This week's Yorkshire appointments

Nine new starters have been appointed at Leeds-based city living specialist Morgans, bolstering its office support team and rentals and sales divisions.

Holly Petterson and Cristina Harney join as receptionists, Matthew Kendrick, Jenny Sowerby and Phoebe Edwards join as property managers and Reece Burd has been appointed as an accounts administrator.

Rentals negotiator Lewis Williams and sales coordinator Laura Adams bolster the 12 strong sales and lettings team, and James Bruce will work as both a rentals and sales negotiator specialising in developing new business.

Jonathan Morgan, managing director of Morgans, said: “Last summer we took on five new starters and the growth in our business has meant that we have been able to create even more new jobs at both our City centre and Headingley offices where business is up by around 10% in comparison to the same quarter last year.

“The residential property market continues to gain momentum, especially in Leeds City centre where ongoing significant investment in new commercial developments, infrastructure and the retail and leisure offering is inevitably attracting more tenants, owner occupiers and property investors to the core of the City.

“Leeds has also just been named as one of the year’s top European destinations by the major travel guide Lonely Planet, and was praised for its confidence and culture, which is another feather in the cap that will no doubt help to raise our profile even further.”

Marie Pugh, Clarion

Leeds law firm Clarion has promoted Marie Pugh and Lynsey Harrison from legal director to the position of partner.

Marie joined Clarion in 2004, qualifying into the firm’s property team three years later and being promoted to senior associate in 2013 and to legal director last year.

She has been instrumental in developing the firm’s expanding banking and finance team working with lenders, corporates and individuals on banking and asset based lending transactions. Marie has specialist expertise in real estate and development finance.

During her 16 years with Clarion, Lynsey Harrison has developed a niche litigation specialism in the area of contentious private client, heading up a team with clients across England and regularly advising on complex cases surrounding all aspects of contentious probate and mental capacity disputes.

Roger Hutton, joint managing partner at Clarion, commented: “As a firm, we are committed to enabling our people to grow with us.

“Both Marie and Lynsey have worked extremely hard to develop their niche areas of expertise in their respective fields and have been successful in developing growing teams, significantly contributing to the ongoing success of the firm.

“These promotions are well-deserved recognition of their talent and commitment and it is particularly satisfying to see two such long-serving members of the team reach the position of partner.”

Vanessa Lee, EY

EY has appointed Vanessa Lee as tax director to lead its private client services team in Yorkshire, Humber and the North East.

Vanessa has over 20 years’ experience in private client services with Big Four firms. She joined PwC as a graduate where she worked for eight years before joining the KPMG tax team in 2004 as a private client tax advisor to high net worth individuals.

At EY she will lead the firm’s private client services offering throughout the region, working with entrepreneurs, high net worth individuals, families, family offices and trustees on complex tax planning.

Vanessa Lee said: “I have spent much of my career working closely with family businesses and offices across the region.

“In particular I work with both current and future owners of multi-generational family businesses, focusing on overall strategy, governance and generational issue management.

“My focus is always on how family businesses can achieve sustained growth without neglecting the ‘family’ component of their business.

“I have been hugely impressed with the team and breadth of experience which EY has together with its commitment to investing in the region.”

Emma Kerrywood, Dacre, Son & Hartley

Property professional Emma Kerrywood has been appointed as the head of the lettings division at Dacre, Son & Hartley.

Emma, who joins from Morgans in Leeds, will be responsible for overseeing lettings across all of the firm’s 20 offices. Leading a team of eight, Emma will be based at Dacre, Son & Hartley’s head office in Ilkley.

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential sales at Dacre, Son & Hartley, said: “Our lettings division has been going from strength to strength in recent years and we’re winning new instructions from both existing landlords and property owners, as well as new investors who are attracted to buy to let property as a result of low interest rates and high tenant demand.

“This is a newly created role in response to the increased levels of lettings work our firm is being instructed upon, and Emma’s appointment will help us to grow this thriving side of our business even further.

“Currently we manage a portfolio of well over 1,000 properties and currently have numerous properties available to let ranging in price from £375 to over £1,500 per calendar month.

“The property styles vary widely, from smart apartments and country cottages, to urban family homes and rural estates, so it’s a real mix of property that appeals to a wide range of tenants.

“Our network of 20 branches offers landlords both a ‘let only’ service and also a fully managed service, which includes sourcing tenants and dealing with contracts, rent collections and moving days.”

David Kirkman (pictured left), Newtons Solicitors

Regional law firm Newtons Solicitors has expanded its family law team with the appointment of David Kirkman.

David, who is based at Newtons Solicitors’ York office, Northminster Business Park, joins from Jordans Solicitors, Wakefield, where he trained and then qualified in 2013.

A member of Resolution, the national organisation of family lawyers committed to non-confrontational divorce, separation and other family problems, David specialises in dealing with the financial aspects of divorce.

David Kirkman’s appointment follows on from family lawyer, Julie Fawcett, joining the firm last month.

Chris Newton, Newtons Solicitors managing director, said: “We particularly liked David’s strong local connections, living in York and being an alumni of St Peters. He is a talented solicitor and a real asset to our strong family team.”

David added: “In family law every case matters a great deal to the client because it is about their families and financial security and you know you are making a real difference to people’s lives.

“As every individual is different, no two cases are the same and it is very interesting work. I am excited to be joining a fast-growing firm that is going from strength-to- strength in my home city of York.”

Peter McIntyre, Hentons

Hentons, the Leeds-based accountant and business adviser, is strengthening its specialist healthcare division following the appointment of Peter McIntyre as senior practice manager.

Mr McIntyre joins from a Leeds-based GP practice. He brings over 13 years’ experience as a medical practice manager and will help to lead a strategic focus on building a wider healthcare offering.

Nadeem Ahmed, managing partner of Hentons, said: “Peter has a wealth of healthcare sector experience and his appointment forms a key part of our growing health sector business.

“Peter has not only a thorough understanding of the health sector, but also has an impressive number of long-standing contacts, and unrivalled depth of technical knowledge in dealing with GP’s and practice managers.

“His expertise will be a great asset to the Hentons team and invaluable to our healthcare clients.”

Hentons has clients ranging from medical professionals and property investors to manufacturers, academies and charities. It offers accounts, audit, business strategy and tax advisory services with a partner led approach for all clients.

Elise Kingston, Garness Jones

Chartered surveyors Garness Jones has strengthened its team with the appointment of Elise Kingston as marketing executive.

Elise previously worked in a marketing share analysis role for Walgreens Boots Alliance in Nottingham. Prior to that she was group insight analyst for Local World, having held a marketing role with the Grimsby and Scunthorpe Media Group.

With Garness Jones she will be working across the company’s commercial and residential property portfolios, with particular focus on social media and internal communications. She will also support the company’s business development activities.

Elise said: “This is a new position within Garness Jones and that gives me a great opportunity and a big responsibility to develop it from scratch. The aim is to market ourselves as effectively as we market our clients.

“The business development role is particularly exciting. Our commercial property activities embrace retail, leisure, office and industry and that variety gives us great insight into the economy of the entire Hull and Humber region.”

Dave Garness, managing director of Garness Jones, added: “In recent years the practice has become bigger and busier and has also evolved in a proactive way to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of our clients and the commercial and residential property markets generally.

“Elise has been appointed not just to provide marketing support for the business as it stands now but also to help us strengthen our relationships with clients and to extend awareness of our services.”

Natalie Wilson and Lucy Boswell, Strata

Strata, the design-led private home builder, has created a new division within the business following the appointment of two new digital executives.

Natalie Wilson joins the business as senior digital executive, while Lucy Boswell takes up the position of digital executive.

Their responsibilities include; creating strategies to help support Strata’s growth across social media and developing and implementing social media marketing campaigns.

In addition, they are tasked with measuring and analysing the company’s online activity and identifying new ways of working that can further improve the customer journey on the website and across social channels.

Gemma Smith, sales director of Strata, commented: “Customer service is becoming the key differentiator promoted in no small way by the rise of social media platforms. Digital engagement is an exciting part of our offering.

“We want to ensure that customers receive the highest level of service across all touch points including social media; which can only be achieved with the appointment of the right team members like Natalie and Lucy.”

Ava Scott, ProGARM

ProGARM, which is a supplier of Arc Flash garments, has appointed Ava Scott as the new supply chain manager.

Based in Gilberdyke, near Hull, the family owned business supplies its products across the globe - including to major contractors in the US and across Europe.

Protecting contractors in the petrochemical, utilities and power generation, rail and industrial electrical industries from fatal or life changing injuries, ProGARM appointed Ava to assist the company’s expansion and growth into new markets.

In her new role, Ava is tasked with supply chain management, purchasing and supplier and contract negotiations.

Tony Arnett, managing director at ProGARM, said: “We deliver lifesaving workwear to key industries on an international scale, so it’s essential that we maintain a healthy supply chain model.

“With over 15 years of industry experience, we feel confident that Ava will help us to further enhance our company.”

Ava commented: “Whilst ProGARM remains a family owned business, it is also a major player when it comes to Arc Flash innovation.

“The team is young, dynamic and forward-thinking and I have been impressed by the company’s attitude to providing world-class health and safety protective wear.”

“It’s no surprise that ProGARM has enjoyed significant growth; it has a captivating legacy to protect people’s lives in a wide variety of working environments – this, teamed with the company’s innovative approach, really attracted me to the role.”