The latest moves and appointments in wealth management in the UK, the rest of Europe, the Middle East and other select locations.

Kingsley Napley
Kingsley Napley LLP has appointed Daniel Sejas as head of its Restructuring & Insolvency practice. He will be supported by Nicholas Hughes who is also joining the firm as a partner.

Their former colleagues from HCR Sprecher Grier, Marieta van Straaten and Roz Gergees, are also joining Kingsley Napley as legal director and senior associate, respectively.

Sejas, Hughes, van Straaten and Gergees will work as part of the R&I team alongside Kingsley Napley’s existing insolvency specialists, including partners Michael Mulligan, Richard Foss and William Christopher, legal director Lucy Edwards and senior associate Daniel Staunton, in a new dedicated Restructuring & Insolvency practice, the firm said in a statement.

The dedicated R&I team will be able to assist insolvency practitioners, accountants, investors, and boards of directors at a time when company distress is on the rise.

Sejas was national chairman of Restructuring & Insolvency, and head of Restructuring and Insolvency London, at HCR Sprecher Grier for the last four years. Prior to that he was partner, and head of Restructuring & Insolvency, at Sprecher Grier and SGH Martineau LLP where he worked for 19 years.

Hughes was a partner at HCR Sprecher Grier for over seven years and earlier also worked at SGH Martineau LLP.

Van Straaten was a partner at HCR Sprecher Grier for the last three years. Earlier she worked in-house at Manolete Partners and at Moon Beever Solicitors.

Gergees was with HCR Sprecher Grier and its predecessor firm for six years. Previously, she also worked at SGH Martineau LLP.

Kingsley Napley managing partner Linda Woolley said: “I am delighted to welcome Daniel, Nicholas, Marieta and Roz to the firm. Their arrival represents a significant expansion of Kingsley Napley’s restructuring and insolvency capabilities including both contentious and non-contentious skill-sets. The idea is that they will help achieve a step-change in the scale and breadth of our offering and enable us to grow the insolvency-related work we do as a firm with a greater focus on this market. We believe this enhanced capability will be invaluable to our clients in the current economic climate.”

Old Mill
Old Mill, the UK firm, has appointed Amanda Browning as partner, head of Wealth Management.

Browning (pictured) was previously at Evelyn Partners (formerly Tilney and Smith & Williamson) where she was responsible for the successful integration of the wealth management teams following the merger; she has been brought on board to help boost Old Mill’s ambitious collaborative growth plans.

A CISI Fellow Chartered Wealth Manager, CII Fellow Chartered Financial Planner, Browning started her career as a cashier at Lloyds, and over the last 25 years has served in senior roles at Coutts and Rathbones Group before joining Smith and Williamson as a director in 2019.

In her last role as managing partner at Evelyn Partners she was responsible for integrating and managing the Bristol discretionary fund managers and financial planning teams from both Tilney and Smith & Williamson into a single business; her management of the process became the blueprint for subsequent integrations across the business. Browning is also co-founder of the Diamonds Network, a support group for women business leaders.

Paula Hodge, head of Wealth Management, said: “We have an open-door recruitment policy at Old Mill – when we meet someone great, we get them in, and talent of Amanda’s calibre doesn’t come along often … I am really pleased to be able to bring in another female partner, especially one who feels as passionate about promoting – and supporting – women in financial services as I do.”

Kevin Whitmarsh, CEO of Old Mill said: “Amanda is not only a very accomplished and experienced candidate but is also someone that shares our vision for Old Mill, and she will be a huge asset as we push forward with our ambitious plans.”