The first FinTech North conference of 2019 is returning to Manchester next week, following last year’s sell out event. One of a series of events held across the North, FinTech North Manchester 2019 will take place on Wednesday 17 April at University of Manchester’s Whitworth Hall.

The conference will bring together policy and decision makers across the public and private sector, alongside some of the most established businesses, financial services and tech firms both regionally and nationally. Topics to be tackled on the day include the national and regional economy, the future of payments, how the lending market has been revolutionised, and the impact of open banking.

Delegates and speakers from across the UK will join their counterparts from Greater Manchester and the Northern Powerhouse, as well as a large cohort of international attendees. This includes a 25 strong delegation of guests from ICBC, the largest bank in China, in collaboration with the AMBS Executive Education Centre. Over 300 delegates are expected for a day of speeches, panel sessions, networking, and showcases.

The event will focus on the skills, resources, innovation and economic strength of the FinTech community in the North, as well as exploring opportunities for further growth and sharing expertise with counterparts across the UK and internationally.

The day will be chaired by Chris Sier, FinTech Envoy at HM Treasury. Keynote speakers include Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, and Henri Murison, Chief Executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. Charlotte Croswell, CEO of Innovate Finance, will be discussing London and global FinTech trends.

Europe’s biggest FinTech organisation, OakNorth, valued at over a billion euros and with offices in Manchester, will be showcasing the latest innovations in the field, alongside a range of Manchester’s fastest growing startups including Arro Money, Mojo Mortgages, and AccessPay.

Now in its fourth year, FinTech North was established in 2016 as a non-profit project by Whitecap Consulting and White Label Crowdfunding. It aims to reinforce the UK’s Northern Powerhouse region as a centre of excellence for FinTech.

Julian Wells, Director of FinTech North, commented: “Last year was our first ever Manchester conference, and it was an incredible success. The region really pulled together to support the local FinTech scene, and seats were sold out. We heard interesting discussions on the challenges and opportunities for Manchester FinTechs, saw demonstrations of the latest technologies, and new relationships and partnerships were formed to help further the growth of FinTech in the area.

“This year, we have decided to hold an even bigger conference in Manchester, so more local organisations can take advantage of the opportunities to network, collaborate with some of the most influential and exciting FinTechs, benefit from national and international expertise, and even influence policy. The response so far has been really encouraging, with speakers and sign-ups in the North, but also across the UK and even internationally.”

Davis Blank Furniss, the Manchester & Glossop based law firm, has promoted property lawyer Jennifer Smith to partner and Lewis Thompson, private client solicitor, to associate solicitor.

Jennifer joined the firm in 2013 and handles all aspects of commercial and residential property, including commercial property sales and acquisitions, advising on business tenancies for landlords and tenants, and sales, purchases and re-mortgages of residential properties.

Lewis Thompson was appointed in March 2017 and works in the firm’s Glossop office. He specialises in all areas of private client work including Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Trusts, Court of Protection matters and Probate.Also, Charlotte Tyrer has been admitted as a solicitor in the Family and Private Client Departments following the successful completion of her training contract.

Kate Oldfield, managing partner, said: “Both these promotions are incredibly well deserved. Jennifer and Lewis have worked extremely hard and have shown tremendous commitment and energy to our clients and are central to the firm’s future. We are also delighted that Charlotte is continuing her career at Davis Blank Furniss and I have no doubt that she will be an outstanding addition to the team.”

Jennifer added: “Being promoted to partner is a real milestone in my career, but my focus will continue to be on adding value to my team, the wider business and our clients.”

Pixel Kicks, the Manchester based full-service digital agency, has been appointed by Composite Wood Company to handle all aspects of its digital marketing activities.

Headquartered in Oldham, Composite Wood Company is one of the UK’s largest stockists and suppliers of wood polymer composite (WPC) products. WPC is a durable and long-lasting timber replacement. The firm has distributors and installers across Britain for its comprehensive range of decking, fencing, garden rooms, balustrades and railings.

Pixel Kicks’ initial brief includes SEO, PPC, social media management as well as video and content creation. All will be centered around the core messages of composite wood being the next generation in home improvement products and their environmentally friendly credentials. Over the coming months a new website will also be commissioned.

Chris Buckley, MD of Pixel Kicks, said: “The home improvement sector is a growing market so winning this project is fantastic news for the agency. Composite Wood Company is a dynamic business with a great story to tell so our focus will now be on driving visibility and enquiries from both its consumer and trade audiences.”

David McNicholas, MD of Composite Wood Company, added: “We have been keeping an eye on Pixel Kicks over the past few months and we’ve been impressed with the projects they’ve delivered for their clients. Their ability to mix creativity and commercial acumen really stood out and we are now looking forward to seeing their ideas come to fruition.”

Leading commercial law firm Ward Hadaway has the second busiest team of all Corporate legal dealmakers in the country, according to the latest Q1 Experian MarketIQ legal volume rankings which tracks M&A deals valued at more than £500,000 at regional and national level.

The firm’s Corporate team, across its offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester, advised on 20 deals in total. The North East team completed 11 of those deals, almost three times of the next ranked firm in the region.

Earlier this year, Ward Hadaway’s Corporate team was recognised as last year’s busiest Corporate dealmaker in the North East in the 2018 Experian MarketIQ league tables.

Robert Thompson, who heads up the 30-strong Corporate team, said: “We are extremely pleased to see that we are defying Brexit-related uncertainty as one of the busiest law firms in the UK when it comes to buying, selling and fund raising for businesses during Q1.

“We work with businesses of all sizes and across many different sectors and so we are really grateful to our clients for continuing to trust us with their transactions, and to our fellow professional advisers who continue to recommend us to their clients.”

Bury-based cable and pipe seal manufacturer Roxtec UK is reporting rapid growth across the European rail sector after doubling sales to more than £750,000 in the last 12 months.

Roxtec Divisional Manager for Infrastructure & Industry, David Chalmers, said UK sales grew substantially by 120pc, following a series of high-profile project wins in the rail sector. The deals have contributed to sustained growth over a four-year period, for new and retrofit applications.

David said: “Roxtec UK has enjoyed another record-breaking year in the rail sector

“We have developed strong business partnerships in the rail and rolling stock markets where we deliver specialist cable, pipe and conduit seals. We offer a complete package from design, engineering, installation training, maintenance and inspection support. Some key projects driving growth include the delivery of multi-cable transit systems for London Underground and heavy-duty cable seal solutions for Network Rail’s London Bridge Station. We are also involved in pioneering projects such as Crossrail’s new Elizabeth Line for London and the South East. This passes through 42km of tunnels and is currently one of Europe’s largest infrastructure project.”

Roxtec UK is a British subsidiary of the £173million turnover Swedish headquartered Roxtec Group. In 2018, the division delivered a record financial year. Following three successive years of stable turnover, UK sales rose substantially in the 2017/18 financial year to more than £6million.

David added: “Our solutions make it possible to route multiple cables and conduits of different sizes through openings in rail and rolling stock, as well as allowing our customers to add additional services at a later stage, without making new holes. Some applications Roxtec’s solutions can be applied to include signalling and rail control, communications, tunnels and bridges, railway stations and rail yards.

“Within the rolling stock arena, we offer cable management and sealing solutions for jumper plates, bogies, HVAC systems, junction boxes, pantograph and partition walls. We offer cable retention systems tested for shock & vibration and dynamic forces. Roxtec’s pre-configured sealing solutions are tested and certified according to standards such as EN 45545:3, up to E60 EN 45545:2 HL3 and BS EN 1366 up to EI120 in order to guarantee long-term protection against multiple risks, Roxtec are Network Rail and London Underground approved. We can also create customised solutions according to specific needs and requirements.”

Interstate Hotels & Resorts has been named as the new management company for the Holiday Inn Manchester, Central Park, marking the firm’s fourth move into the city in less than a year.  Interstate was selected as the management company by a private investor that acquired the hotel in early 2019.

The 83-guest room property houses a casual dining restaurant and five meeting rooms with a total capacity of up to 120 people.

The news follows a duo of new signing announcements for Interstate at Manchester Airport and the opening of Interstate’s first hotel in the city, the Hotel Indigo Manchester Victoria Station.

Nicholas Northam, Executive Vice President, International said: “Manchester is a really exciting city with so much going on across both the leisure and corporate travel markets, so we’re thrilled to be further strengthening our presence in the area with this latest signing – the Holiday Inn Manchester – Central Park.

“With Manchester Airport undertaking a major £1bn transformation programme and a real wave of new development taking place across the Manchester region, the city is embarking on a new era and we’re very proud to be playing our part.”

Holiday Inn Manchester Central Park will take Interstate’s operational European portfolio to more than 70 hotels.

Nicholas Northam added: “It’s been fantastic to get 2019 off to such a strong start with new signing announcements and the addition of an operational property to our portfolio.

“We pride ourselves on the experience and expertise of our team here at Interstate and our performance to date proves testimony to this.”

Lucardo Rawtenstall has held an engaging team building event for the North West Skills Academy.

The event, organised by Cube HR, saw representatives from the leading provider of Government funded construction NVQ qualifications split into three groups of five to six to undertake team building exercises at the Escape Room experience.

The teams took part in all three games at the venue; Dragon’s Heart, Corruption and Gem Runner, before sitting down with Cube HR managing director, Lisa Sourbutts, for a reflective and reinforcing presentation and workshop.

Lucardo Rawtenstall is the first franchise from the well-known Manchester venue and is already a success, with over 1,100 teams trying to escape, involving over 4,500 participants.

Simon Milnes, Co-Owner, Lucardo Rawtenstall, said: “The North-West Skills Academy team building event was a fantastic success and a great showcase for how Lucardo Rawtenstall’s facilities can be utilised by a variety of businesses for team building events.

“I encourage organisations to get in touch with us, so that we can help them create bespoke team building exercises in a fun, exciting and memorable way.”

Lisa Sourbutts, added: “Lucardo Rawtenstall was the perfect venue to hold an engaging and memorable team building event for the North-West Skills Academy. The facilities allowed us to hold a reflective presentation as well as a workshop, reinforcing the highlights from an excellent team building event.”