Here is the latest BusinessLive round-up of appointments, promotions and other people news from businesses across the wider East Midlands:
Purpose Media
South Normanton marketing agency Purpose Media has announced the appointment of two new people and two internal promotions on the back of growing demand for its digital marketing services.
Joining the company are account executive Georgia Weston and client services apprentice Harriet Fell (both pictured above).
The promotions that have been announced include Becky Sandars, who becomes account manager, and Olivia Beesley who is now a senior content and marketing executive.
Georgia joins from a retail background and holds qualifications in branding and photography. Harriet has an automotive industry background and will be studying for a business administration apprenticeship arranged by EMA Training.
Georgia will support the account management team, and Harriet will support the client service team.
Head of client services Grace Golden said: “When we take on new people our goal is to always nurture their development so that they build confidence and enjoy their work from learning new skills.
“By promoting from within we help ensure continuity of client service and our people feel rewarded for their hard work and commitment.”
Actons
Independent Nottingham law firm Actons has promoted practice manager Matt Coleman to becoming its chief operations officer.
Matt has more than 18 years’ experience in the legal sector and joined the firm in 2014 initially as marketing and business development manager before becoming practice manager in August 2020.
He becomes the first non-lawyer to become a director in a move enabled by the firm’s conversion to an alternative business structure in 2019.
Chairman Simon Dakin said he was delighted to welcome Matt as a director of the firm.
He said: “I am confident that he will continue his development and make a success of this opportunity. Matt will be our first non-lawyer director, which is a great achievement, and he will play a key role in our future success.
“The next twelve months are lining up to be an exciting period for the firm, as we welcome more great people to join our team, and take forward some other key projects.”
Lawson-West
Rebecca Beswick, the head of commercial property and real estate at Leicester lawyers Lawson-West, has been promoted to director.
Becki joined the firm in 2015 as a paralegal, qualifying as a solicitor in the commercial team in 2017, specialising in commercial property matters alongside business sales and purchases.
She Becki heads-up the commercial and commercial property teams and in October 2020 was promoted to associate.
She said: “I absolutely love working for Lawson-West, they are a fantastic company to work for and they have given me the opportunity and support to demonstrate my abilities and progress my career.
“The people are what make Lawson-West and I consider myself very lucky to work with very talented, hard-working and caring colleagues.
“Whilst a career in law can be challenging at times, it is very rewarding and I am excited to see the continued growth and development of my colleagues and Lawson-West in the years to come.
Managing director David Heys said: “It is very rare that you meet someone that is genuine, inspiring and talented, plus being a nice person, Becki is all those things.
“She impressed me when she joined Lawson-West and she continues to impress me now. Her friendly and people-orientated personality is a shining example to us all.”
Smith Partnership
Julie Tomasik, who has more than 40 years’ experience in law, has joined Smith Partnership as its head of conveyancing.
She has joined the firm at a time when its conveyancing departments, at its head office in Derby as well as branches in Burton, Stoke, Leicester and Swadlincote, are continuing to deal with a surge in cases dating back to the start of the pandemic.
She will oversee a team of 15 legal staff and, alongside her own case work, will monitor and if necessary implement new IT and admin systems to ensure that the firm can continue to process a spike in conveyancing cases while maintaining its high levels of customer care.
She said: “I’ve seen lots of changes throughout my career but the one thing that has never changed is the need for people to always want to move home, whether for family reasons or through work, or, following the pandemic, for home-working.
“None of those moves can be completed without the lawyer ensuring all of the legal reviews, checks and searches are completed, which has become a complex process in this day and age.
“At the same time, people’s need to minimise the time this process takes is understandably pressing, so my task is to ensure that, with the number of cases we’re currently handling still high, we continue to deal with the workload effectively and efficiently to ensure customers complete their house moves successfully.”
Marchini Curran Associates
Nottingham-based architects and interior designers Marchini Curran Associates have appointed Sara Saadouni as architect and Lauren Leyva as architectural assistant.
The RIBA chartered practice, which provides design and project management services from its office in High Pavement, this year marked 20 years in business and put into action a new growth and community strategy.
Sara is a qualified architect in both the UK and Morocco and has an MSc in sustainable building technology from the University of Nottingham.
Having just completed her MA in architecture with a first class honours degree at the same university, she now is being sponsored by Marchini Curran Associates through her final Part III qualification to become an architect.
The appointments come six months after the management buyout of the practice by directors Kevin Smith, Justin Ziegler and Andrew Bull. Founders Nick Marchini and Des Curran, remain actively involved in the business.
Sara and Lauren will work alongside the almost 30-strong team at Marchini Curran Associates, delivering projects in the Midlands, nationally, and more recently in Europe.
Current schemes include a large-scale commercial redevelopment in Oxford city centre, a retail-led development in Camden, and a number of large data centres around London, as well as local schemes such as the new Phoenix Cinema in Leicester.
NG
Commercial property specialist NG Chartered Surveyors is expanding with a fresh hire and new facilities management division.
The Nottingham-based company has appointed experienced property professional Jamie Pervin to head up the new offering, working alongside NG's growing management department and helping the building surveying team.
Jamie has worked as a property manager for an estate agency before becoming a Midlands commercial property consultant. He is studying for my APC in facilities management.
Jamie said: "NG has a fantastic reputation within the East Midlands commercial property sector.
“The opportunity to join a progressive, fast-growing company - and to head up a new arm of the business - was an offer I couldn't refuse."
Persimmon Birmingham
A new technical trainee has been appointed at Persimmon Homes Central in Birmingham.
Remy Baker, from Donisthorpe, in Leicestershire has joined the at Persimmon Homes Central technical team as a technical trainee in Birmingham, focusing on architecture and engineering at projects in the West Midlands.
In 2021, Remy undertook work experience at Persimmon Homes which gave him an insight into the industry and identified a potential career path for him.
Remy said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Persimmon Homes at a time when they have recently secured their 5 star quality rating.
“I am joining a great team and I am particularly looking forward to understanding the technical side of the business and putting to good use the skills I learnt in sixth form.”
As part of his formal training, Remy attends Burton College one day a week where he is studying for an HNC in Building Studies.
Persimmon Homes technical director Nick Wilkins said: “When Remy joined me for work experience, he took to it like a duck to water and I could see the potential in him.
“I was delighted he found the experience to be positive and has now joined the team as a technical trainee where he will be able to develop his skills and build a successful career for himself at Persimmon Homes.”
Remy has aspirations to build his own home one day.
Duncan & Toplis
Kreston Global, an international network of independent accounting firms, has re-elected East Midlands-based Duncan & Toplis managing director Adrian Reynolds to its board of directors.
Kreston Global is currently the 12th largest accounting network in the world, with more than 700 international offices in 160 countries and employing 23,500 people.
As part of the Kreston international network of accountants, Kreston Duncan & Toplis unlocks the support of 22,000 professionals in 120 countries for business across the East Midlands.
Mr Reynolds said: “I am honoured to be re-elected to the board of Kreston Global.
“I have a passion for good governance and for developing the talent we need to sustain our network, ensuring that directors are well equipped to contribute to the decision making and success of Kreston going forward.
“At Duncan & Toplis, we have a team of over 400 professional accountants and business advisers who have detailed knowledge of the UK and the East Midlands.
“Through our membership of Kreston Global, we can unlock the expertise of Kreston colleagues around the world to help our clients grow at a global level, exploring new market opportunities, attracting international investment in our region and helping companies here expand overseas.”
Duncan & Toplis has been a Kreston Global member firm since 2011 and launched its dedicated international business gateway Kreston Duncan & Toplis in 2020, led by Duncan & Toplis director Mark Taylor, who also leads Kreston Global’s Global Tax Group.
Haines Watts
Accountancy and business advisory firm Haines Watts has welcomed new trainees and graduates to its operation in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
The graduates and school leavers will take up a host of positions across its office on Charterpoint Way and other bases across the West Midlands, joining their current crop of 24 other regional trainees.
To welcome the new team members on board, the graduates attended a regional welcome induction at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) headquarters in London recently, where they met their peers from around the country and heard from previous trainees and partners on their career progression.
Baljit Kaur, regional HR advisor in the West Midlands, said: “Our trainee induction was a fantastic opportunity to welcome our 2022 cohort of new starters.
“They had a fun-filled, informative day getting to know each other and gaining insights from our existing trainee group, about life as a trainee and the journey ahead.
“They also heard from senior partners and owners of the firm about their stories, the values that run through our people and brand, the clients we work with and ambitions our leaders have for the future of Haines Watts.”
