Dean of business school to take up PwC role

THE dean of Leeds Business School has been poached by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers after just a year in the role.

PwC said Martin Allison, dean of the Faculty of Business & Law at Leeds Metropolitan, will be leaving at Easter to head the firm’s debt advisory arm in Leeds.

Mr Allison’s departure will be another blow for Leeds Met, which was embroiled in controversy last year after a report uncovered a culture of lavish staff spending on university credit cards.

Mr Allison said: “I will be working with Steve Denison, Stuart Warriner and Ian Green helping put PwC back on the corporate finance debt advisory map, putting them back to number one.

“Yorkshire needs catalysts in the economy. We need people who can create opportunities and who can make sure that when deals are done they get done on reasonable terms.”

Mr Allison was head of international banking systems at The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) until 2008 and spent 20 years in banking. He worked for NatWest and RBS for the majority of his career after joining its graduate management trainee programme 20 years ago in Leeds.

Mr Allison said he was leaving the business school in good shape, and would continue in an ambassadorial role to “help the university to carry on doing the right thing”.

“I have done 12 months,” he said. “The business school is up and running. The student experience is getting better. New admissions are up. We are in a great position.

“I will remain a champion of Leeds Metropolitan University and hope to continue our relationship into the future in ways that will benefit both the students and future mutual interests.”

The business school moved to its 57m new home at the Rose Bowl building last year and is home to 5,000 students.

While PwC already has a debt advisory service, it is rolled up in the firm’s corporate finance business.

Stuart Warriner, who heads the firm’s corporate finance business in the North, said: “What we see over the next 12 to 18 months is a lot of refinancing where companies either stay with their existing banks or look to move banks. All the banks are saying there’s going to be a lot more refinancing.

“For me it’s about having someone with expertise for that service. It’s effectively a regional focus for a proposition we already had. It’s great to have someone like him who will go out into the boardrooms of Yorkshire. “He loves challenges and we’re just delighted that he chose PwC.”

Mr Allison added joining PwC was “an opportunity not to be missed”. “I am privileged to be joining a team of such calibre and believe that together we can be a vital catalyst in the recovery and rejuvenation of our region’s wealth creation.”

Mr Allison, whose background is in banking rather than accountancy, added: “I did quite well in accountancy. I couldn't claim to be an accountant. They thought that was an advantage and not a disadvantage. I’ve done lots of corporate finance training.”

PwC northern chairman Steve Denison said: “Martin will be a great asset to the northern practice. He has over 20 years experience of debt financing and restructuring work and is well connected in the region.

“The current economy means there are many businesses in our region which require a debt advisory service. They have survived the recession thus far and may now feel the need to readdress their banking requirements. We look forward to welcoming him on board.”

Leeds Met was unavailable for comment.