; and more

Independent accountancy firm, Clive Owen, has further strengthened its York office with the appointment of an experienced tax director.

Angela Mikola has joined the firm, which operates from offices in York, Darlington, Durham, Middlesbrough, and most recently, Newcastle, following a career at Big Four, regional and national practices.

She brings nearly two decades of expertise in corporate tax, having established herself as a trusted advisor to owner-managed and entrepreneurial businesses across the region.

Mikola began her career in 2007 after graduating from Durham University with a BSc Hons in Mathematics.

She started in the Corporate Tax department at a Big Four firm based in Leeds before moving on to regional and national practices in York, rising through the ranks to become a tax director.

She possesses significant experience advising on a wide range of tax matters, from R&D and patent box schemes to group restructuring and pre-sale planning.

Mikola is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor. She is known for her work supporting clients with complex tax compliance issues and for delivering proactive tax advice.

She said: “I am thrilled to join Clive Owen LLP. I have always enjoyed getting to know my clients and working with them to navigate the ever-changing tax landscape.

“I look forward to contributing to Clive Owen’s longstanding reputation for excellence and helping clients reach their business goals.”

Phillipa Symington, partner, added: “As a regional, independent firm we pride ourselves on delivering a wide range of services that serve our enterprising and entrepreneurial owner managed business clients across the region.

“Angela’s expertise in corporate tax and her dedication to client service make her an invaluable addition to our York team.

“Her experience with owner managed businesses will further enhance our service offering across the region.

“We are excited to have Angela on board as we continue to build on our recent period of expansion and strengthen our York office even further.”

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General manager of Elmbank York, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Stefan Micevski has been appointed chairman of the Hospitality Association York (HAY).

HAY confirmed this following its November meeting, where previous Chair Adam Wardale stepped down to pursue a new role as director of hospitality at Middleton Hall Retirement Village in County Durham.

Micevski has worked in hospitality for over 13 years, having worked in London for almost seven years before moving to York and moving up the career ladder to becoming general manager at Elmbank York, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.

He is also a member of the Institute of Hospitality and has a masters in business administration.

He said: “HAY has grown significantly over the last few years as a direct result of Adam’s drive and determination.

“He’s created a strong and effective community of York general managers who’ve had a profound positive impact, I’m excited and committed to building on his legacy.”

Micevski will be supported by the rest of the HAY executive committee: vice chair, Stewart Lorimer, secretary, Rebecca Layton and treasurer, Lionel Chatard.

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The chairman of The Shipley Towns Fund board says he is stepping down from the role.

Adam Clerkin has served as the chairman of the Towns Fund board since its inception in 2020, when Shipley secured a £25m package of Government funding, as one of 101 places across the country.

The Shipley Towns Fund board was established as a partnership of public and private sector representatives, to be chaired by a local private sector individual, to oversee the programme of regeneration.

Head of operations for Carnaud Metalbox Engineering, Clerkin was elected as chair of the Towns Fund board and has served ever since.

In the early stages of the programme, the role of the chair was to lead the board in identifying and agreeing the regeneration vision through the creation of an investment plan.

During his tenure, the role of the board shifted into one of monitoring the delivery of multi-million pound projects such as the new Shipley Sustainability Hub, alongside the Community Grants programme, and the Capital Assistance to Business Growth grants.

Clerkin said: “It has been a privilege to hold the position of chair of the Shipley Towns Fund. I feel very proud of what we have achieved for the town and surrounding area.

“It was a particular pleasure to be part of the launch of the new Shipley Sustainable Hub recently.

“To see it go from spades in the ground to the incredible facility we now have, for years to come was very special. Now is the right time to give someone else the opportunity to deliver some of these incredible projects.

“I’d like to thank everyone who I have worked with over the years. I have had the pleasure of working with some brilliant people from the teams at Shipley Town Council and Bradford Council through to our sponsors, and I have been fully supported by the hard-working members of the board.

“I am confident their incredible work will continue and that these excellent projects will be delivered for Shipley, making a real difference to people’s lives.”

Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for regeneration, transport and planning, Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw added: “We would like to thank Adam sincerely for all of his efforts over the last almost four years, overseeing the Towns Fund programme from its inception all the way through to securing funding and delivering the projects.

“Adam has volunteered a lot of his time, very valuable experience, skills and resources to the Towns Fund programme and we are very grateful to him.”

An interim chair will be appointed at the next board meeting on 2 December, where the process of appointing a new permanent chair will begin.

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South Yorkshire-based Gulliver’s Valley Theme Park Resort has appointed Tom Moriarty as its resort excellence manager – a newly created role.

Originally from Anglesey in North Wales, Moriarty has been living in South Yorkshire for five years.

He started his career travelling across the globe as air cabin crew with British Airways, moving to Virgin Atlantic to gain experience in training and leadership roles.

He led the cabin crew division across the UK in a ‘people and performance’ role, while qualifying in the art and science of embalming during his spare time.

In 2020, he joined Co-op Funeralcare, which led to him opening and managing a new crematorium and memorial park.

Moriarty said: “Delivering exceptional service has always been in my DNA and I have been incredibly lucky to have led teams to create meaningful connections and lifelong memories through their actions.

“In the resort excellence role at Gulliver’s Valley, I’m surrounded by creativity and passionate people who are driven to make the Gulliver’s experience as magical as possible. I feel very excited about our future.”

Craig Seedhouse, resort director at Gulliver’s Valley, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Tom to our leadership team. He has a highly impressive track record and will bring a new dynamic to Gulliver’s.

“I look forward to working alongside him as we strive to maintain and enhance even further the Gulliver’s experience for our visitors.”