This week's Yorkshire appointments

Matt Rhodes, DPP Planning

Planning consultancy DPP Planning has promoted Matt Rhodes to associate director.

Matt joined the national planning consultancy’s Leeds office five years ago as a student planner, after achieving a BA (Hons) degree in architecture from Newcastle University.

While at the firm, Matt secured a distinction in his MA in town planning from Leeds Becket University whilst working at DPP, and became a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Commenting on his appointment, Matt said: “The support and opportunity DPP offers its graduates is exceptional and has been instrumental in my career progression and becoming an associate director.

“This is a very dynamic and forward thinking business, which has established a national reputation as experts in its field and I am very proud to be part of the team that is continuing to take the business forward and support our clients.”

Michelle Davies, director at DPP, added: “Matt is a great example of the high-quality graduates we are able to attract to DPP where we provide them with the opportunities to develop and expand their opportunities within the business.

“He is a very talented planner who has built excellent relationships with clients and local authorities and this new position is just reward for his dedication and commitment to the business.”

Laura Sisson, YFM Equity Partners (YFM)

YFM Equity Partners has appointed Laura Sisson as investment manager.

Laura joins the firm from KPMG’s transaction services team in Manchester, where she worked with management teams and private equity firms on a range of mid-market transactions, predominantly in the business services and industrial sectors.

Andy Thomas, partner at YFM, commented: “We’re pleased to welcome Laura to the team at YFM as we continue to build our presence.

“Despite the current difficult circumstances, we’re committed to continuing our new investment activity and this appointment is an important part of helping unlock new growth capital and buyout opportunities.”

Commenting on her appointment, Laura added: “This is a really exciting time to be joining YFM.

“I look forward to learning from such a well-regarded team and supporting its continued success in partnering with ambitious growth businesses and management teams nationwide.”

Gareth Orriss, Sophie Wheeldon, Emma Fawke and Donna Ashbridge, Rollits LLP

Rollits LLP has announced a series of promotions of specialists across its team.

Gareth Orriss and Sophie Wheeldon, who both deal with all aspects of commercial property work, have been promoted from senior solicitor to associate.

In addition, Emma Fawke, a solicitor in the firm’s private capital team, and Donna Ashbridge, a solicitor in the corporate department, have been promoted to senior solicitor.

Sophie and Gareth both gained First Class Honours degrees from the university of Hull. Sophie joined Rollits as a trainee in 2013 and qualified as a commercial property lawyer in September 2015, while Gareth completed his training contract at another firm in the area and joined Rollits soon after qualifying in January 2016.

Emma entered the legal sector more than 12 years ago and worked for several local firms before joining Rollits in 2018. She now specialises in Wills, Estate Planning and Administration matters, as well as Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Donna joined Rollits as a trainee solicitor in 2015 and moved to work in the firm’s corporate team when she qualified. During her training contract, Donna spent three months on secondment to Hull 2017 City of Culture, where she gained experience drafting a variety of different commercial agreements specific to the culture and creative arts sector.

Ralph Gilbert, managing partner at Rollits, commented: “I would like to congratulate Gareth, Sophie, Donna and Emma on their promotions.

“We have always strived to create a place of opportunity within Rollits in order to nurture, recruit and retain the region’s very best talent in the hope they will enjoy a long and rewarding career with us.

“These promotions are all thoroughly well deserved as they have all proved themselves to be very capable and focused on achieving the best possible results for clients in the work that they undertake.”

Laura Baxter, Begbies Traynor

Insolvency practice Begbies Traynor has promoted Laura Baxter to director.

After joining Begbies Traynor in 2012 as a senior insolvency administrator, Laura was appointed to the position of assistant manager in 2016, becoming a manager the following year. She was promoted to senior insolvency manager at the firm’s Hull office in 2019.

With over 13 years’ experience of providing insolvency advice to businesses and individuals, Laura previously worked as a case administrator for another professional services firm for six years.

A qualified insolvency practitioner, Laura achieved her JIEB professional exams in corporate and personal insolvency in March 2019. She specialises in corporate and personal insolvency, distressed advisor and business investigations.

Andrew Mackenzie, partner for Begbies Traynor in Yorkshire, commented: “After eight years with Begbies Traynor, Laura has risen through the ranks, developing her skills and gaining experience supporting a wide range of businesses and individuals.

“Having experienced first hand Laura’s hard work and commitment to helping to develop our presence in the Humber region, including the opening of our offices in Grimsby and Scunthorpe, it is particularly satisfying to see her well-deserved success in achieving the position of director.”

Laura added: “Begbies Traynor has built a reputation as the leading independent rescue, recovery and advisory firm in the region and I have been fortunate to learn from such experienced colleagues.

“I look forward to working alongside Andrew and the team as we continue to support businesses, individuals and creditors across the county and beyond.”

Hassan Mirza, Hortor

Leeds-headquartered strategic resourcing consultancy Hortor has appointed Hassan Mirza as contracts manager in Malaysia.

Working to expand the business’ operations in the APAC region, Hassan’s new role will see him manage a team of consultants working throughout South East Asia.

Hassan’s duties will also contribute towards supporting the entire Hortor Group and its network of additional offices in Leeds, London, Slovakia, North America and Costa Rica.

Before joining Hortor’s Malaysian office, Hassan entered the industry in 2003 and has since gained experience contracting on multiple client sites across the globe.

Hassan commented: “With 17 years of industry experience, I have gained a valuable insight into the global marketplace, and more importantly, how it is evolving. It is absolutely vital for companies in this sector to recognise these developments, and this is exactly what Hortor has done.

“The business’ innovative and progressive approach is unrivalled in the industry, and after working with Hortor’s financial director Kevin Bailey, I saw first-hand the ambition and vision of the senior team.

“I knew I could make a significant contribution towards Hortor’s global operations, so joining the business was an easy decision for me. I am certainly looking forward to helping Hortor become more established in this part of the world.”

Joint CEO of Hortor, Andy Roe, added: “Hortor has experienced rapid growth in the last few years, this is set to continue. Our ambition has always been to become a global player within the industry, but we realise this can only be achieved by surrounding ourselves with the right people.

“Although entering new markets can often lead to many logistical and operational challenges, we wanted to put ourselves in a position to deliver our services to the highest of standards from the very beginning.

“Hassan’s previous experience made him the perfect candidate to take on this responsibility and we are confident that his ability to deliver on the global stage will help Hortor’s APAC operation become a great success.”