West Yorkshire Partners

Connect Yorkshire Partners are just that, in every sense of the word, professionals in the services sector, consisting of, but not limited to; Legal, Accounting, Recruitment, Insurance, Banking and Wealth Management.

Our partners offer help and support to our members, with their specific knowledge and expertise. All businesses, no matter what their shape or size, need help and advice from these industries.

Our partners hold seminars on various topics ensuring our members are informed and kept up to date with all the latest news and developments that are constantly changing and evolving in the business environment.

Below are our exclusive Partners:

Azets is the largest Top 10 regional SME Accountancy and Business Advisory firm delivering accounting, tax, audit, business and advisory services in the UK and internationally. With over 3,500 people in the UK, totalling over 6,500 people across our global office network, we are committed to delivering a personal service to our clients.

Whether you’re an ambitious entrepreneurial start-up, a medium sized business ready to scale, or a large private or public enterprise looking at your future strategic goals, we can offer you a personal, local approach underpinned by a network of unparalleled expertise. Wherever you are in your business lifecycle, we maximise your precious time – so you can focus on what you do best.

Simon Palmer

Partner

Angela Mikola

Tax Consultant

We've always believed that the first step to building wealth is building relationships.

For over 200 years, we’ve been working with our clients to preserve and enhance their wealth. By getting to know you and your family, we’re perfectly placed to adapt as your needs change over time. This is just one of the reasons many of our clients have trusted us for generations.

The art of listening.

Done well, listening is not just a skill; it’s the key to getting to the heart of your current circumstances and future ambitions. It’s how we’re able to build bespoke teams around you to deliver a planning-led approach that will encompass our three core services of wealth planning, investment management and lending. In a continuous cycle of evaluation we listen, plan and deliver so that these services work together to achieve your goals, and we’re able to adapt as your needs change over time. It’s why our clients trust us to manage their wealth so they can focus on living their lives.

Phil Harris

Executive Director

Spending time with my growing family provides me with the most enjoyment; however, I am also heavily involved with the local community, winning awards such as 'Volunteer of the Year' (2020). I am the Chair for the Leeds & District Basketball Leagues and previously held a variety of other voluntary positions including  Non-Executive Director of a Yorkshire education trust.

As an active participant in various business catalyst and angel investor networks I have established a strong presence within the Yorkshire Entrepreneur market. This includes regularly chairing masterclasses for Connect Yorkshire.

I hold degrees in Finance, Business, Psychology and Sport. I'm a Chartered Wealth Manager, a Chartered Financial Planner and a Fellow by examination of the Personal Finance Society, Chartered Insurance Institute and Chartered Institute of Securities & Investments.

I have received numerous industry awards and recognition during my career.  These include being shortlisted by Spears as 'Young Private Banker of the Year' (2013), highlighted as an industry ‘Rising Star’ (2014) and winning 'Director of the Year' (2021) in the Yorkshire Financial Awards.

My role at Brown Shipley & Co Ltd, a Quintet Private Bank, involves the relationship with a small number of very high value clients and their wider family. I advise and support them with the challenges they face in fulfilling their hopes, dreams and aspirations.

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Gone are the days of business owners paying high recruitment agency fees! Candid Recruit offer a low cost, fixed price, targeted recruitment advertising service to help you attract the best candidates.

We help create a compelling job advert that puts the candidate experience at the heart of the recruitment process, tailor your vacancy to your business and select which job boards the positions are posted to, maximising the potential for a positive outcome.  We have access to all the major UK job boards and industry specific job boards are also available.

We offer a range of packages, from basic fixed fee advertising to robust search and selection packages, meaning we save our clients time and money through targeted search and selection.

Heidi Summers

Director

Heidi is one of a kind.  Yorkshire born and bred, she simply tells it how it is.  Heidi prides herself on her organisation skills, putting the client first, going above and beyond each and every time.  You will always know where you stand with her.

Prior to Heidi running her VA business, she spent 17 years working in the recruitment industry.  Having worked with blue chip FMCG business and recruiting roles from Manager, to Directors to Chief Execs, Heidi knows how to speak to people.

Being a business owner, Heidi understands how important it is to get the right people in the right roles for your business.

heidi@candidrecruit.co.uk

07496 937 009

Emma Harvey

Director

Having spent 20 years heading up HR teams in the corporate world, Emma now runs Candid HR and Candid Recruit, providing an end to end employment service to her clients. She is driven to provide an excellent service to her clients which involves attracting and retaining the best candidates.

She never ceases to be impressed by the variety of business sectors across our region and stories of growth which happen every day. She is delighted to be able to support those growth opportunities by offering a comprehensive, cost effective, recruitment advertising service that saves business owners time and money in securing the right fit for their organisation.

emma@candidrecruit.co.uk

07739 089 468

We understand fast growing business as we work with many of the most successful owner managed businesses in Yorkshire. We make it a priority to invest our time in getting to know you and your business, and this is just one of the things that differentiates us from other law firms. We want to understand your real issues, rather than just serving your immediate needs. That way, we can provide the insight and expertise your businesses really needs and understand where we can best add value so we can invest in your success. These are just some of the ways we help our clients:

  • Helping businesses put in place funding for growth;
  • Assistance with raising capital;
  • Putting in place employee share schemes;
  • Protecting intellectual property;
  • Employment law advice as the work force undergoes change and growth;
  • Advice on historic commercial contracts as well as setting them up from scratch; and
  • Improving cash flow with pro-active debt recovery advice and assistance.

Please get in touch with the team below to see how we can assist you.

Richard Moran

Senior Partner

Described as ‘exceptionally calm under pressure’ and having a ‘tough approach to negotiating’, Richard is a corporate finance lawyer with over 25 years' experience. He works with a wide range of clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and debt transactions and management buy-outs.

Advising on strategy as well as delivering transactions, Richard’s focus is on long-term client relationships. He has particular experience in handling the delicate issues at the heart of succession planning for complex family-owned businesses and is comfortable dealing with large corporate businesses alongside those with limited previous experience of working with professional advisers.

Richard is also part of our International team and works with clients with interests around the world particularly international businesses with interests in the UK and Europe.

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Roger Hutton

Joint Managing Partner

Clients view Roger as pragmatic, commercially savvy and astute. His work involves acting for a wide range of stakeholders - leading national insolvency practices, as well as major corporates, investors and directors. Roger is comfortable on either side of a distressed situation and prides himself on understanding where his client wants to get to and doing his upmost to get them there. His work involves buy-outs, acquisitions, advising appointment takers, as well as leading high-profile and complex litigations on behalf of and against directors and office holders. Roger is both highly regarded and well connected. His style is informal, direct and down to earth.

Roger thrives on the day-to-day challenges of being a restructuring lawyer and has enjoyed tremendous success and a national profile. Roger has worked on several complex high-profile brand insolvencies including many sports clubs and retailers. He has also worked on behalf of a number of high-profile bankrupts, and directors in difficult circumstances, both before and after insolvency has occurred.

As Joint Managing Partner, Roger works with the management board to help further develop our business and client relationships. He is committed to understanding how our clients would like to work with us and how we can provide more to our clients than just legal answers.

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Fun Training For Results is an exciting sales and customer service training provider in the UK. We work with large sales teams, sales managers and individuals, to deliver truly memorable training that produces results.

Sales Directors look to Fun Training For Results when seeking to motivate their sales teams, searching for truly exciting, effective training that will inspire their teams.

Organisations wanting improved NPS scores, fabulous on-line reviews and happy customers turn to us. Directors looking for training that caters exclusively for their needs and relates to their company values, not an off the shelf, one size fits all approach, use Fun Training For Results!

Fun Training For Results provides exciting, memorable, sales and customer service training that delivers increased sales and happier customers. The Fun Training For Results style of training is unique, exciting and proven to work. Training is created exclusively for each company and continues to be lived, months after delivery.

No-one trains with as much passion and enthusiasm! Inspiration is our speciality.

We have without question the most sensational reviews. Clients tell us they enjoy

the relationship, it feels like we are part of their team. Our clients don’t leave us.

They value the results we bring and frequently refer us.

SALLY ROBERTS

Managing Director

Sally’s style of training is unique, engaging, fun and it works! Her expertise comes from life at the sharp edge of Sales and Customer Service in commerce and industry.  Sally’s reviews detail increased appointment conversion, business won, increased AVO, profit margins impacted, targets smashed and sincerely happy customers!

Contact: sally@funtrainingforresults.com

Direct 01423 637247 Mobile 07432 545692

McLaren Leeds specialises in the sale of new and used McLaren cars plus servicing, parts and accessories.

Situated on Aire Valley Road, just off the M1, with fantastic access to the A1, catering across the north of England, McLaren Leeds is the eighth UK location in McLaren Automotive’s expanding network of retailers.

McLaren Leeds is operated by Park’s Motor Group, a private family-owned business with a portfolio of over 20 new car franchises in various locations throughout Scotland.

MARK BALLANCE

General Sales Manager

+44 (0) 1134 879710

mark.ballance@leeds.mclaren.com

Welcome to the next generation of insurance broking.

Partners& is a Chartered insurance broker providing specialist insurance, employee benefits, risk management and claims advice to businesses and private clients. As a next generation insurance advisory business, Partners& combines the best traditions of broking, which places value in relationships and technical knowledge, modern thinking and intelligent use of technology to ensure our clients experience a better way.

In line with its strategy to continue developing a strong northern presence, Partners& is actively looking to support likeminded businesses in the Yorkshire area.

Our aim is to be the best insurance advisory business in the UK, characterised by:

  • People who stand shoulder to shoulder with you
  • Advice that makes a difference
  • Outcomes that shape your future

Tom Kendall

Client Partner

Tom is a Yorkshire lad, born and bred. He started his insurance career at NFU before moving to Henderson Insurance Brokers in 2008 where he worked his way up to Management Director prior to joining Partners& in December 2020 as a client partner. Tom actively supports an ecosystem of connected Yorkshire businesses and is passionate about offering comprehensive advice to protect client against risk and ensure their business resilience.

0113 887 3805 / 07764 492847

Tom.Kendall@partnersand.com

Jonathan Miller

UK Sales Director

Since graduating from the University of Leeds, Jon has worked as a commercial insurance broker specialising in the food manufacturing sector and supporting M&A transactions for Private Equity and trade investors. He has held senior positions at global insurance brokers before joining the Partners& executive team as Sales Director earlier this year. Jon is also involved in a number of charities and is Chair of the Working Option in Education advisory board, committee member of children’s charity KidsOut and a co-founder of the BPFS Black Leaders Network.

m: 07776 340 091

Jonathan.miller@partnersand.com

Western Provident Association (WPA) are a specialist health insurer with a heritage stemming back over 110 years. As a not for profit insurer we choose to commit our interests to improving customer experiences and ensuring that our customers get the right product for their needs. This includes full private medical insurance and cash plans for both companies and individuals. One thing that we believe at WPA is that the customer should have the freedom of choosing when, where, and who to have treatment with making our products an integral part of the ever changing healthcare systems within the UK.

Scott Turner

Partner

I am Scott Turner, a Healthcare Practice Partner. My focus is to help new customers buy medical insurance; particularly the self-employed, company directors and professionals. I also specialise in dealing with company policies for 2 employees and above. I am here to help you at every stage of your journey with WPA. You can rest assured that I will help you to choose the right cover at the right price. I'm available however you choose, be it a meeting, by email or over the telephone, at a time that's convenient to you.

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YB Financial Advisory Limited is an FCA Regulated Commercial Finance Advisory & Brokerage based in the North of England serving clients across the UK.

The team have over six decades of banking experience covering business development, relationship management, credit underwriting and senior leadership roles.  As a result, we can tailor advice and support to access the latest funding solutions for your business.  We can facilitate all commercial finance requirements for SMEs and property professionals.

We operate across the market on an independent basis with access to over 150 lenders accurately matching clients specific needs to lenders.

Paul Grace

DIRECTOR

Paul has over 24 years financial services experience working for High Street Banks in a range of roles combining credit underwriting, debt origination and managing large regional teams.

His last role in banking was the figurehead role for a High Street Bank in Leeds working with over 150 staff across the City setting up YBFA in 2020.
Paul’s expertise is raising finance and structuring banking facilities to aid & assist a business’s cash flow requirements. Given Paul’s previous leadership team roles he is also skilled in coaching and mentoring, business development, relationship management, marketing and strategy.

Paul has worked with business’s ranging from corner shops through to PLC’s and has developed a wide skill set during the time. He has learnt that successful businesses stay true to what has made them successful in the first place.

He has held a number of Non-Executive Director roles including Welcome To Yorkshire, the county’s destination marketing organisation.

Paul is a keen sports fan having a season ticket at Leeds United & is a big cricket fan. He is married with two small children.

paul@ybfa.co.uk
07854 119277

Ben Merrick

COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIP MANAGER

Ben has worked within the financial sector for the past 15 years with over 12 years’ experience as a Commercial Relationship Manager.

Proactively supporting SME Clients with up to £5m of Turnover with a range of financial products including Commercial Mortgages, Loans, Asset Finance & Working Capital facilities.

For the last 7 years Ben has specialised in the Agriculture sector and brings with him his sector expertise in land acquisitions along with rural and equestrian lending.

Prior to this he worked in Leeds supporting a range of SME clients including BTL property landlords, manufacturing and Digital Service providers.

Outside of work Ben is father to 3 boys which keeps him busy and is a keen football fan.

ben@ybfa.co.uk
07988 794746