A 14 member Court of Protection team from Linder Myers part of Metamorph Group, led by Partners Megan Christie-Copeland and Andrew Cusworth has joined full service law firm JMW Solicitors LLP under a TUPE transfer.

JMW also already has a team of 14 working under JMW’s founding Partner Ged Wilson. The team bring with them 450 clients to JMW enhancing the excellent Court of Protection offering.

The transfer took place on 18 September and the team of 28 are now based at JMW’s offices in Spinningfields, Manchester. Both teams are well known for their outstanding Court of Protection work nationally

Megan joins JMW as Partner and Head of Court of Protection from Linder Myers where she also headed the team. She has over 10 years’ experience managing very complex Deputyship and Personal Injury Trusts, she also works with clients who have sustained severe disabilities, brain injuries or life impacting injuries or illnesses helping them move forward where possible with their lives. She was recently involved in a notable test case of Cumbria County Council v A which involved the Vice President of the Court of Protection considering the Court’s approach when a deputy who has previously consented to act, then wishes to discontinue their role.

Megan is joined at JMW by fellow Partner, Andrew Cusworth. Andrew, like Megan, specialises in all areas of Court of Protection and had been at Linder Myers for over 16 years. He holds a large number of appointments as a Deputy as well as Trustee and Executor acting also as a Litigation friend for people with reduced metal capacity. He also works closely with a number of charitable trusts. Legal directory Chambers and Partners ranks Andrew in band 2, UK wide, for lawyers specialising in Court of Protection: Property and Affairs. It says Andrew is notable among clients for his “great technical knowledge” and “very good range of skills.” He is also praised as a “very approachable” lawyer who “does a great job explaining complex legal matters.”

Commenting on the team’s arrival Joy Kingsley, Senior Partner at JMW said:
“The addition of such a substantial team and their clients during the pandemic has presented its challenges and we would like to thank all those at JMW who have pulled together to make this happens. This transfer makes our highly skilled Court of Protection department, one of the largest in the North West.”

Paul Walker, Managing Partner at JMW also commented:

“JMW are very grateful to Ged Wilson a long standing Partner in our Court of Protection team and one of JMW’s original Partners for his hard work in leading JMW’s Court of Protection team to date. We know Ged and his team at JMW are excited to welcome Megan and Andrew and their team.”

Megan Christie-Copeland, Head of Court of Protection at JMW said:

“We are all very pleased with our decision to join JMW and the Court of Protection team here as we believe this a great fit for all. The new Court of Protection department at JMW has a great opportunity to expand further and will be able to help more clients with their issues which are often life changing.”

Taziker, the multi-disciplinary specialist contractor with a Head Office in Bolton, Greater Manchester, is very pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Corcoran to the company and the Board as Chief Executive Officer, effective 1st October 2020.

Steve has a distinguished career in the construction sector, operating at board level in both public and private businesses, including nine years as CEO of Speedy Hire plc. More recently Steve has been advising on a number of investment opportunities in the UK and Europe.

Steve joins Taziker to lead its growth strategy, as a leading provider of protective coatings, structural refurbishment and strengthening projects for the UK’s critical transport, utility, industrial and marine infrastructure.

Adrian Ringrose, Chairman said, “On behalf of everyone at Taziker I am delighted to welcome Steve to the Group. He brings a wealth of leadership experience, commercial insight and business know-how that will benefit the business and the team enormously as we pursue our ambitious growth strategy”.

Rayhan Davis, on behalf of Freshstream, the majority owner of Taziker, said, “We are very pleased to have been able to attract a CEO of Steve’s calibre and track record to lead the business. As shareholders, we are committed to growing the business strongly over the coming years, and welcome Steve as an integral part of this growth plan”.

Steve Corcoran said, “I am delighted to be joining Taziker at this exciting time. Taziker is a long established, well respected specialist contractor, led by an experienced management team and supported by highly skilled personnel across the business. As an organisation, Taziker is held in high regard by its clients and I look forward to working with them and the team, as we look to grow and develop the business to meet its true potential”.

Cowgills Property Finance team has advised Insurance Revolution on the acquisition of 8,460 sq ft of commercial office space at Citygate in Castlefield Manchester for £1.1m.

The company, which specialises in insurance provision for fast food delivery and courier companies as well as business car and commercial fleet insurance, acquired the property out of administration having worked with Cowgills to secure £825k funding from Yorkshire Bank.

The move will see Insurance Revolution move 50 employees from Boulton House on Chorlton Street to Citygate where it will create a new head office for the rapidly growing business. The company intends to invest up to £200,000 on fitting out the property to create a modern, Covid-secure workplace which will include a private gym for staff.

Commenting on the acquisition Insurance Revolution CEO Mark Rigby said: “The business has achieved year on year growth since it was established in 2012 and we’ve seen a significant uptick in recent months in our core market of food delivery and courier services due to the change in consumer habits as a result of Covid.

“Acquiring a city centre property and creating a new head office has been a long held aspiration and is key to helping us create the best possible working environment for our people and achieve our ambitious expansion plans. Citygate is the perfect location and provides twice the space we previously had, space we will certainly need as we expect to double our staff numbers again in the next few years. It is close to the A57 , Metrolink and Deansgate station, it comes with its own parking spaces and most importantly is just a short walk from the city centre amenities for our staff.”

David Rainford, Cowgills Property Finance director who advised Insurance Revolution on the funding added: “It has been a pleasure to play a part in this significant milestone for Insurance Revolution and get this deal across the line in what remains a challenging funding market. It is testament to the strength of the client’s business and I look forward to seeing their continued future growth.”

Insurance Revolution, which is part of the iRevolution Group has gone through a period of significant organic growth over past 12 months generating an annual insurance premium income of £32m. Throughout the pandemic the business has been actively recruiting staff with ten new starters joining in the last couple of months, another three will start next week.

Commenting on the finance arrangement with Yorkshire Bank managing director Uwais Patel added: “I can’t speak highly enough of Cowgills and Hannah Stokes and the team at Yorkshire Bank who turned this deal around for us within a matter of weeks, having experienced a hiatus with our previous lender. David and Hannah worked seamlessly to help us secure this funding and acquire the property.”

Hannah Stokes added: “We’ve worked with David and the team at Cowgills for many years and they always bring us really strong, high calibre funding opportunities such as this. Given the current climate is it really rewarding to be able to support a thriving business and help them achieve their growth ambitions. We wish them the best of luck in their new premises.”

Carolyn Van Hecke at Cowgills also provided Insurance Revolution with specialist VAT advice, Juber Deriwala at Curtis Law Solicitors provided the legal advice.