Ampla Finance

Ampla Finance has appointed Natalie Player and Deborah Ward as commercial and partnership directors, respectively.

As commercial director, Natalie, who will be predominantly based in the company’s London office, will head up the business’ partnerships team and will be responsible for its relationships in London and the south of England.

She will also be in charge of developing existing and new products for the market.

Meanwhile, Deborah, who will be based in Manchester, will be responsible for Ampla’s relationships with law firms and solicitors across the north of England and the Midlands.

Both join Ampla from Novitas Loans, where they were account directors for the last four years.

Prior to this, Natalie trained and practiced as a solicitor at Bircham Dyson Bell (now BDB Pitmans) and Ambrose Appelbe, while Deborah previously worked as a director at O’Neill Morgan and a solicitor at Keoghs, Nicholls, Lindsell & Harris.

This follows Richard Kennerley’s appointment as CEO, and the recent extension of the company’s legacy products into Scotland.

“I am really excited to be joining Ampla Finance at this pivotal moment in the market,” said Natalie.

“I’ve been really impressed by the ambition the business has shown over the last couple of years, which has helped to establish the company as a major player in the legal finance market already. 

“In my new role, I’m looking forward to building on this progress as we look to become the market leader in the coming years.”

Deborah added: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Ampla Finance team; as soon as I was aware of the opportunity to join, I jumped at the chance. 

“There’s a brilliant team already in place, who has done a terrific job growing the business in the last two years. 

“I’m looking forward to working alongside Richard and the rest of the team as we look to continue expanding and building up the client base right across the UK.”

Richard commented: “I’m delighted to welcome both Natalie and Debbie to Ampla. 

“Both have extensive networks and commercial relationships and, as ex-lawyers, a depth of industry experience that will be of tremendous value to our partners and clients.

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“Following the recent roll out of our legacy products in Scotland, the hires of Natalie and Debbie are the latest sign of our further expansion and growth in the legal finance market. 

“Their arrival goes a long way to further advancing us on our journey and mission of becoming the number one provider in our chosen products and services. 

“I’m looking forward to working closely with both Natalie and Debbie as we look ahead to another year of growth in 2022.”

Bibby Financial Services

Bibby Financial Services has promoted James Cooper to chief technology officer and Nicola Allard to head of IT.

James, who has been working for the firm since 2014, will help drive forward Bibby’s technology agenda as part of its new 4.0 strategy. 

Meanwhile Nicola, who joined Bibby in 2013, will assume responsibility for the day-to-day delivery of technology to customers and colleagues.

“Across the world, we have experienced and engaged teams providing excellent service to our customers,” said James.

“Technology will be key in augmenting this passion for service excellence and underpin our strategic ambition. 

“This is an exciting time for Bibby Financial Services, and I look forward to working with people from across the business, external partners and customers to evolve our technology ecosystem.”

Nicola added: “We’re committed to continually enhancing the way in which we can service our people and customers through the provision of technology, so I’m delighted to be able to support and enable our teams across the world.”

Richard Olver, chief operations officer at Bibby Financial Services, stated: “Our strategy focuses on becoming a leading international provider of working capital solutions with a multi-channel delivery and operational platform, so our technology roadmap and delivery is critical to our success. 

“I’m delighted to announce James and Nicola’s appointments; I’m confident with them both in post, we will continue to build on the excellent service we’re known for by enhancing the customer experience via technology. 

“In addition, the team is critical to supporting our ambitious growth plans through the provision of systems to support new product development and strategic partnerships.”

NARA

The industry body for fixed charge and property receivers NARA has elected Russell Miller as chair.

In addition to his role at the industry body, Russell is also a partner and LLP member at Vail Williams.

“I am delighted to be the chair of NARA for the coming year as we at Vail Williams continue to provide LPA/fixed charge receivership expertise across the country during these interesting times,” said Russell.

Last week, NARA also welcomed Philip Collis, partner at TLT, and Paul Joseph, director at Strettons as committee members.