PwC strengthens its corporate finance team in the region

Dan Sheahan joins the Leeds office this week from DC Advisory in Manchester, formerly known as Close Brothers Corporate Finance. Mr Sheahan has more than ten years’ experience in the corporate finance industry, specialising in private equity and mid-market transactions. He has advised on a number of high profile transactions including CD&R’s acquisition of B&M Stores, Equistone’s investment in Fircroft Engineering Services and the sale of Britton Group to Sun Europe Capital.

Elsewhere, Hart Shaw Chartered Accountants & Business Advisers has announced that Emma Legdon has become a partner of the Sheffield-based firm. She joined Hart Shaw in a temporary administrative role in 1993. Working her way up the managerial ladder, Ms Legdon qualified as an insolvency practitioner in 2011 and obtained her licence last year.

Estate agent Blundells has appointed one of its long-standing members of staff as regional director in Sheffield. David Vaughan, who has worked for the South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire-based company for more than 12 years, will be based at the firm’s branch at Banner Cross, but will also oversee two other branches at Crookes, and Hillsborough.

Yorkshire-based Ffrees Family Finance has strengthened its marketing team following four new appointments, including marketing manager, Debbie McDermott and marketing executives Simon Bloomfield, Tom Fletcher and Zoe-Louise Bell, who will work out of its head office at the Electric Works, Sheffield.

This comes after the appointment of former First Direct chief executive, Alan Hughes, as chairman of Ffrees, joining founder and CEO Alex Letts and ex First Direct commercial director, Peter Simpson, in the leadership team.

Kate Betts, director of Barnsley-based media and PR agency Capital B Media, has been appointed as an associate trainer and consultant at the Cabinet Office-approved Emergency Planning College, near York. She will run courses for emergency planners on how to deal with the media in a civil emergency and how to use social media. Ms Betts has also been taken on by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations to run training courses around the country on its behalf on PR and dealing with the media.

Leeds-based creative marketing agency, Turn Key, has expanded its digital team with the introduction of one team member and the promotion of another. Jane Illman has joined the team of developers and designers as account director, alongside James Wray who has been promoted from account director to head of digital. Ms Illman previously worked at Fuse8.