BUSINESSES in York and North Yorkshire have started 2020 by strengthening their teams with numerous new appointments.

York-based property and development company, S Harrison has appointed Paul Holcroft as a development executive.

He joins from Scarborough Group where he was part of the team responsible for delivering the expansion of the 1.4m sq ft Thorpe Park office, retail and leisure park.

His experience will further strengthen the business which is expected to report excellent profits for 2019 following a record year in 2018. Harrison’s forward pipeline includes a range of major schemes in Manchester, Edinburgh, West and North Yorkshire.

Managing director, Ann Scott, said: “Paul brings a wealth of experience to an already strong Harrison team.

"His impressive track record demonstrates a real understanding of all the key elements of successful property development – identifying opportunities, appraising their viability, sourcing funding then assembling the skills to deliver and ultimately letting or selling the completed scheme.

"We are delighted to have him on board.”

Ison Harrison’s York branch has bolstered its team with Shelley Britton as a family law solicitor. Shelley qualified in August 2014 and previously worked at Switalskis Solicitors, also in York.

Shelley said: “I strive to help clients who are often in a vulnerable situation and cannot see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, to find an amicable and satisfactory solution. Despite my best efforts, it can be challenging in some cases where clients cannot be persuaded to make the necessary changes to enable a more satisfactory outcome in their case, but I will always give honest advice and the best recommendations."

York-based VetPartners has a new managing director for France as the UK group prepares for further European expansion.

The arrival of Vincent Parez signals VetPartners’ intent to increase its presence in Europe following last year’s expansion into Italy, and expects to welcome the first French practices to the group this spring.

Vincent, a former vet, joins VetPartners after working part-time in the US for global healthcare giant MSD.

VetPartners owns 130 UK veterinary practices, with 5,355 employees working in more than 450 sites, and he believes it is the perfect time for the group to expand in France with the country’s veterinary industry facing a period of change.

He said: “The French market is now fully open to the idea of veterinary groups. The prospect of being part of the VetPartners’ adventure as country lead for France is very exciting to me.

“It will mark a major evolution of the professional veterinary landscape in France."

Internal communication agency RED in York has welcomed Laura Good as client services director and Stuart Brown as the new head of design.

Laura joins from scarlettabbott and takes on responsibility for the day-to-day running of the business, overseeing the studio and heading up a new agency-wide learning and development plan. She has a background in PR and journalism, and is also a qualified Institute of Leadership and Management business coach.

Stuart 's design experience includes projects for high-profile names in retail, property management and insurance. He will be managing RED’s team of designers as well as expanding the company’s digital offering.

Andy said: “I’m delighted that Laura and Stuart have joined our senior team. They’ve got bags of experience, ideas and talent, which will help RED go from strength to strength in 2020. We can’t wait to see what the new year – and decade – brings.”

Family-run Sloemotion, at Barton-le-Willows, near Malton, has a new managing director. Neil Spiers has a wealth of commercial and business experience and is working with the team to help grow sales distributions. He has worked across UK and international B2B and B2C retail markets, turning brands in different sectors into market leaders.

Joff Curtoys, founder director, said: “We’re excited to welcome Neil to the company; he brings a real commercial and marketing pedigree that will help us grow further and flourish.”