Durham law firm EMG Solicitors has announced 10 new promotions and appointments. The company, which has offices in Durham, Newcastle, Darlington, Penrith and Manchester, as well as a new base in the South, now employs 179 colleagues and in the 2024/25 financial year, recorded a 35% growth in revenue.
Janet Shackler and Rebecca Shackler are both promoted to senior administrators. Sophie Taylor, Vicki Mortimer, Susan Cozens and Jessica Skidmore are now senior paralegals. Simone Kent, Ashley Garthwaite and Mandy Cheung have been promoted to associates, and Greg Phillips is now a senior associate.
Rachael Leathley is appointed senior associate in wills, trusts and probate and Andrew Allon as senior associate in residential conveyancing in the Durham office. Victoria Burrows has also joined as senior associate in court of protection, health and welfare, in Darlington.
Newcastle law firm Mincoffs has announced two senior promotions among a raft of appointments. Ashleigh Warne has joined the partnership at Newcastle-based Mincoffs Solicitors, while Laura Liddle has progressed to associate solicitor as part of the firm’s April promotions.
Ms Warne has been with the firm for eight years and stepped into the role of assistant manager of the team in 2021, with vast experience managing a range of complex property cases. In the employment team, Ms Liddle manages a caseload of both contentious and non-contentious matters and supports partner and head of the team, Nick Smith, in growing the department, along with supervising and training new starters.
The residential conveyancing department has also appointed associate solicitor Anne-Marie Thompson to help with increasing client demand, and two new trainee solicitors – Leah McIntyre and Molly Kilgour – have recently commenced training contracts at Mincoffs, bringing its total to four.
North East investment company Develop North PLC has made a new appointment to support the fund’s ambitions to raise its international profile. Dr Sameer Al-Ansari, a respected figure in finance, investment and corporate governance, has been appointed as non-executive director and deputy chairman, to play a key role in shaping Develop North’s future investment and wider fund strategy.
His appointment will also support the plans to drive new investment into the company and promote economic growth across the North East region. With more than 30 years’ experience, Dr Al-Ansari has held senior leadership roles across a range of sectors including financial services, private equity, healthcare, real estate and digital assets.
He said: “I am delighted to join the board of Develop North at such an exciting time in its evolution. The fund has a clear ambition to support high-quality investment opportunities and drive positive economic impact across the North of England. I look forward to bringing my expertise and network to support its continued growth and to help further raise its profile nationally and internationally.”
Nixon Hire has appointed John Whitlow as chief information officer. Mr Whitlow, who will also join the main board, will lead the next phase of the Newcastle firm’s multimillion-pound digital transformation to help boost its customer experience and efficiency and drive profitability. His previous experience covers positions across financial services, legal, higher education, and healthcare.
Mr Whitlow said: “The industry is evolving rapidly, creating a major opportunity for an ambitious, fast-moving business like Nixon Hire to set the standard in digital transformation. Having worked closely with the team for the past couple of years, I have seen first hand the drive and determination to embrace change, push boundaries and continually improve both customer experience and operational efficiency.”
Graham Nixon, CEO, said: “I am delighted to announce John as our latest game-changing senior appointment to Nixon Hire. As a consultant, John has already played a pivotal role in shaping our digital strategy, and we are thrilled to have him on board in a permanent capacity to drive the delivery of it, elevating our customer experience and enhancing our operational capability.”
Karbon Group has announced nine new appointments to its board, as well as the boards and committees of its subsidiary organisations, all joining in non-executive director roles.
Four of the new appointments have been made to the Karbon Group Board, two to the 54North Homes Board, Karbon’s subsidiary in Yorkshire, one to the Newcastle based Leazes Homes Board and two to the board of the newly proposed for-profit registered provider subsidiary of the Group, Graphite Living.
Two new board chairs have also been made – Alexis Cleveland as chair designate, to take over as group board chair from July 1, following the retirement of Sir David Bell, and Andy Gamble as chair of 54North Homes, replacing Steve Secker who reaches the end of his tenure this month.
Paul Fiddaman, chief executive of the Karbon Group, said: “This is an exciting time to be joining the Karbon Group, as we push forward with our ambitious plans to develop more new homes across the region and grow the services we provide, all whilst delivering the highest quality service to our customers and investment in our existing homes. The diverse range of skills, passion, and experience our new members will bring, both from within and outside of the sector, will be vital in guiding us with the delivery of our strategy and I look forward to working with them all over the coming years.”
