This week’s Yorkshire appointments

York-based solicitors Guest Walker & Co have appointed two new commercial property solicitors as the team continues to grow.

Alison Munro brings to the firm a wealth of experience, having specialised in property law since her qualification as a solicitor in 2001.

Alison, who worked in Manchester for International commercial law firms for five years, has been based in York since 2006 and her commercial property caseload will include business lease work and the buying and selling of properties with business elements.

Alison studied Economics and Philosophy at Nottingham University before completing her Law Conversion at the College of Law, York.

Mark Clayton joins Guest Walker & Co from a law firm in Darlington and will be working across the full range of commercial property transactions.

He has been working within the commercial property sector since 1997. In that period Mark has developed particular expertise in agricultural property work and will be on hand to help the firm develop this side of the business whilst also continuing to deal with ‘mainstream’ commercial property matters.

John Walker, senior partner at Guest Walker & Co, said: “We are delighted to welcome both Alison and Mark to the team as our commercial property division continues to go from strength to strength.

“There is a strong demand for our services in this area, and with over 30 years’ experience between them, our clients will be in incredibly capable hands. We feel that there is a gap in the Yorkshire commercial property market for a local firm that can provide real expertise without the expense and inconvenience often associated with using very large practices based in the bigger Northern cities.”

Sarah Ferguson, Steven Gibson, Jen Winterbottom and Ahmed Al-Samarrai, PURE

PURE, the Leeds-based integrated marketing agency, has announced the appointment of four new recruits following a raft of new business wins.

The company has bolstered its marketing team with the arrival of Sarah Ferguson and Jen Winterbottom. The web development and photography teams have also grown with the appointment of Ahmed Al-Samarrai and Steven Gibson.

With more than seven years’ experience Sarah has joined PURE’s marketing team as senior account manager.

Helping to further develop the marketing division is Jen Winterbottom, who has joined PURE as account executive. Jen previously worked at Rocket Research and Filmore Union.

Working at a number of digital agencies such as Cubik, Inforserve and Fantastic Media, Ahmed Al-Samarrai has joined PURE’s digital team as a web developer. PURE has also gained a new photographer, Steven, who recently worked as a freelance photographer in Australia for over two years.

Gary Dooley, director of PURE, said: “We’ve experienced a really busy 12 months here at PURE and, as a result of several new business wins, as well as a number of our clients utilising more of our services, we felt the need to expand our ever-growing team.

“As we continue to grow at a quick pace, it’s great to welcome these four really strong appointments to the PURE team.”

Neil Large, Lupton Fawcett Denison Till

Lupton Fawcett Denison Till, the Sheffield, Leeds and York-based commercial law firm, has announced the appointment of senior corporate finance lawyer, Neil Large.

Neil, who will be based in the firm’s Sheffield office, was previously at Taylor & Emmett.

Neil has over twenty years’ experience in negotiating the acquisition and sales of businesses, advising on shareholder and partnership buyouts, dealing with complex M&A, finance and restructuring transactions and handling corporate advisory issues.

Richard Marshall, managing director, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Neil and that he has chosen to join Lupton Fawcett Denison Till.

“Neil brings great experience, reputation, network, and enthusiasm with which to further strengthen our offering to the business community of Sheffield and South Yorkshire.”

Neil added: “I was very much attracted to the firm’s fast developing offering in Sheffield and South Yorkshire which is supported by a Yorkshire-wide platform through the firm’s Sheffield, Leeds and York offices.

“Joining Lupton Fawcett Denison Till allows me to offer the firm’s full range of services with real quality and innovative pricing models.”

Andrew Darke, Simpson Miller

Andrew Darke, formerly an equity partner with Irwin Mitchell, has joined Leeds-based Simpson Millar as director of Partner Distribution.

After 25 years with Irwin Mitchell, Andrew will focus on developing Simpson Millar’s portfolio of partner distributors across a broad range of sectors, including banking, insurance, retail, trade union, utilities, employee assistance programs and chambers of commerce.

He will also be responsible for developing closer relationships with the charities and support groups the firm already has links with.

Andrew said: “I have watched Simpson Millar diversify its range of services in recent years, and the investment by Fairpoint was a hugely positive indication that this is a firm gearing up for the future.

“The will to evolve is backed by sound financial investment; a very attractive combination. The directors at Simpson Millar are agile in their decision making and flexible in their approach to business partners. It is this ‘light on our feet’ approach that really appeals.”

Peter Watson, Simpson Millar’s managing director, added: “The fact that someone of Andrew’s calibre is joining Simpson Millar is testament to the strong foundation we have laid. We continue to build momentum; growing the business and diversifying our range of services.

“Andrew brings an enormous amount of credibility to this job. His experience in building links with affinity partners is extensive. He knows that success is achieved by getting things right for consumers and tailoring service packages that are attractive to our business partners.”

Craig Walker, Hawsons Chartered Accountants

Hawsons Chartered Accountants are pleased to announce that Craig Walker has joined the firm as senior tax manager.

Craig previously worked for two firms of Chartered Accountants, including a national top 20 accounting firm.

He has 12 years’ experience advising both corporate and private clients on all matters related to tax. He also specialises in all aspects of trusts and estates and is a member of the prestigious Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners.

Craig will work primarily from the firm’s Sheffield office, but will also assist clients in Doncaster and Northampton.

Martyn Weatherall, Hawsons’ senior partner, said: “We are delighted to welcome Craig as Senior Tax Manager in the firm. He brings a wealth of experience and will assist in growing the firm’s client base and expertise.

“Craig will be a valuable addition to the strong team we have across the Sheffield City Region and will be of great benefit to our clients and our firm.”

Craig added: “I am delighted to be joining Hawsons and look forward to working with some of the finest accountancy and tax professionals in this region.”

Samantha Gunnell, Lupton Fawcett Denison Till

Lupton Fawcett Denison Till, the York, Leeds, and Sheffield-based commercial law firm, has announced the arrival of senior solicitor Samantha Gunnell into its Family & Divorce team, based in York.

Samantha joins from another York-based law firm and has experience of working in the field of family law. Samantha specialises in divorce, financial settlements, children issues and cohabitation and property disputes between unmarried couples.

Samantha’s appointment follows on from the retirement of Mark Hepworth, who was with the firm for over 40 years. The York family law team will now be managed by Nicki Mitchell, a family law specialist solicitor, collaborative family lawyer and family mediator.

Chris Burns, head of Family and Divorce, commented: “Samantha played a key role in establishing the family department at her previous firm and we look forward to welcoming her into the fold.

“Samantha’s appointment will help to consolidate our York family team as one of the key players in region. Samantha shares our passion for high standards of client care.”

Samantha added: “I’m thrilled to become part of the Lupton Fawcett Denison Till team. The calibre of the firm’s clients, the full provision of services they offer and their reputation in the market were my key deciding factors.

“They already have a great team of experts working in the family team and I look forward to the challenge of continuing to grow our reputation as the law firm of choice.”

Rochelle Royal, Rich Cooper and Adam Knights, Bolser

Bolser, a Yeadon-based digital agency, has announced a raft of new appointments.

With a turnover of £2m in 2015, Bolser is currently on target for a 2016 turnover target of a 35% growth whilst maintaining profit margins.

With four new staff already employed, the new team members have skills ranging from digital developers to account managers to SEO experts.

Rochelle Royal, search engine optimisation manager, has been brought into the team to develop (SEO) & App Store Optimisation (ASO) services offered to clients. Rochelle has over 6 years’ experience in digital marketing, specialising in SEO, ASO & content marketing strategies.

Rich Cooper, front-end developer, has wide experience in digital marketing, full stack development and graphic design, whilst specializing in front-end development. Before joining Bolser, Rich worked as the lead developer at Leeds Living - a startup building an app to aid city living in Leeds.

Adam Knights, digital designer, has wide experience of graphic design and front-end development, whilst specializing in digital design. Before joining Bolser, Adam worked as a digital designer at Brass Agency - an advertising and marketing agency in Headingley/Leeds.

Ashley Bolser, Bolser’s managing director, said: “I’m extremely proud of the agency and its growth. The enthusiasm and energy of the talented people we’ve recently employed is exciting to see, and it allows us to create outstanding work for our clients.

“With business wins from Leeds Enterprise Partnership, BBC and Professional Game Match Officials, we are excited to see what 2016 brings.”

The agency team helps to deliver marketing and communication strategy for national and international clients with a particular emphasis on digital, web and mobile marketing. Bolser’s clients include Asda, Microsoft, MixRadio, United Nations, BBC and EE.

Roger Evans, Nexus Vehicle Rental

Nexus Vehicle Rental (Nexus), the Leeds-based corporate vehicle rental provider, has appointed Roger Evans as sales & marketing director.

Evans, who also joins Nexus’ Board of Directors, has 25 years of B2B automotive industry experience across commercial, sales and business development roles for companies including car history check service HPI, Avis, Europcar, Arval and The AA.

David Brennan, Nexus’ chief executive officer, said: “Roger’s appointment completes the new Nexus board and I am delighted to welcome him to the team.

“I know that his automotive sector experience in supporting sales growth and business development will be an asset to our business as we seek to deliver on the ambitious plans we have for the years ahead.”

Evans’ appointment follows the arrival of former international IBM executive Bernie Waldron as Nexus’ Chairman in May.

Evans added: “Nexus is a dynamic and entrepreneurial business with a strong leadership team and an impressive growth record. I am delighted to be joining at such an exciting time and I look forward to developing the sales and marketing strategy to further enhance Nexus’ market-leading position.”

Founded in 1999, Nexus has access to over 500,000 rental vehicles in more than 2,000 locations across the UK through its revolutionary intelligent booking and rental management system, IRIS.

Andy Mill, Winder Power

Winder Power, the pudsey-based manufacturer of power and distribution transformers, has announced the appointment of Andy Mill as the finance director.

A highly-experienced industry professional, Andy brings a wealth of experience to the role, including sectoral expertise gleaned from senior roles within leading companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lexia Solutions Group and the Andrew Page Group.

Currently the finance director at Earthmill Holdings Limited, Andy qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2005, training with Moore Stephens Chartered Accountants in Belfast and London.

In 2010, Andy was Winner of the Yorkshire rising star of the year award for companies with turnover between £25m to £70m.

Laurence MacKenzie, group managing director of Winder Power, said “We are delighted to have someone with Andy’s experience and expertise joining the team at Winder Power.

“Andy brings with him unrivalled senior experience that we believe will be invaluable to the company, and we see him as someone who will help us considerably as we continue to grow and develop the business.”