This week's North East appointments

Private equity house Maven Capital Partners has further expanded its investment team with the appointment of Jamie Fraser to help manage funds across the North East.

Joining as Investment Manager to source and complete deals on behalf of Maven’s private equity funds, Jamie will also help manage the £27m North East Development Capital Fund (NEDCF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and the £20m Finance Durham Fund, established by Durham County Council.

Jamie joins with 15 years’ of commercial banking experience supporting SMEs and mid-market clients across a range of transactions including corporate acquisitions, private equity buy-outs, restructuring and disposals, most recently for Lloyds Bank as a Relationship Director.

Prior to his role at Lloyds Bank, Jamie worked at The Bank of Scotland, in a variety of client facing roles, dealing principally with mid-market clients and SMEs.

Maven’s North East team has been investing in dynamic SMEs across the region for almost 20 years, led by Michael Vassallo, the team has also been active in the market through its management of the £20m Finance Durham Fund.

Recent transactions include the £2.7m investment in intranet software specialists, Orchidsoft, and its backing of the craft distillery, Durham Gin.

Michael Vassallo, investment director of Maven said: “Jamie is a great new addition to Maven and we are delighted to welcome him to the team and strengthen the Maven brand across the North East.

“We have built a highly skilled team with considerable in-depth knowledge of the local SME market and a range of sector specialist knowledge that is allied to the national resource of Maven’s UK business.”

Ian Kelly, Davies Tracey

Ian Kelly has joined Tees Valley-based accountancy practice Davies Tracey.

Taxation specialist and former Director at Baldwins Accountants, Ian has been appointed as Tax Partner, with a remit to head up the Davies Tracey tax department and grow the range of taxation services its team offers to a wide range of clients.

Craig Davies, Managing Director of Davies Tracey, said: “This is a major appointment for us given Ian’s wealth of experience – over 33 years’ worth of expertise from starting a career with the Inland Revenue before entering private practice, all of which will facilitate further growth in our tax services.

“We are delighted to welcome him to the team and know he will deliver the first class customer service our clients have come to expect.”

Ian is a specialist in HMRC investigations, expatriate and non-residential taxation, and also has expertise in high net worth and complex clients.

Davies Tracey is one of the largest independent accountants in the Tees Valley, and Ian is their 6th new appointment in the last year after the firm celebrated its 15th anniversary.

Craig Davies added: “We are working with 3rd or 4th generations of local businesses - our roots go back this far through acquisition of Gilchrist Tash in 2012, who were established in the 1870s.

“With new staff on board we can ensure that we don’t lose sight of the personal touch and maintain those long-lasting client relationships into the next generation.”

James Godden, Gordon Brown Law Firm LLP

Gordon Brown Law Firm LLP has promoted property litigation specialist James Godden to the role of Partner.

The promotion will see James, who has risen through the ranks at GBLF, combine his management of the firm’s property litigation department, with ambitious plans to expand the current property litigation offering, whilst at the same time assisting with the wider development of the firm’s client base across all areas of the business.

The new role will see James step up from position of fee-earner to a proactive management role, working alongside managing partner Kathryn Taylor and the other Partners at GBLF.

Having joined the business in 2009 as a paralegal before completing his training contract with GBLF, James now specialises in property litigation disputes and has built up a wealth of knowledge throughout his time at the firm as well as being a member of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP).

James said: “I’ve enjoyed climbing the career ladder throughout my time so far at GBLF, it’s a great feeling to have my long-standing commitment to the business recognised with this promotion.

“As a business, GBLF really looks after its people. We are given some fantastic opportunities and are able to choose our own niche whilst growing with the business. Over the years I have been given the chance to progress from a paralegal to associate and now partner - something I’ve always set my sights on.”

Kathryn Taylor, managing partner of GBLF, added: “It’s great to be able to recognise James’ hard work with his promotion to partner. We’re always keen to see our colleagues who have shown that they are ready to progress, develop alongside the firm and James has certainly shown this and his commitment to the business throughout his time with us.

“I am looking forward to seeing James develop even further as he steps up to the challenge of partner and leading his great team to deliver the best possible service to our clients.”

Toni Fleck, Competitor Monitor

Retail price tracking specialist Competitor Monitor has appointed Toni Fleck, as Client Services Director.

Toni joined Competitor Monitor straight from university as a graduate, and has risen through the ranks to become a driving force behind the company’s growth.

In four years Toni has grown with the company, rising from her initial Intern position to Client Services Director. Toni will now lead a team of five account managers as the company continues to expand globally.

Competitor Monitor is a global retail technology company which provides competitor intelligence systems for worldwide retail brands.The company analyses online businesses, tracking markets round the clock to spot opportunities for price improvements, web promotions and new product launches.

Adrian Teasdale, Competitor Monitor co-founder, said: “Toni is young, full of enthusiasm and brings a new lease of life to one of the most senior roles within the company. She is so much more than Client Services Director. Toni embodies the heart and soul of the brand. Some might say she is the keeper of all knowledge.”

Toni added: “Strangely enough, retail is typically associated with women but as soon as you add online/tech to the retail environment, men tend to predominate. People often expect when I email as Toni they will hear a male’s voice at the end of the line and many a time I’ve been faced with ‘oh you’re a girl’ but I just laugh it off.

“Whilst my role is predominantly customer facing, I’m heavily involved with the back-end team when it comes to developing new software features. It plays to my strengths as a ‘tech geek’. I know how we can make changes to the system to meet our clients’ needs.”

Abbi Maughan and Matthew Fisher, Walton Robinson

Property agency Walton Robinson have announced the appointment of Abbi Maughan, who becomes a New Tenancies Consultant and Matthew Fisher, who has taken the role of Property Supervisor, following the completion of their apprenticeships.

Abbi and Matthew both completed Level 3 Business Administration courses through QA Apprenticeships and have become vital members of the team at Walton Robinson’s Newcastle city centre office.

Amy Gibson, office manager at Walton Robinson, said: “Walton Robinson has an award-winning history of working with apprenticeship providers to provide workplace experience to a range of young people from across the North East.

“We are happy to announce the appointment of Abbi and Matthew as full-time members of our team and congratulate them on their achievements.

“Many of our current staff members began their careers at Walton Robinson whilst studying towards an apprenticeship and we look forward to continuing our work with apprentices in future.”

Ken Parkin, Northern Counties Builders Federation

Ken Parkin has been appointed President of the Northern Counties Builders Federation (NCBF).

Having spent 38 years in the industry working for national and regional building contractors, he is well experienced to take on the role and comment on a sector of industry which continues to face challenging times whilst playing a role within the regional economy.

Ken took over the role of President for NCBF, from Jeff Alexander of Surgo Construction—who led the organisation for the three years prior.

As the new President, Ken will build on the progress made in recent years to ensure this 120-year-old organisation keeps pace with the time and continues to play an active and relevant role within the construction industry.

Ken said: “The industry in the region has undoubtedly suffered due to the continued pressure form national contractors and huge reductions in local government spending.

“Increasingly our role is to help facilitate the development and maintenance of a sustainable North Eastern construction industry.”

Lisa Peverley and Anthony McDermott, St Benedict’s Hospice

St Benedict’s Hospice has appointed Lisa Peverley as Head of Community Fundraising and Anthony McDermott as Head of Corporate Relationships and Challenge Event Fundraising.

Lisa previously worked for Sunderland City Council for nearly 14 years and also runs her own business Moo Music Sunderland.

Anthony’s role is to engage with businesses in and around Sunderland to raise awareness of the hospice and form links with companies who can offer support.

Anthony has worked in a number of business development roles, most recently as National Sales Manager for a large branding company. He also runs his own business DMAC Media Ltd.

Catrina Flynn, head of fundraising, said: “I am delighted to welcome both Anthony and Lisa to the team and we are all looking forward to facing the challenges of fundraising that may meet us head on.

“We must ensure the hospice remains operational and capable of offering the services to those who need it and both will offer a new dimension to what we already have in place. Exciting times ahead!”

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