Appointments: NorthEdge, Baker Tilly, Birley Manufacturing

PRIVATE equity firm NorthEdge Capital has announced Emma Rawlinson’s promotion to chief financial officer.

Ms Rawlinson, an experienced chartered accountant and debt advisory practitioner, has operated as finance director since the company’s inception in 2009.

She originally joined from Deloitte where she was a manager in the Debt Advisory department, responsible for developing the firm’s National Debt Advisory business.

In her role, Ms Rawlinson will continue to work alongside NorthEdge’s senior management team with responsibility for the operational side of the business, handling HR, legal issues and infrastructure.

She said: “As a member of the team from the outset, it has been fantastic watching the business transform into one of the leading private equity houses in the North of England. It is an absolute pleasure working alongside the Partners at NorthEdge, helping to shape the direction and focus of our investment strategy.”

Dan Wright, partner and chief operating officer at NorthEdge, said: “Emma has been a real asset to us over the years and has developed excellent relationships with both our investors and portfolio companies.

“Her promotion demonstrates our commitment to progressing our team and we look forward to building further on the firm’s success in the North.”

NorthEdge has made 11 investments since 2013, worth a combined enterprise value in excess of £240m, and operates from offices in Manchester and Leeds.

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Baker Tilly has expanded its Corporate Finance team in Yorkshire, appointing associates Robert Atkinson and James Atkinson after a strong first quarter which has seen the firm close three high profile deals.

Both joined the firm as graduate trainees in 2011. Robert Atkinson will work in the firm’s transactions services team providing financial due diligence and advice to private equity houses, banks and acquisitive corporates, while James Atkinson becomes a member of the lead advisory team working on mergers and acquisitions and management buyouts.

Baker Tilly’s Corporate Finance team in Yorkshire closed three deals in the first quarter; Canadian firm Central Wire Industries’ acquisition of Rotherham-based Hempel Wire Limited, the acquisition of Hull-based software company Axida Limited by Paragon Software Systems plc and Capita’s acquisition of BCS Design in Leeds.

As a result of its strong start to the year, Baker Tilly was ranked fourth in Experian’s list of most active financial advisers in Yorkshire and the Humber in the first quarter.

Jim Whittaker, corporate finance partner at Baker Tilly in Leeds said: ‘The imminent election doesn’t seem to have affected the M&A market in Yorkshire in the slightest.

“The deal pipeline remains strong, and I’m delighted to be welcoming Robert and James to the team. I look forward to continued transaction and investment activity over the coming year.’

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Birley Manufacturing has appointed Mark Fallon as head of projects.

Mr Fallon joins Birley following a varied career based in the UK as well as in South Africa and Antarctica. He has worked on a wide variety of contracts for clients such as JCT, Design & Build, NEC and Framework and is experienced in all areas including procurement, planning, logistics coordination and quality and budget control.

He will oversee projects across all the sectors that Birley operate in, getting involved with contracts on a day to day basis but also looking at developing new projects.

From 1973 to 1976 Mark was a member of the relief team that annually visited and maintained the research bases in the British Antarctic Territory. He returned to the Antarctic in 2007 to work on the Halley Project where he spent several months each year overseeing the day to day running of the construction process there.

Birley’s managing director Steve English said: “We are delighted to have Mark on board. He brings with him a good deal of experience which will generate new ideas and ways of working and I have no doubt that Birley will benefit greatly from having him as part of the management team.”

Birley Manufacturing is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers for interior environments and rail carriage equipment and works with some of the UK’s top names, such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, NatWest and First Great Western Trains.

The Sheffield based firm has steadily been strengthening its project management teams and pushing into new market sectors including education and product design.