Partner promotions: Endless, DLA Piper, Irwin Mitchell
PRIVATE equity firm Endless has announced four partner promotions.
Chris Clegg, who completed the acquisition of £170m Adare Group, will lead the firm’s operations in Yorkshire and the North East from Leeds.
Mathew Deering will head up the Manchester office covering North West activities after completing the acquisition of FMG, and taking O2O plc private.
London-based Aidan Robson has helped transform £500m turnover Karro Foods, and James Woolley will be in charge of the portfolio.
The four will join Garry Wilson and Darren Forshaw as partners, following the recent closing of Fund IV at £525m.
The firm’s investments number 19, with collective revenues of £2.5bn, employing 14,000 people.
Founding Partners Garry Wilson and Darren Forshaw commented “Chris, Mat, Aidan and James have been with us for the whole Endless journey and for many years before that.
“The success of Endless is in no small part due to them and the raising of Endless Fund IV has enabled us to bring our friends and colleagues on board as co-owners of the Endless business.
“This gives us an even stronger platform for growth and will help ensure that Endless continues to deliver top decile returns for our investors by taking private equity investing back to basics – putting our own money to work alongside our investors, paying sensible prices for businesses, supporting our management teams with day to day support, utilising only modest levels of debt and improving the businesses we own.”
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Global law firm DLA Piper has announced that three Yorkshire-based lawyers have been promoted to partner level, effective from 1 May 2015.
Matthew Duncombe of Leeds, Vikki McKay from the Sheffield real estate office, Barney Smedley from the restructuring department in Leeds.
Globally, there were 20 promotions in the US, nine in the UK, eight across Europe, four in Asia, two in Australia and one in the Middle East.
Simon Levine, global co-chief executive of DLA Piper, said: “We have a diverse pool of very talented lawyers at DLA Piper and I would like to congratulate all those who have been promoted to the partnership across the world this year.
“The quality of our people internationally is crucial to our ambition to be the leading global business law firm advising the leading mature and emerging companies wherever they do business.”
Sarah Day, office managing partner for DLA Piper in Leeds, added: “I am delighted that two members of the team in Leeds have been promoted. This news demonstrates a continued commitment to Yorkshire for DLA Piper, and to developing our people.”
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Irwin Mitchell has announced seven partner promotions.
Leeds-based Sarah Coles, a clinical negligence lawyer, personal injury specialist Sally Rissbrook from Sheffield, who started her career 17 years ago, Elizabeth Perry, also of Sheffield and James Foster who works at both offices have all been promoted.
Michelle Beat, the firm’s head of business development for the personal legal services division has also been named partner, unusually for a law firm, promoting from a division other than law.
In Birmingham Liz Tetzner and London-based Anita Jewitt have also been promoted.
Group chief executive Andrew Tucker said: “Each one of our new partners has a strong client focus in everything they do and thoroughly deserve their promotion to partner.”
“These promotions reflect the high level of expertise we have within our group and the importance we place on investing in our people to ensure we continue to deliver the services our clients rightly demand of us as the market continues to evolve.
“The investment we make in our people and in the new recruits we continue to bring into our group shows the depth and range of experience we have to offer clients at Irwin Mitchell.
“We are in a very strong position to continue to build our business and our new partners will be very important in our future plans.”
