Member Article

This week’s Yorkshire appointments

Vicky McLoughlin, Grant Thornton

Business adviser Grant Thornton has appointed Vicky McLoughlin as head of assurance for Yorkshire, based in its Leeds office.

Vicky joined the firm 12 years ago, working as a director in Yorkshire for the last two years having also held the positions of senior manager and audit manager.

She provides audit and assurance services to a range of businesses across the region and has specialist experience in UK GAAP and IFRS.

Vicky has a strong track record working with both public and private clients including large owner managed businesses, private equity backed entities and listed clients.

Andy Wood, practice leader for Grant Thornton in Leeds, said: “Having moved to the role of practice leader, I felt it was time to bring some fresh insight and energy to the assurance team. Vicky has established a reputation as an expert in her field and this appointment is well-deserved recognition of her commitment and hard work,

“Our firm is becoming a beacon for talented people and for dynamic businesses and I am confident that Vicky will make a real difference. This is a very exciting time to be part of Grant Thornton locally, nationally and internationally.”

Vicky adds: “Working closely with the rest of the team, I will be looking to build upon the excellent foundations Andy has created by introducing new ideas and continuing to build on our ‘category of one’ status in the market place. This is a great opportunity to grow with Grant Thornton; the audit team is going from strength to strength and I’m proud to be a part of its success.”

Chris O’Mahony & Patrick McCutcheon, Dacre Son & Hartley

Two property professionals who work for North Yorkshire-based law firm, Dacre Son & Hartley, have been promoted.

Chris O’Mahony, who heads up the firm’s Pateley Bridge and Ripon offices joined the firm nine years ago.

He has been promoted to senior associate. Mark Kane who joined Dacres three years ago to manage the Baildon office, has been promoted to an associate.

Patrick McCutcheon, Head of Residential Sales at Dacre, Son & Hartley says: “Both Chris and Mark are extremely knowledgeable and professional and have a strong track-record for delivering excellent customer service as well as managing teams really effectively.

“Both have won our employee of the year award, which recognises members of our team that go above and beyond their everyday role to achieve excellent results, and both thoroughly deserve their promotion.”

Ian Darvill, Acorn Brewery

Acorn Brewery has appointed Ian Darvill, a keen amateur brewer with a penchant for international ales, to its growing staff team.

Ian joins the independent Barnsley brewery as assistant brewer, where he will learn all about the individual recipes and techniques used to create its famous range of beers, including Barnsley Bitter.

Ian has been a homebrewer for the past five years and most recently worked for Sematic UK Ltd, a sheet metal fabrication company in Wombwell, making lift doors. Originally from Lancaster he now lives in West Melton in Rotherham.

Ian said: “I was overjoyed when I found out that I’d got the job at Acorn because I’m passionate about beer and learning how to make it.

“The principals are basically the same as home brewing but obviously on a much larger scale.”

Acorn Brewery owner David Hughes said: “It’s good to have someone with Ian’s expertise and enthusiasm on board. He brings a fresh approach to our team and we look forward to his input as we are constantly developing new beers and flavours.”

Acorn Brewery currently delivers beer direct to over 400 pubs and bars and 50 retail outlets including delis and farm shops in the north and midlands. It supplies to countless others across the UK via wholesalers.

(L-R) Toby Vernon, Matthew Fitzgerald and Roger Haworth of CPP.

Matthew Fitzgerald, Commercial Property Planners (CPP)

Sheffield-based consultancy Commercial Property Partners (CPP) has appointed Matthew Fitzgerald as head of Property and Asset Management.

Matthew joins from NHS Property Services Ltd, where he was responsible for the NHS’s property portfolio.

He commented: “The opportunity to join CPP was just too good to miss. The company has made a magnificent start since it was launched just 18 months ago, forging a tremendous reputation and establishing itself as a leading independent consultancy in Yorkshire & the Midlands.

“There is now a need for a bespoke property and asset management offering as the region moves swiftly out of recession and the property market begins to flourish again. CPP will meet this need.

“I believe I have much to offer CPP, having worked on both sides of property management , looking after the interests of both tenants and landlords during the past 10 years. I have a wealth of experience in a range of different disciplines across all aspects of both the public and private sectors,”

Jenny Bland, Sean Gallagher & Ian Anderson, Ison Harrison

Leeds-based law firm, Ison Harrison, has made three major appointments to its team.

Jenny Bland with 12 years of legal experience in both New Build and Shared Ownership schemes, and known for her reliable and rapid conclusions for both builders and purchases requirements.

Sean Gallagher brings 10 years specialising in site acquisitions and infrastructure agreements, ancillary contracts, commercial landlord and tenant transactions, lease renewals and placement of bank securities to the extended Commercial Property section.

Ian Anderson joins to establish the new Regulatory Department bringing an expert forensic approach to defending clients facing allegations of professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, false accounting and money laundering in some of the most complex regulatory and criminal investigations conducted nationwide in recent years.

The Leeds law firm has over 160 staff and 19 partners in 8 offices.

Its HQ in is Leeds City Centre with offices in Chapel Allerton, Chapeltown, Crossgates, Garforth and Morley; Guiseley and Ilkley.

Caroline Eardley, Bianca Keeble, Rebecca Lax, Shackleton PR

Leeds-based Shackleton PR continues to go from strength to strength, announcing its latest appointments of two senior team members, following a series of new account wins.

Caroline Eardley joins as senior account director, specialising in consumer, lifestyle and FMCG, from RMS PR, where she headed up the B2C team.

Previous agency roles in Manchester and London over the last decade have seen her devise high profile campaigns for clients including Warburtons, Greggs, Swizzels Matlow, Peroni, Hamleys and SPAR.

Bianca Keeble joins as account director from a senior in-house role as PR Manager at KCOM Group PLC.

Prior to that, she held press officer roles at London South Bank University and Essex County Council. Her key areas of expertise include B2B PR, strategic planning and management, and wider corporate communications.

Both new recruits will support client services director Kate Dixon, as Shackleton enters its next stage of growth.

The agency has also appointed Rebecca Lax as account executive. Rebecca joins from Touchdown PR in Farnham, where she spent 18 months working across specialist B2B technology accounts, and is a journalism graduate from Nottingham Trent University.

Robin Skidmore, CEO of Shackleton PR, says: “We’ve more than doubled our team in the last year, and these new additions show how serious our ambition is for the year ahead. We’re focused on building a hugely talented team, and both Caroline and Bianca bring invaluable expertise to our credentials.

“Their input and experience will help to guarantee we can meet the increasing demand for our creative, strategic and results-driven approach to PR and social media.”

Gina Rhodes, Amy Silverwood, Charlotte Skinner & Lauren Clark, Clarion

Leeds law firm Clarion has appointed Gina Rhodes and Amy Silverwood as associates and Charlotte Skinner and Lauren Clark as paralegals in its growing property team.

Gina has 11 years’ experience having worked as a commercial property solicitor for Squire Patton Boggs.

Amy joins Clarion from DWF where she spent two years after completing her training contract with the firm.

She also gained experience of working as a paralegal in real estate litigation and property finance after studying for her Legal Practice Course at College of Law, York.

Charlotte completed her Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School Leeds last year and has gained experience as a paralegal.

Lauren has worked as a legal assistant in a conveyancing firm having qualified with a law degree.

Martin Grange, partner and head of property at Clarion, commented: “As the property market continues to improve, we are seeing increased demand for our services and the arrival of our four new recruits will be a welcome boost to the team.”

Amy adds: “I am delighted to work in a team which has such a good reputation for property in Leeds and further afield. I enjoy the diverse nature of the work on offer and I’m looking forward to helping the team’s clients achieve their goals.”

Rachel Diver & Jamie Popple, Creative Marketing Services

Creative Marketing Services, the Leeds-based advertising and marketing group, is continuing its expansion with the appointment of Jamie Popple as creative director and Rachel Diver as senior designer.

Prior to joining Creative Marketing Services, Rachel was studio manager with Your Local Link in York and Jamie was creative director at Ashgrove Marketing, the leading agency in the Isle of Man.

The latest in a series of recruitments made to support several recent account gains, they join three other designers and two copywriters in the Leeds studio based at Hollinthorpe Hall, close to Thorpe Park.

Jamie commented: “I am delighted to join such a well-established and expanding group with an outstanding creative reputation. It is exciting to be part of a full-service agency as Rachel and I will have creative input across a comprehensive range of digital and traditional media and marketing techniques. A new website has just gone live and a number of very interesting new client appointments are likely to be announced soon.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .