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This week's North East appointments

The latest appointment news from across the North East.

Mark Wharton, NEL Fund Managers

Regional fund management NEL Fund Managers has added three decades of financial industry experience to its team with the appointment of Mark Wharton.

Mark has joined NEL as a portfolio executive after almost 30 years with the Co-operative Bank in the North East, the last 25 of which were spent as part of its corporate and commercial team.

He is now part of the team that provides a direct and ongoing link to the firms in which NEL has made investments, reviewing the progress they’re making against their business plans and acting as a sounding board for their management teams as they make decisions on their companies’ future development.

Over the last seven years, NEL has been responsible for running the Finance For Business North East Growth Fund, making 146 investments worth a total of £30m from it at an average deal value of around £205,000.

With three years still remaining in the investment cycle to which NEL usually operates, it has already surpassed the £20m mark in terms of the returns already generated from Growth Fund investments, and is on target to create a substantial return on the overall investment figure, which will be reinvested into North East businesses in the future.

Mark Wharton says: “Having the chance to maintain close contact with a range of expanding and ambitious North East firms, and being part of a small team that has the ability to make local decisions and can get on with its job made taking this role a very attractive option.

“NEL holds an important position in the North East’s business investment community, providing capital which enables regional firms to take advantage of development opportunities which might otherwise have remained out of reach, and it’s exciting to be working with lots of companies that are now being able to realise their growth potential.”

• particular

Commercial law firm * particular has announced 4 new appointments as it continues the growth of its Newcastle office at tech hub Campus North.

Specialising in advice for early stage businesses in the tech and creative sectors, the business operates from offices in Newcastle and Shoreditch, London.

Asif Malik joins particular from Quadrant as Associate and will practice corporate law. Asif previously qualified and practised as an accountant and will be specialising in corporate finance, especially equity investments. Asif has run his own businesses in the past and continues to play an active role in his family’s business interests.

Barry Arkle has been appointed as Associate and joins from Sintons where he developed expertise in contentious intellectual property law. Prior to that, Barry gained extensive experience in insolvency and litigation and will be managing all dispute resolution and insolvency work for particular.

Matthew Donnelly has been appointed as Trainee Solicitor, having graduated from Hull University with a degree in Law and Criminology. He then completed the Legal Practice Course at the University of Law at York before travelling extensively in the far east and Australia.

Amy Gatenby joins particular initially as a paralegal and will start a training contract with the firm in the autumn. Amy will graduate from Northumbria University with a Masters in Law in June and looks forward to applying her interest in fashion in developing expertise in intellectual property law.

Matthew Rippon, Director and Founder of particular, said: “the appointments of Asif, Matthew and Amy are a reaction to the ever-growing demand for our services from tech and creative businesses and their arrival will hopefully mean that for the first time since we took on our first employee in 2014, we will have some spare capacity to devote to new projects.”

Chris Ferguson, Gospelware

Newcastle App Technology company Gospelware has appointed Chris Ferguson, a former IT manager of Wilton Engineering Services, as Project Manager.

Gospelware builds bespoke mobile and web app technology projects to transform the digital presence of businesses for a range of sectors including healthcare, and the automotive sector.

The role will see Chris managing all company projects, design and development teams, and main client communication during all project processes.

Chris said: “I believe the Tech Sector can develop into a significant part of the North East economy and I want to be at the centre of this, helping Gospelware and their clients in producing the work that will make this happen.”


Paul Edwards, Go North East

Bus company Go North East has welcomed Paul Edwards as its new finance director, following the retirement of Colin McPherson.

Since 2008, Paul has held numerous senior posts at Go North East’s parent company, The Go-Ahead Group plc.

Most recently he was Group Finance Director, a role involving the financial oversight of all of Go-Ahead’s operating companies across bus and rail in the UK.

Paul said: “Go North East is one of the largest employers in the region, a progressive company with an investment programme that reflects this, from multi-million spend on new vehicles and refurbishing buses to enhancing the customer experience with better on board facilities such as USB chargers and Wi-Fi.

“The industry is evolving and Go North East and its hardworking teams are dedicated to maintaining a customer focus and competitive edge, by continually improving its already excellent services and playing a major role in the local community.”

Managing director of Go North East, Kevin Carr, added: “Having worked with Paul for several years, it is great to welcome him to our senior management team where he will use his invaluable experience to play a crucial role within our business.

“As well as his financial finesse, Paul has excellent standing in the North East -working with and supporting our key partners and local communities. It’s great to have him on board.”

McDonough Marketing Communications

Sunderland Software Centre based McDonough Marketing Communications (MMC) has welcomed Rachel Whitley as a client account executive.

Rachel joins the MMC team after previously working as head of talent at software company SaleCycle, where she was responsible for attracting new people to support the company’s growth during her four year tenure.

Natasha McDonough, managing director of MMC, said: “I’ve known Rachel for a number of years and have always admired her instinct for understanding how to bring a brand to life.

“When I was ready to expand MMC, she was top of my list to talk to. Her work is already producing measurable results for clients and we’re excited to explore opportunities to work on employer branding projects in the future.

“We have a number of clients in the software, HR and recruitment sectors, and that’s why Rachel is an exceptional fit.”

The North East appointments roundup will return as usual next monday.

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