Member Article

This week’s Yorkshire appointments

Alex Birch, Langleys Solicitors

The corporate team at Langleys Solicitors has boosted its ranks with the appointment of associate solicitor Alex Birch. Alex joins York and Lincoln-based Langleys from DWF in Leeds, having previously worked at Cobbetts and Nabarro.

She has considerable experience in advising public and private companies, management teams and their respective advisers on M&A, MBOs and corporate governance issues.

Alex joins an experienced team, recognised as a leading player in the Yorkshire legal market in all aspects of corporate law.

Christian Hunt, who heads up the corporate team at Langleys, said: “Alex’s focus on developing long term relationships with clients and advisers and providing sound commercial advice fits well with the values of Langleys and we are delighted to welcome her to the team.”

Commenting on her new role, Alex said: “I am excited about joining Langleys. The team is recognised as a leading player in the regional legal market and I look forward to working with the whole team in providing a first class service to our growing portfolio of clients.”

Andrew Gardner, Glentrool Estates

Ilkley-based property developer, Glentrool Estates, has appointed Andrew Gardner as project director.

Andrew joins Glentrool from Leeds-based property consultancy Fox Lloyd Jones, where he was a senior surveyor.

He previously worked for the Consult Group, EC Harris and Gleeds.He will be responsible for Glentrool’s flagship project, Sherburn 2, the 75-acre development and employment site close to the A1 at Sherburn-in-Elmet.

Andrew commented: “The opportunity to join Glentrool was just too good to miss. I was sad to leave Fox Lloyd Jones, where I had been for nearly four years, but I have known and worked with Jeremy and Paul Nolan of Glentrool for some time and I jumped at the chance to join them.

“My main focus will be on Sherburn2, which is a truly exciting project, and which will deliver a massive boost to the Selby region’s economy as it is developed out, creating 2,550 sustainable jobs.

“It will also underline the reputation of Sherburn as one of the most popular manufacturing, logistics and distribution hubs in the north of England. We are proud to be part of that success story.

“Our project team have the freedom and the flexibility to move swiftly to meet the needs of potential occupiers and their individual requirements on site. With units ranging from 35,000 sq ft to 575,000 sq ft, there will be buildings to suit a wide variety of small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as the larger manufacturing and distribution companies,”

Gavin Turner, Bridon

Bridon, a Doncaster-based manufacturer of wire and fibre rope, has appointed Gavin Turner as new sector marketing manager.

Gavin joins Bridon after working in a global marketing role for a FTSE 100 manufacturing company for seven years.

Andy Dodwell, Group Commercial Director for Bridon said: “We welcome Gavin to the group and look forward to working with him to strengthen our marketing. “We recognise that we have a fantastic opportunity to communicate with how our world class ropes can help our customers and potential customers save money on their operating costs.

“Gavin’s first project will be to work with businesses across the globe to showcase how our products can save them operational costs due to their quality and longevity.

“Our £30 million factory in the UK manufactures the largest and most complex ropes ever made, in package weights of up to 650 tonnes, boasting enhanced breaking loads, optimised bend fatigue performance, effective lubrication, and minimal rotation under load.

“As a global technology leader we have one of the world’s most advanced facilities for the development and testing of offshore ropes, the Bridon Technology Centre, where we are constantly pushing the boundaries of current rope capabilities and finding new solutions to the problems posed by deeper waters.”

Gavin said: “I am delighted to be able to take up this role at Bridon. The company clearly prides itself on product innovation and customer service and I am really excited about becoming a part of this team.”

Alex Richardson, DS.Emotion

Alex Richardson has been appointed to head up the growing digital team at DS.Emotion in Leeds.

Alex joins the creative and digital marketing agency from Brass where he led integrated campaigns for brands including Lucozade and Ribena.

At DS.Emotion Alex will assume responsibility for insight and ideas generation, scoping and planning along with project and team management duties.

More immediately Alex will pick up digital campaign planning for Moda Living, Civica, Henry Boot, Hill Residential and Fullers Foods Plc.

Angus Armitage, Director at DS.Emotion said, “We are delighted to bring Alex into the senior team at DS.Emotion. He is clearly highly regarded in the industry and his experience working with big brands such as Procter and Gamble and PlayStation will undoubtedly bring strategic value to our clients.”

DS.Emotion was established in Leeds 23 years ago and now operates nationally with studios in London and Manchester as well as Leeds.

(L-R) Steve Eastwood and Owen Finn

Steve Eastwood, Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce

The Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce has elected Steve Eastwood as its 178th president at its recent AGM.

Mr Eastwood, who works for Lorica Insurance Brokers, takes over the presidency from lawyer Tim Durkin.

Mr Eastwood has worked with many businesses across the Humber during his 30 years in the insurance profession and has served as President of the Insurance Institute of Hull.

His direct involvement with the Chamber stretches back more than 20 years and he has served on local and regional councils as well as the board.

The Chamber’s new Vice President is Owen Finn, managing director of Premier Building & Engineering Services UK Ltd.

Mr Finn has been a board member of the Chamber for a number of years and his knowledge and experience has contributed significantly to the growth and direction of the Chamber.

Joanne Shaw, Irwin Mitchell

The Sheffield-based Property Litigation team at Yorkshire-based law firm Irwin Mitchell has added to its expertise with the appointment of solicitor Joanne Shaw.

Joining the firm from the Birmingham office of Eversheds, Joanne specialises in real estate litigation and has experience in a range of matters, including handling landlord and tenant disputes for both commercial and private clients.

She also has experience of lease renewals, possession issues in both the commercial and residential sectors, as well as insolvency and dilapidations.

Her appointment adds to the wealth of high quality property expertise based at Irwin Mitchell’s Sheffield office, across both the Property Litigation team and also the Real Estate team led by Paul Firth.

Discussing her move, Joanne said: ““It is a fantastic time to join Irwin Mitchell, with the continued growth of its business legal services offering making it a fantastic place for me to push forward and further develop my career.

“The firm has a very bright future with a wealth of knowledge and expertise across its teams and I’m very excited about being a part of helping it progress to greater success in the future.”

Danny Revitt, Partner and Head of Property Litigation at Irwin Mitchell, said: “We are delighted that Joanne has joined us and are sure she will become a core asset to our team.

“Her appointment is a reflection of the growth that continues to be seen in our business legal services teams and we know that her expertise will prove invaluable as we look to grow our team alongside our renowned Real Estate team.”

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