Appointments: Irwin Mitchell; Revolution Hair Concepts; Augean

THE Sheffield office of law firm Irwin Mitchell has again boosted its corporate team with the appointment of associate James Foster.

Foster, who moves from Pinsent Masons in Leeds, specialises in advising public and large private companies on a range of corporate matters, including acquisitions and disposals, private equity investments, joint ventures, reorganisations, fundraising and general company law issues.

He said: “Irwin Mitchell is a progressive and innovative law firm and clearly in a very strong position to take advantage of what is a fast-changing legal sector.

“I’ve been impressed with its growth in recent years and the investment it has made in its commercial practice and I look forward to working with the team and its wide range of clients as it looks to build on this.”

Andrea Cropley, partner and head of Irwin Mitchell’s corporate team in the North, said: “We are seeing an increase in economic confidence which in turn is fuelling an increase in M&A activity across the UK. Our deal pipeline in Yorkshire is very healthy and it is important for Irwin Mitchell to continue recruiting high quality lawyers.”

In January, Irwin Mitchell announced it had boosted its commercial and transactions team with the arrival of associate solicitor Mark Evans. Joining the team from Nabarro, he specialises in advising on all aspects of commercial contracts.

Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield has recently advised on a range of high profile deals. These include advising Sheffield-based Iceotope on a multi-million pound injection of expansion capital. It also helped EMSc secure a £3m funding deal from RBS as it bids to take its turnover to £60m in the next five years.

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REVOLUTION Hair Concepts, the fast growing Sheffield-based business which owns the Keratin Revolution brand and also distributes exclusive brands in the UK haircare market, has appointed Peter Stefanini as non-executive chairman of the company.

His role will focus on obtaining investment for the company to grow globally and extend its range of high quality hair care treatment products.

Stefanini was formerly a main board director of Croda International, a FTSE 100 company which specialises in personal care products, and has also worked for the major multi-national corporation Unilever.

In addition to his board experience, he has led a management buy-out, has experience of raising money in the city for early stage companies, and has taken a company to an AIM listing.

Co-founders Ben Collins and Martin Gallagher said: “We are delighted to be able to add someone of Peter’s calibre to our management team and we see the appointment as an important step in our growth plan. We believe that Peter’s vast experience will prove highly valuable in what we consider to be an exciting road ahead for our business. Our vision is to grow a multi-million pound haircare distribution business which will be based in the City of Sheffield, creating exciting employment opportunities for talented individuals in the area.”

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WASTE management business Augean has announced that group finance director Richard Allen is to leave the group to develop his career elsewhere.

The Wetherby-based company said it has started to look for a replacement.

Chief executive Dr Stewart Davies said: “Richard has made a significant contribution to the Augean business over the past four years and whilst I am disappointed to see him leave I would like to thank him for that contribution and wish him well for the next stage of his career.”