Leading commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has boosted its Restructuring team with the lateral hire of insolvency and restructuring partner Will Jones.

Will joins from Knights, which he joined as part of Knight’s acquisition of Turner Parkinson, the firm where he progressed from qualification to partnership in four years, having specialised in this practice area for his whole career to date.

Based in Hill Dickinson’s Manchester office but with a national remit and client base, Will has already built a strong reputation in the field of insolvency and restructuring. He is widely known and well regarded for providing expert legal support to insolvency practitioners and funders in the structuring, handling and implementation of corporate insolvency processes.

Will has significant experience in advising directors on their duties when their companies are in distress and for bringing or defending antecedent transaction claims arising out of liquidations. He also provides legal support for complex bankruptcies.

Welcoming Will to Hill Dickinson, Paul Spence, head of the firm’s Insolvency and Restructuring team, said: “Our work in insolvency and restructuring has grown exponentially in recent years as our client base has expanded nationally. Adding additional partner-level capacity to the team is very much in line with our original strategic planning for 2020 and I am delighted that Will has joined us.

“At the start of 2020, we could never have foreseen that the events of 2020 would affect businesses and all aspects of the global economy so profoundly. We are working very closely with our clients to consider and advise on options, restructure where this may help minimise financial losses and help them emerge as strongly as possible from this second period of lockdown. Having Will on the team gives us valuable additional breadth and capacity at exactly the time when our clients need us most.”

Will Jones added: “I’m delighted to have joined such a well-regarded Insolvency Team and look forward to dealing with the issues and helping business to deal with the fallout that will follow the challenging situation we all find ourselves in at the moment.”

The Restructuring team acts for a substantial number of insolvency practitioners nationally and locally on a broad range of mandates including transactional and contentious assignments, and complex real estate work outs.

Its work was recognised at the 2019 Turnaround Restructuring and Insolvency (TRI) awards when Hill Dickinson was voted Insolvency Law Firm of the Year. The team has been shortlisted for the same award in the TRI 2020 awards, due to take place in December.

Mike Wilton has been appointed to lead the Manchester Climate Change Partnership (MCCP) on this critical next stage of the city’s zero carbon transformation.

Manchester is committed to becoming zero carbon by 2038 at the latest – at least 12 years ahead of national targets – and this requires the city collectively to play its full part in limiting the effects of climate change. Over the next three years Manchester needs to reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 15% every year, a goal that will require major changes in the city’s transport, buildings, energy and food systems, with every resident and business playing their part.

MCCP brings together some of the leading organisations in Manchester, including Manchester City Council, Manchester’s universities, Bruntwood the largest commercial property owner in the city, Manchester City Football Club, Electricity North West, and Manchester Cathedral, along with other cultural, community, and public organisations in the city.

Its role is to work with the partners and the wider community to ensure that Manchester develops and successfully implements a city climate change strategy that is consistent with the Paris Agreement.

Mike is the Manchester office leader of engineering and design consultancy Arup and has spent over 30 years playing a key role in the city’s regeneration. Mike said:

“I am very excited to be working with Manchester’s key institutions, and our national and international partners, to help Manchester meet its zero carbon ambition. MCCP has done some great work to identify the significant reductions in carbon emissions required and has started us on the journey to becoming one of the world’s first zero carbon cities.

“As we emerge from the present pandemic, we need to work together to create a more sustainable and resilient future. By building back better and greener, we can not only improve our climate resilience and create a zero carbon future, but also help live happier and healthier lives.”

Councillor Angeliki Stogia, Executive Member for Environment at Manchester City Council, and member of the MCCP Chair Appointment Committee, welcomed Mike’s appointment: “Throughout the recruitment process, Mike demonstrated a depth of understanding of Manchester, and of the climate change challenge before us.

“Not only does he have a wealth of professional experience that will help to accelerate progress, it’s clear he also shares our commitment to action and will no doubt ensure that Manchester continues to be at the forefront of cities leading the fight against climate change.”

Mike and the Partnership’s work is supported by the Manchester Climate Change Agency, a not-for-profit organisation established in 2015 to drive forward the city’s climate change agenda.

Jonny Sadler, Programme Director for the Agency, added: “In March this year Manchester City Council endorsed the Manchester Climate Change Framework 2020-25, our strategy towards making Manchester a thriving, zero carbon, climate resilient city. The strategy’s delivery is now more important than ever. Retrofitting homes, shifting to sustainable diets, greening the city, local renewable energy generation, boosting walking and cycling and other priorities are not only essential to meeting our climate goals, but will also ensure the city creates good jobs, healthy communities and thriving businesses as part of Manchester’s Green Recovery. I very much look forward to working with Mike on this exciting next phase of the city’s zero carbon journey.”

Over the next three years MCCP will be expanded to bring in new organisations and sectors not currently part of the city’s shared efforts. This work will be supported by Manchester’s participation in the City-Business Climate Alliance, a new initiative to help cities to mobilise local businesses to take urgent action on climate change.

The CBCA is run by C40 Cities, which connects 97 of the world’s greatest cities committed to taking bold climate action, CDP and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Pamela Jouven, Head of City-Business Climate Alliances at C40 said:

“Manchester is one of eight cities globally participating in the first cohort of CBCA. Manchester is a global leader in their ambitious and urgent commitments in line with the Paris Agreement and building strong collaborations to translate ambition into immediate action. We look forward to working with the team in Manchester to help accelerate the exciting work already underway across the Partnership.”

Mike’s appointment marks the start of the next stage of development for the Climate Change Partnership and Agency, including the appointment of a new Agency Director and Youth Champion for Climate Action.

www.manchesterclimate.com

Rebecca McPartland, MRICS, has joined Altrincham based Regional Property Solutions, South Manchester’s leading commercial property surveyors.

Rebecca, previously with Emerson Management Services, joins as Property Manager to take care of the growing property management business.

Daniel Lee, director, Regional Property Solutions, said: I am delighted to welcome Rebecca to our team. We continue to operate in a challenging time and her management skills and expertise will be at the forefront as inevitably some businesses struggle with the Covid fall out. Rebecca’s previous roles bring a valuable level of experience to the firm as our property management business continues to grow”.

Rebecca McPartland, said: “I was attracted to RPS as it combines the expertise and modern resources of a typical national practice but with the specialism and flexibility of a niche practice that appreciates the value of a work life balance.

“The added bonus is that Daniel and I worked together at Donaldsons/DTZ back in the day so I am looking forward to joining forces with him again to grow the management portfolio and to ensure the smooth running across the UK of over 100 buildings and estates with a rent roll in excess of £6M”.

Manchester-based Digital Marketing agency, Banc, attracts big agency talent for their latest hire in the Paid Media Team.

Taking on the role as Paid Media Manager, James Smith joined the Banc team in February. James started his Paid Media career at The Hut Group, then moved on to one of the biggest digital agencies, iProspect, where he received extensive training. James has worked in paid media for over four years, with two years in market research prior to that, following a degree in marketing from Keele University.

Paid Media Director, Hollie Grave, said: “James joining the team has been a perfect fit. He has great energy and passion which is injected into his work, with excellent knowledge and hands-on experience in Paid Media, this means our clients get more of the big agency expertise whilst enjoying the focus we can give them on our scale.”

James encountered the added pressure when he joined of having to work solely from home, but has put all his training and knowledge into his accounts, seeing significant increases in performance across multiple clients.

James said: “Working for Banc has been a roller coaster, a good one, giving you the freedom to put your knowledge to the test, as well as the opportunity to constantly learn new skills and develop as a digital marketer. The whole team has an incredible energy, and you can really see the effort and love that goes into the work. It feels like I’ve been a part of the Banc family for a lot longer than I have.”