This week’s North West appointments

Four appointments, JLL

Property advisory firm JLL has appointed four surveyors across its cost management, property and asset management and building consultancy teams in Manchester.

Chartered quantity surveyor Andrew Kan, who has joined the company’s cost management team, boasts 13 years’ experience in the commercial, transport, industrial and hospitality sectors, gained both in the UK and Singapore.

Siobhan Ellis has joined the property and asset management team as senior surveyor. She has over five years’ experience, joining from building consultancy Workman.

Sulthan Mahmud and Ashley Parkinson are newly appointed building surveyors in JLL’s Manchester building consultancy team.

The lead director for JLL in the North West, David Lathwood, said: “We are continuing to attract new talent, as we broaden our offer to clients in the region.

“These latest appointments reflect strong demand for the work of our specialist teams and Andrew, Siobhan, Sulthan and Ashley each bring a wealth of diverse experience to the Manchester office.”

Image L-R: Ben Hewes, Mark Brennan, Alice Davies, Simon Turner, Samantha Booth, Clare Horton and Samit Nayi

Six promotions and appointments, Freshfield

Preston marketing agency Freshfield has made a double promotion, taken on an additional member of staff and created new roles for existing employees.

The company promoted Samantha Booth to PR and communications manager and Alice Davies to digital marketing manager.

Ben Hewes has taken on the role of head of video, combing it with his existing PR manager position. Samit Nayi is now head of design and Mark Brennan has become head of digital and senior marketing manager.

Freshfield also appointed newcomer Clare Horton as business operations manager.

Simon Turner, managing director at Freshfield, said: “These promotions are all about allowing our people to flourish as marketing professionals and giving us a stronger infrastructure to support our clients.

“Our recruitment of an experienced business operations manager in Clare will only strengthen us, particularly when it comes to developing our team.”

He added: “We take our role as an employer very seriously and it’s great to see our people delighting clients and growing professionally and personally.”

Mary-Ann Orr, Blackstone Solicitors

Hale law firm Blackstone Solicitors has added corporate lawyer Mary-Ann Orr to its team.

Mary-Ann’s background includes working in-house for a FTSE Top 10 company, negotiating and drafting commercial contracts and providing commercial legal advice.

She has also advised on policies and procedures regarding compliance with international sanctions.

Mary-Ann studied law at the University of Cambridge.

Blackstone MD Emma Nawaz said: “We are delighted to welcome Mary-Ann to the Blackstone team.

“Undoubtedly her vast experience within commercial corporate matters will complement our team of passionate, highly skilled lawyers.”

Matthew Handley, Davis Blank Furniss

Law firm Davis Blank Furniss has given its family team a boost with the appointment of Matthew Handley as an assistant solicitor.

Matthew will work from the company’s Manchester HQ but also handle cases out of its Glossop office.

In his new role, he will act on behalf of clients seeking advice and assistance relating to family matters, including divorce, civil partnership dissolution, nullity, financial proceedings and children proceedings.

Caroline Bilous, senior solicitor in the family team, said: “We are delighted that Matthew has joined Davis Blank Furniss and we are looking forward to him becoming an integral part of the team.”

Matthew commented: “I’m really excited about my new role. It’s an exciting time for the firm and my focus is now on helping to grow the family team’s work across the North West.”

Lauren Roberts, HURST Corporate Finance

HURST Corporate Finance has promoted Lauren Roberts to manager.

Lauren joined HURST in 2013 from HSBC, working first as a researcher and then as a corporate finance executive.

She advises on the sale of owner-managed companies and has led on a number of deals to date, among them Salford-based Utilities Design & Planning’s £3m investment from private equity firm Foresight Group.

The head of HURST Corporate Finance, Nigel Barratt, said: “Lauren is establishing a strong reputation in the north west corporate finance market and fully deserves her promotion.

“She has developed into an excellent dealmaker, with drive, ambition and capabilities beyond her years.”

He continued: “Lauren has consistently demonstrated her range of skills by managing deals and building trust and respect with a variety of stakeholders.

“She plays a key part in the ongoing success of our team and we are delighted to reward her achievements with this promotion.”

Gareth Street, GPL Group

GPL Group, the civil engineering company based in Salford, has appointed a new operations director.

Gareth Street joined the firm from construction group Buckingham, where he worked for three years as an engineering manager in the rail division.

The appointment marks a return to GPL for Gareth, who was a contracts manager with the company for two years before his work with Buckingham.

Sean Gallagher, managing director of GPL Group, said: “We are pleased to welcome Gareth back to GPL. It has been an exceptionally busy few years for us and his wide range of industry experience will be a vital asset in our anticipated growth and development.

“Gareth’s recent experience in rail is key for us as we look to further expand into that area. Gareth demonstrates a proactive leadership style, leading from the front and always looking for ways to improve the teams.”

Gareth commented: “GPL has seen continued growth and has further established itself as a national player in the civils arena.

“With major projects on board including; Airport City spine road and the M60 upgrade, it is exciting times and I am relishing the challenges and opportunities ahead to help further grow the business and develop our reputation across different disciplines.”

Ian Taylor, RSM

Business advisory firm RSM has promoted Ian Taylor to audit partner in Liverpool.

Ian joined the company in 2015 and has more than 10 years’ audit experience working with middle market businesses.

Prior to RSM, he held roles at Land Securities Group PLC and DEXUS Property Group.

Graham Bond, office managing partner for RSM in Liverpool and Chester, said: “It’s been a year of growth for our offering in Liverpool.

“The office has more than doubled in size both through square footage and the size of the team as we’ve continued to invest in talent at all levels, from trainees up to Ian’s partner promotion.”

He continued: “Our future growth ambitions rely on attracting and developing talent across all areas of our business and Ian will play a key part in delivering our vision to become the first-choice advisors to middle market leaders.

“Liverpool is a thriving market and this investment ensures we are well placed to help more clients, and maximise the opportunities across the Merseyside region.”

Five promotions and appointments, Deloitte Real Estate

Deloitte Real Estate’s Northern team has made a raft of promotions across its planning, capital advisory and valuation teams.

Within the planning team at the firm’s Manchester office, Andy Cowan has been promoted to senior planner and Rachel Hopkins appointed as a graduate planner, having completed her Town and Regional Planning Masters at the University of Sheffield.

In Deloitte Real Estate’s capital projects advisory team, Chris Lewis is now a senior surveyor and Greg Salisbury a surveyor.

Chris Farnworth, of the company’s valuation team, has been promoted to surveyor.

The head of Deloitte Real Estate in the regions, Peter Wilkinson, said: “It has been a brilliant period of activity for Deloitte Real Estate, in which we have helped to deliver some of the most significant schemes in the pipeline across the North.

“Our team’s technical and strategic expertise is unparalleled, and so it is with great pride that we announce these promotions in recognition of our commitment to providing an outstanding service to our clients and the wider region.”