People: Property stalwart retires from industry; Enterprise Ventures expands its equity team; and more
After 24 years driving the portfolio expansion of commercial and industrial lettings specialist Towngate, property director John Wignall is set to retire this August.
Appointed to the board of directors in 2000, Wignall has played a significant role in growing the firm’s portfolio of industrial property lets across Yorkshire and the North West.
His notable property deals include the ex Cadbury Factory in Catterick and the refurbishment of the former Lucozade Factory in Manchester into the company’s synonymous industrial estate, Towngate Business Centre.
More recently, he has overseen Towngate’s acquisition of the historical Yorkshire Copper Works site, which is currently undergoing extensive renovation work, ready for its relaunch as The Copperworks this autumn.
He said: “I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family at our house in the Lakes and getting out on my mountain bike. My time at Towngate is not completely over though, as I’ll continue to provide support on a consultancy basis – they can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Julia Ford, Towngate’s marketing manager, added: “John is a real character – known for his friendly banter, wit and charm. He’s joined me in a long line of advertising campaigns for Towngate over recent years, and has been an invaluable member of the team, and his character and energy will certainly be missed.”
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Enterprise Ventures, part of Mercia Technologies, has expanded its early-stage equity team with the appointment of Jonny Sharp as investment manager.
He joins Enterprise Ventures’ new Leeds office as a member of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) Equity Team covering the Leeds City Region and is focused on early-stage growth capital investments into innovative, high growth businesses in the region.
Prior to joining Enterprise Ventures, Sharp spent four years working at Zeus Capital, floating companies on the stock market and working with Northern mid-market companies and their management teams. He qualified as a chartered accountant at Deloitte working in the audit department and latterly spent time in the advisory teams across a range of private-equity backed businesses.
Will Clark, joint fund manager for NPIF Enterprise Ventures Equity Finance said: “We are delighted to have Jonny join the team. He brings considerable experience with larger transactions and a wide network of contacts in the region. Following the launch of NPIF in February our debt and equity teams have received hundreds of enquiries about these new funds and Jonny will play a key role in helping us to complete transactions and reach new investee companies.”
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Jon Lightowler has joined NIC Services Group in the role as business change director.
He has been involved in the facilities management sector for more than 10 years.
John Spencer, group chairman for Leeds-based NIC, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jon to the team, as we shape and define the long-term future of business. We want to ensure NIC is always at the forefront of innovation and technology developments, and Jon will play a vital role in driving forward our change programmes.”
