Appointments: Yorkshire Bank; Elevation; Arena Group; Northgate

YORKSHIRE Bank has appointed a new acquisition finance director to its business and private banking team in Leeds.

Charlie Barker joins from Deloitte where he spent 11 years, eight of which were in the corporate finance advisory team.

Barker has significant experience working on a range of M&A transactions in both the private equity and corporate arenas.

Over the past year, he has advised HgCapital and Zenith management on the buyout of Zenith and Leasedrive, and also LDC on its significant investment in Express Engineering.

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RECRUITMENT firm Elevation has appointed Abigail Simpson to head up its expanding Leeds office.

Simpson will manage an experienced team of consultants who specialise in sectors including accountancy and finance, HR, sales and marketing, engineering and manufacturing among others.

She brings 15 years of business development experience, alongside a demonstrable track record of growing recruitment teams and businesses, to the firm’s Leeds office.

Simpson said: “Elevation continues to grow their presence in West Yorkshire and it’s fantastic to join at such an exciting time.” 

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ARENA Group has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of a new finance director.

The Wakefield-headquartered print and document management company has appointed Francis Fitzpatrick to oversee all its financial activity.

A qualified accountant, Fitzpatrick was previously employed in a senior finance role at Remploy for five years prior to setting up his own consultancy business a year ago.

He said: “Arena is a growing business with a small strategic team, exactly the kind of business I’m used to working for, and there’s a great opportunity for me to really get involved and help to shape the direction of the company.”

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VEHICLE rental business Northgate Vehicle Hire has appointed Richard Harris as IT Director.

Harris previously worked as chief information officer at ARM Holdings where he was in charge of all aspects of the organisation’s IT activity.

He is now responsible for Northgate’s information management and supporting technology – including IT services, process improvement and data management across both Northgate’s United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland operations.
Northgate has branches in Hull, Pudsey, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Sheffield, Doncaster, Scunthorpe and Grimsby.