Hundreds of underprivileged families and homeless people across Greater Manchester have benefited after kind-hearted staff at AJ Bell raised £17,000 and completed over 200 hours of volunteering to help good causes during 2018.

Their efforts supported Cash for Kids, Wood Street Mission and the Booth Centre.

Nearly 40 employees at AJ Bell, an investment platform which has its headquarters in Salford Quays, headed to warehouses in the run-up to Christmas to deliver presents and to sort gifts from well-wishers for Wood Street Mission, which supports low-income families in Manchester and Salford, and Cash for Kids, which helps sick and under-privileged youngsters.

Cash for Kids distributed gifts to nearly 36,000 children in Greater Manchester for Christmas.

AJ Bell staff raised £17,000 during 2018 for the Booth Centre in Manchester, which helps people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to find accommodation, education and training.

Michael Summersgill, chief financial officer at AJ Bell, said: “Many of our staff value the opportunity to be able to give something back to the community and we are pleased to give them the chance to do this in various ways.

“Wood Street Mission and Cash for Kids share a common purpose of supporting families and children, helping them improve their life chances.

“Many of our staff have given up their time to provide practical help to both charities and many more have raised funds for other excellent causes through activities in the office.”

Former SAS Commander and TV star Colin Maclachlan is heading to Manchester next month, giving a talk to business leaders, coders and tech lovers, as part of a debate series hosted by coding school Code Nation.

The event, to which all are welcome, will be begin at 6pm at the Code Nation Manchester campus. Guests on the night will be treated to a special talk from Colin – who will share his fascinating experiences as an SAS commander, elaborating on his mental resilience as well as his new careers in charity work, TV and video games.

Colin – who has appeared in Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins and Channel 5’s Secrets of the SAS, will inspire attendees with his stories. He will also ignite the interest of the audience’s coders and gamers, thanks to his gaming world motion capture roles in Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, Red Dead Redemption II and L.A. Noire.

Colin explained: “I’m thrilled to be a part of this event; it’s just great to be out there talking, and sharing what I’ve been through, and how I focus on getting the best out of myself each day. If that can inspire attendees in their own pursuits, whatever they may be, then that’s great.

“I’ve witnessed and been a part of things that could break you, but I’ve channelled those experiences into making me a stronger person mentally and adapt that strength into the variety of career paths I thoroughly enjoy. I really want to convey that on the night.”

And with a coding and gaming audience already signed up to the event, Colin expects the Q&A will be full of questions about his appearances in video games. He continued: “My career’s taken quite a turn and it’s a complete novelty being part of Rockstar Games. I’m sure coders in the room will want to talk about a lot of that which will be fun too.”

Colin also works alongside Calum MacLeod, a former soldier with Kings Own Scottish Borders, on the charity they set up together. Who Dares Cares is a not-for-profit charity which they developed to support people from all walks of life who suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Andy Lord, founder and CEO of Code Nation, concluded: “Colin’s a real highlight in our annual events programme and we cannot thank him enough for giving this talk.”

A Manchester charity which helps to save and improve the lives of sick children has received a boost of more than £12,000 from accounting and business advisory firm HURST.

MedEquip4Kids, which provides hospitals and community health teams with paediatric medical equipment and facilities not available from limited NHS resources, was HURST’s charity of the year for 2018.

Staff raised a total of £12,250 and their efforts have helped fund an upgrade to the children’s emergency department at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, including colourful new seating to brighten the waiting area and new equipment to diagnose and assess patients’ conditions.

HURST’s donation has also funded additional resources for children and adolescent mental health teams, including reference books for parents, picture books for children, stress toys and games and diagnostic kits.

Ghazala Baig, chief executive of MedEquip4Kids, said: “We are so grateful to the team at HURST for their enthusiastic fundraising. They were a pleasure to work with and the commitment they show for supporting local charities is inspiring.”

Among the activities undertaken by HURST staff were the Three Peaks Challenge, a ‘dress up as a kid’ day, cake sales, car washing and valeting, and the firm’s annual corporate football tournament.

HURST chief executive Tim Potter, said: “Knowing that the money we’ve raised helps to improve the level of care which children receive locally is really fantastic. We’re so grateful to everyone who has helped us raise this phenomenal amount.”

Business advisory firm KPMG has bolstered its financial services audit practice with the appointment of Tom Tyler as a partner in Manchester.

Based at the firm’s St Peter’s Square office, Tom will use more than fifteen years’ experience to further strengthen KPMG’s audit offering to the insurance sector, with a particular focus on the growing North West market.

Tom joins from PwC, where he specialised in delivering external audits and assurance to highly regulated financial services businesses.

Tom’s arrival follows the appointment of partners Richard Little and Simon Ryder as joint heads of KPMG’s financial services practice in the UK regions in October. It also follows several other senior appointments for the firm at the tail end of 2018, including the promotion of five Manchester directors to partner and the appointment of new leads for KPMG’s North West technology, forensics, enterprise and value creation practices.

Tom Tyler said: “It’s an exciting time to join KPMG’s financial services team. The market in the North West is growing, underpinned by an innovative community of businesses setting out their stall in a challenging, crowded sector that’s traditionally associated with London. The region’s insurers are no exception, with new technology, changing demographics and the impact of expanding regulation presenting challenges and opportunities in equal measure. I look forward to working closely with companies as they navigate this environment.”

Nicola Quayle, office senior partner at KPMG in Manchester, added: “I’m confident Tom will make an excellent addition to the KPMG partnership and our growing team in St Peter’s Square. His experience working with the insurance and wider financial services sector, both in the North West and across the UK, will further expand the depth of specialist knowledge we have at our disposal in Manchester.”