Tony Price appointed Managing Director of Nuclear Engineering Services for Redhall Group plc

Redhall Group plc is an AIM listed, specialist engineering support services group comprising six niche engineering service businesses operating on an international basis. Its principal markets include Nuclear, Oil and Gas, Food, Chemical and Defence.

Directorbank were delighted to assist in the appointment of Tony Price as MD of Nuclear Engineering Services which greatly strengthens the Group's position in the nuclear market. Tony is a Chartered Engineer and was a Main Board Director of British Nuclear Group plc (BNG) before joining Redhall. His most recent role at BNG was Director of Decommissioning and Major Projects with responsibility for the Sellafield site. Tony joined BNG in 2001 prior to which he held a number of senior management positions within British Gas.

Ian Butcher appointed Non-Executive Director of Redhall Group plc

Commenting on both appointments, David Jackson, Chairman and Chief Executive of Redhall said "The team at Directorbank were instrumental in the fulfilment of these two key roles for Redhall. Their client service was first class and we are delighted to have attracted someone with Tony's distinctive nuclear knowledge to Redhall. Likewise Ian's experience and background is outstanding and his appointment will add strength and depth to the expertise of the Board."

Bill Shannon has been appointed Chairman of The Grill Group

Client: Octopus Investments
Deal Value: Not disclosed

Octopus Private Equity created The Grill Group as an acquisition vehicle to effect the acquisition of London-based Smollensky’s by The Shire Group, which was a privately owned restaurant group run by Paul Lilley. The Shire Group contains the Pastiche Bistro chain in the Midlands and the Le Frog chain in the North West. Smollensky’s still boasts its flagship grill restaurant on the Strand as well as eight other London sites. Octopus has committed £6m alongside senior debt from Alliance & Leicester to support the acquisition. Paul Lilley, whose previous experience includes the turnaround of Aberdeen Angus Steakhouse, is now CEO of the enlarged group.

Octopus wanted to supplement the strong management team with a chairman who had broad restaurant experience and a strong affinity with brands. Directorbank introduced Bill Shannon, who was a Whitbread main board director and Managing Director of the restaurants business. Bill is a very knowledgeable chairman who has deep links in the leisure industry, as well as experience in markets as diverse as retail and house builders. Bill has worked with a host of brands including, Brewers Fayre, Brewsters, Beefeater, TGI Friday’s, Pizza Hut and Costa and he has previously been Chairman of Gaucho Grill, which is a private-equity backed restaurant chain. Plans for The Grill Group are to build brand presence and drive growth both organically and by acquisition.

Andy Nash has been appointed Chairman of Intercontinental Brands

Mid-market private equity house LDC has made a substantial equity investment to fund the continuing expansion of Intercontinental Brands, manufacturer of leading beverages such as St Helier pear cider, Vodkat light spirit and “The Italian Job” wine range.

Founded in 1990, the Harrogate based business employs over 100 people and distributes over 260 alcoholic and non-alcoholic products to major supermarket chains, specialist off licence groups and independent retailers. It also supplies customers in Hong Kong and Germany and will look to further expand its export markets following the deal. Since 2003 turnover has doubled to ÂŁ43 million and is expected to grow substantially over the next two years.

As part of the deal, Directorbank introduced Andy Nash to LDC and he will be joining Intercontinental Brands as Chairman. Nash has a successful track record of working with private equity backed businesses having previously held roles at Taunton Cider, Merrydown, and Matthew Clarke. Most recently, he has also been appointed Chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club.

LDC Director, John Swarbrick said: “We really liked the proactive approach taken by Directorbank. We described the business we were looking at investing in along with the type of skills and experience we require from a Chairman and Directorbank provided us with an exact match in Andy Nash. We found the whole process to be extremely efficient and I would have no hesitation in recommending the Directorbank service”.

Matthew Streets has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Foster & Partners

Foster + Partners, the world’s most recognised name in architecture and design has produced landmark designs from iconic buildings to bridges, yachts and furniture. Signature buildings include The Reichstag in Berlin, Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong, Hearst Tower in New York, 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin) in London and the new Wembley Stadium. The business operates from 18 offices around the world.

Catalyst Corporate Finance advised Foster + Partners on a recent reorganisation culminating in an investment by 3i plc for a minority stake. Following 3i's investment, Lord Foster will actively continue as Chairman and Matthew Streets joins the new Executive Board as Chief Financial Officer. Matthew is the former CFO of private equity backed Cannons Group (Health Clubs). Before this he was Group Finance Director at Northern Leisure Plc, the nightclub operator. Directorbank introduced Matthew as an interim prior to 3i’s investment. As a key player in the deal Matthew secured his permanent role in May and said “ I could not be more happy with my appointment at Foster + Partners. I was extremely impressed with the team at Directorbank who were very proactive on my behalf, introducing me to a number of high profile opportunities in a short space of time.”

John Duffy has been appointed Non-Executive Director of Denby Potteries

Denby Pottery has been producing its distinctive tableware for 200 years. The brand is a household name and the pottery, which is still produced in Denby in Derbyshire, is sold in more than 30 countries and features on half of UK wedding gift lists. Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance backed a secondary buyout in 2004 and since then the business has gone from strength to strength; adding glassware and porcelain to the product range and improving the factory.

Directorbank introduced David Wallis to the business as Chairman last year and he brought with him a wealth of skills and retail knowledge. Garry Biggs, who led the buyout, then approached Directorbank to recruit a non-executive director who would further enhance the diverse skill set and experience of the board. The board had a very specific specification, describing a director whose hands-on experience of manufacturing and logistics would add tangible value to the business. John Duffy is no stranger to private equity, having participated in Golden Wonder and then WT Foods where he was Managing Director of Noon Products prior to its sale to Kerry Foods. With his background in manufacturing, operations and logistics and a history of introducing efficiencies into the supply chain and manufacturing elements of businesses, John’s abilities and attributes complimented the competencies of his colleagues at Denby. Garry commented: “It wasn’t the easiest assignment but I think our perseverance was worth it and John will prove to be of great value to our board with the challenges that lie ahead.”

Rob Parker has been appointed Group Finance Director at Topps Tiles Plc

Topps is Britain's biggest tile and wood flooring specialist group.With over 300 stores throughout the UK they are well on the way to reaching their target of 450. Topps is a FTSE 250 Plc but remains very entrepreneurial. The two founder directors, Stuart Williams and Barry Bester, whose vision and enterprise built up the business from just a few shops, are still major shareholders.

Rob Parker, 35, has a very strong background in retail, including ten years with Boots Plc in a variety of roles in the UK and overseas. More recently he was FD at Savers Health and Beauty, the discount retail chain recently sold to Hutchison Whampoa (AS Watson).

The board at Topps Tiles identified with Directorbank and our links with private equity, and appointed us to conduct a search for a new Finance Director. “We identified Rob after a thorough search of the market within a relatively short timescale, to enable an effective handover by retiring Finance Director Andrew Liggett”.

Executive Chairman Barry Bester said, “We really liked the approach taken by Directorbank. They understood our business and culture very well and provided us with excellent candidates and advice throughout. They achieved a great result for us and we got a lot of extra value out of the process which turned out to be an enjoyable experience for all concerned”.

Dr. Raj Rajagopal has been appointed Non-Executive Director of Dyson Group Plc

Dyson Group Plc is a fully listed company involved in the development and production of innovative high-performance materials for use in demanding environments. A large part of the business is involved in the automotive market, where Dyson is a leading producer of catalytic converter wraps. Dyson produces neutron absorbing materials for use in nuclear reactors and is developing a pioneering ceramic composite material called Carolite for application in computer hard drives. The company also continues to manufacture a number of products used in various thermotechnology processes in the glass, metal and ceramic industries.

In 2006, Directorbank introduced Dr Christopher Honeyborne to the business as a Non–Executive Director and he became Chairman in May of that year. Shortly after his appointment in that role Christopher approached Directorbank to identify a replacement Non-Executive Director with manufacturing and engineering experience to extend the experience of the already broadly qualified board of the company.

Directorbank introduced Dr Raj Rajagopal, a PhD in mechanical engineering with a wealth of experience in international business. Until recently Raj was a director of BOC Group Plc and CEO of BOC Edwards, a supplier of materials and equipment to the semiconductor industry. Raj built the division into a ÂŁ1bn turnover business, stepping down late last year when BOC Group Plc was acquired by its German competitor, Linde.

David Scowsill has been appointed Non-Executive Director of VENERE.COM

Client: Advent International

Venere.com is an online hotel reservation service managed by Venere Net SpA, an Italian company whose main office is in Rome, with subsidiaries in Paris and London. Venere.com began in 1995 and since then, millions of tourists from over 200 countries around the world have used the service. In 2006 online hotel bookings in Europe totalled €3.8bn.

Advent International undertook a buy-out of Venere.com in December 2006. Prior to this they began the search for a Non-Executive Director with the experience to help the due diligence process and to significantly grow the business post acquisition.

Following a search of Directorbank's database of immediately available top-level directors, Advent appointed David Scowsill to the position of Non-Executive Director, Venere.com. David has an impressive travel and aviation record allied to broad retail experience. After 13 years at British Airways, he moved to American Airlines before rejoining British Airways in 1993 as Regional General Manager Asia/Pacific, and then subsequently Director Europe/Middle East. He joined the Board of Hilton International in 1997 as Senior Vice-President Sales, Marketing and IT, moving on to the Minit Group in 1999 as their Chief Operating Officer. Prior to becoming CEO of the pan-European online travel company Opodo in September 2002, David was the MD, Consumer Division of Orange. David is currently Vice Chairman, Supervisory Board of Worldhotels AG.

Jeff Paduch of Advent International commented, "We are excited about the prospects for Venere and are delighted to be working with David Scowsill, an industry veteran, who brings a highly value-added perspective to our board."

David Mills has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of My Home Move Ltd

Client: Smedvig Capital

My Home Move was established in 2000 and is now a market leading independent conveyancer, providing straightforward solutions to conveyancing and re-mortgaging in the residential sector. The company has a wealth of experience throughout all regions of England and Wales, thanks to its team of expert in-house property lawyers and strong partnerships with mortgage advisors and estate agents nationwide.

Smedvig Capital, the London-based private equity company active in development capital for growth businesses, funded a management buy out of My Home Move in December 2005. In 2006 the business grew 42% to £8.5m revenue and posted an inaugural profit of £0.9m. Smedvig have now appointed David Mills as the new Chair of My Home Move. David’s distinguished career incorporates previous roles as CEO of the Post Office, General Manager of HSBC plc, Non-Executive Director of the Camelot Group plc, and Chair of Post Office Financial Services. During David’s time at the Post Office, he turned around the business from £237m loss to £47m profit, by achieving its 3 year recovery plan in 2005. Whilst at HSBC, David established First Direct, now the UK’s most recommended bank.

Alistair Cairns, Managing Director at Smedvig said “We are delighted that David is taking the Chair at My Home Move. With David working alongside the excellent executive team already in place, we are confident the company will go from strength to strength.”

Smedvig worked with Directorbank to identify potential candidates for the role, and to approach David Mills.

Roger Matthews has been appointed Chairman of LSL Property Services Plc

Client: Barclays Private Equity

LSL Property Services was created in 2004 from the management buyout of e.surv, a residential surveying and valuation business, and Your Move estate agency, and was backed by Barclays Private Equity. After returning Your Move to profit LSL expanded their operations via the acquisition of Reeds Rains, the North's largest independent estate agency with 130 offices and a strong regional brand. The Group’s operations also include First Complete, Homefast property lawyers, homeinspectors.co.uk and Linear Mortgage Network. The business has grown in size and profitability since the buyout and sought a Chairman with exceptional standing in the City to lead their main-list flotation. After introducing him to Land of Leather prior to their float last year, Directorbank felt confident to recommend Roger Matthews to the board of LSL Property Services. In a difficult retail environment, Roger led the float of furniture retailer Land of Leather and has presided over a doubling of the share price in the last 16 months.

Roger has 16 years of City experience and is the former Group Finance Director of J. Sainsbury Plc. He was Finance Director at Compass Group Plc from 1991 to 1997 and Managing Director from 1997 to 1999, and during this time Compass grew successfully through organic growth and acquisitions to operate across 50 countries and increased its market capitalisation from ÂŁ300m to ÂŁ4.2bn. LSL floated at a value of ÂŁ211m in November 2006 delivering a fantastic return for Barclays Private Equity and for the participants of the 2004 buyout.

Phil Griesbach, Director of Barclays Private Equity commented: "LSL has been a fantastic investment for Barclays Private Equity, and working with a talented board led by Simon Embley has been a real pleasure. I know that Roger will continue to help drive LSL forwards in its new status as a quoted company."

Doug Gardener has been appointed Finance Director of Kafévend

Client: ISIS EP LLP ('ISIS')

ISIS funded the MBO of Kafévend, a leading supplier of vending services in October 2005. Based in Crawley, Kafévend supplies vending machines to SMEs. As well as hot and cold drinks vending machines, Kafévend also supplies snack, can and bottle vending machines and plumbed in water dispensers. The business provides a comprehensive aftercare service – for example, faults are rectified within a few hours by a network of engineers.

Prior to joining Kafévend, Doug Gardner (40) was Finance Director of Provexis Plc (formerly Nutrinnovator Holdings Plc), a start up business developing nutritionally superior food and beverage products. Doug was a member of the board of directors that completed a successful IPO to AIM in June 2004. Previously he was Finance Director at Groupe Chez Gerard and Finance Director at Hartford Group Plc, an AIM listed restaurant group. Doug began his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and went on to become Assistant Controller at The Gap and Financial Controller of French Connection Retail.

Martin Robertson of ISIS said "Directorbank were very proactive and had a good knowledge of candidates that enabled us to shortlist the relevant people."

Stephen Riley has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Youngman Group Ltd

Client: Matrix Private Equity Partners

Youngman Group Ltd is the UK market leader in the manufacture and supply of aluminium access towers and ladders. The company, based in Maldon, Essex is a leading supplier to the rental, building and DIY sectors with a strong nationwide and international customer base. Matrix Private Equity Partners completed the buy-in/management buy-out of Youngman in November 2005.

Stephen Riley is a highly respected Chairman – he led the stock market flotation of Denby Group Plc and has completed ten MBOs. Stephen’s successful exits include Salter kitchen and bathroom scales, Antler luggage, Thomas Sanderson conservatory blinds and awnings, Denby Group Plc and Denby Pottery Co Ltd. He is currently the Chairman of AVF Group, the global leader in TV and Audio support systems, and Tileco Group Ltd, the UK leading supplier of premium quality tiles to architects, developers and designers.

Directorbank completes ÂŁ4.27m secondary buyout, backed by Nova Capital Management

Directorbank, the UK's leading provider of directors to private equity backed buyouts, has completed a ÂŁ4.27m secondary buyout of its own. The deal is backed by Yorkshire Bank and Nova Capital Management, who acquired Directorbank's original backers, Springboard Plc in May. Nova sees considerable potential to grow the company in all areas of its operation.

Elizabeth Jackson, who led the deal, moves into the role of Chief Executive and John Pearce, head of the company’s Finance Director division, joins the Board. Jonathan Hick, who founded the business in 1998, remains a director and shareholder of the company, but will pursue his other business interests on a part-time basis. Sarah Grünewald, who built up Directorbank’s fast-growing public company non-executive director division, steps down from the Board but remains a consultant to the company.

Elizabeth Jackson said: “This restructuring provides a strong platform for growth over the next three years. We have developed a much respected brand, moving in the highest echelons of British boardrooms. Our challenge is to build further on this and Nova’s backing will give us the support to do so”.

Sue Ellen has been appointed Chairman of Practice Plan Group

Client: Dunedin Capital Partners

Dunedin Capital Partners backed the management buyout of Practice Plan in September 2005. Practice Plan is a leading UK provider of independent payment schemes to dental practices and also vets and opticians. Practice Plan assists NHS dentists in their conversion to the private sector by providing advice and financial payment plans for patients. Duncan Macrae of Dunedin said, “Spend per head on private dentistry is growing at a disproportional rate and Practice Plan is well placed to benefit from this growth”

Sue Ellen is currently Chairman of West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and a non-executive director of Portman Building Society. Previously she was Managing Director of United Racecourses, Non-Executive Director of Birmingham Midshires Building Society, Managing Director of BUPA Health Services, and Deputy Chairman of the Independent Health Care Association.

Tim Ross has been appointed Chairman of Hargreaves Plc

Hargreaves Services PLC is a leading provider of transport and support services to the energy and waste sectors which was previously backed by Barings English Growth Fund before floating on AIM in November 2005. Founded in 1994 as a coal haulage business with approximately 20 vehicles, the Group's activities have now been transformed to cover mineral trading, coke production, waste handling and transportation, handling and processing of minerals through its two port facilities as well as specialist bulk road haulage. The Group employs approximately 600 staff, with forecast turnover of around ÂŁ146m. Its successful flotation valued the Group at ÂŁ57.5m.

Tim Ross has considerable experience of the construction, aggregates, waste disposal and opencast coal industries. He was a Main Board Director of George Wimpey PLC from 1991 to 1996 and is currently Chairman of Connaught plc and May Gurney Integrated Services plc and a Non-Executive Director of Ennstone plc and Lavendon Group plc, in addition to board positions with a number of other private or venture capital-backed companies.

Roger Best has been appointed Chief Executive of Radley & Co

Client: Phoenix Equity Partners

Phoenix Equity Partners has bought a majority stake in handbag company Radley & Co. Radley & Co (formerly known as the Tula Group), with its distinctive Radley dog brand signature, is the UK’s biggest selling handbag brand and its bags and accessories are stocked in more than 500 outlets including John Lewis and Debenhams. The company recently opened its first flagship store on London’s Kings Road and plans to extend its product range and take the brand overseas, starting with Japan and the USA.

Roger Best was introduced to the company by Directorbank in the summer of 2005. He is currently a Non-Executive Director at JJB Sports and was formerly Executive Chairman of JD Sports and, before that, Head of Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Reebok.

Founder Lowell Harder, who is remaining with the group as Creative Director said, “Roger brings years of invaluable leadership experience with him, and has a fantastic understanding of how to market brands internationally. His appointment will give me the opportunity to devote my attention to the development of Radley and its sister brands."

Hugh Lenon, Managing Partner at Phoenix Equity Partners, said “We look forward to working closely with Roger and the rest of the management team. We believe the brand has legs”.

Wm Morrison have appointed two heavyweight interim directors

Founded in 1899 by William Morrison, Morrisons has grown from a single egg and butter stall in Bradford market to become the UK’s fourth largest, and rapidly growing supermarket chain with around 8 million customers visiting the stores each week. Morrisons currently employ more than 135,000 people working in stores, factories, distribution centres and head office functions.

Following his appointment as Group FD in 2005, Richard Pennycook approached Directorbank for some high level assistance. The Morrisons business is undergoing a significant change programme and following the recent completion of the acquisition of Safeway Plc, some quality help was needed on an interim basis to help derive the full benefit from the transaction.

Directorbank acted quickly to provide two senior interim directors for initial six-month contracts. Steve Dodds, former Business Development and Integration Director at Cadbury Schweppes Plc and David Moore, former Interim FD API Group plc and European FD Uniq Plc joined to undertake leading financial management roles, as Interim Group Chief Accountant and Director of Operations in a number of projects. Amongst other areas these included ensuring a clean and trouble-free year end process, managing the orderly transition of a discrete shared service centre into the Morrisons organisation and guiding the business in its first steps to adopting leading systems and processes.

David Wallis has been appointed Chairman of Denby

Client: Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance

Denby is one of Britain’s best-known household names and has specialised in the production of ceramic stoneware for 200 years. It has a particular focus on casual tableware. The business employs 600 people, mostly in Derbyshire. Denby also has a visitor centre and 11 retail sites, and sells to over 30 countries worldwide.

Denby was the subject of a ÂŁ48m secondary buyout by Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance earlier this year.

David Wallis, 58, is the Chairman of Directorbank and Speedy Hire Plc, a non-executive director of Grampian Country Food Group, the UK's fourth largest food manufacturer and a non-executive director of Robinson Healthcare. Until its sale to Bakkavor in May 2005, David was senior independent director at Geest plc. David has 30 years experience in retail chains and manufacturing operations. He founded Wallis Frozen Foods in 1979, which he sold in 1986 to Merchant Retail Group where he became Group Managing Director, retiring in 1998.

Malcolm Baggott has been appointed NXD of Radstone Technology Plc

Radstone Technology PLC is the world's leading independent supplier of rugged, high-performance embedded computer products, subsystems and support software for defence and aerospace applications. It specialises in the design of subsystems adapted to survive the most extreme stresses of the tactical military environment. Since its MBO from Plessey in 1988 and its flotation in 1994, it has grown steadily at home and in the United States , and today has a market value of ÂŁ85 million.

In April 2004, Directorbank acted for Radstone on the appointment to their Board of Sir Alan Thomas, formerly President of Raytheon Europe, and currently Chairman of Hyder Consulting Plc. At the beginning of this year we were delighted to work with the company again, with the appointment of Malcolm Baggott.

Malcolm Baggott is currently Chairman of Innovision Research and Technology plc and a non-executive director of Uren Food Group Ltd. A qualified accountant he worked in a number of industries and companies prior to joining Vitec Group plc in 1990 where he was Chief Executive until retiring in 2000. He has also served as a non-executive director on several quoted companies.

Tim Moynihan has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman, LEDA Holdings Ltd

Client: Northern Venture Managers

Northern Venture Managers backed the management buy out of LEDA & Co (Northern) Ltd, a specialist recruitment business which provides temporary and permanent recruitment solutions to industry, including the construction, rail, mechanical, engineering and industrial sectors. Established in 1989, the company has grown from a single office in Leeds to include branches in Sheffield, Skipton, Featherstone and Middlesbrough . The company generates annual revenues of ÂŁ20 million and services some 500 clients.

Tim Moynihan's early career was spent as an FD in the building industry but for the last 14 years he has operated in recruitment. After failing to secure an MBO of Modus Holdings in 1993, he joined the acquirer Hays Plc where he became the founding FD of Hays IT recruitment division and latterly was also FD of Hays' insurance, legal and international recruitment businesses. Leaving Hays in 1998 to pursue a portfolio career, Tim is a Non-Executive Director of Huntswood (backed by 3i), Woodhurst plc and was Non-Executive Chairman of Trinity Services Group until it was sold to Enterprise plc for up to ÂŁ22m in August 2005. Latterly, he was also Chairman of Directorbank, hence their personal and high recommendation of him.

Synchronica have appointed David Wickham Chairman Designate

Synchronica provides mobile management solutions for operators, device manufacturers, retailers and enterprises. The company offers a product portfolio ranging from data synchronization to mobile device management and firmware updates over-the-air. Based in the UK , the company also has offices in Germany and the U.S. and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

David Wickham joins Synchronica following a long career in the telecoms and technology world. He began his career with Cable & Wireless, where he spent over 20 years working in the UK , Asia and the Americas . In 1999 he joined Energis plc as chief operating officer - he joined the Board in 2000 and was appointed chief executive in 2001. Since 2002 he has pursued a portfolio career, advising various companies in the telecoms and technology sector. David is currently chairman of 3C plc; Telecom Direct Ltd; and YAC Ltd.

Directorbank were given 2 weeks to fill the appointment. Grant Harrison of Panmure Gordon said, "We sought a candidate who was well respected in the city and with a track record in technology and turnaround situations. We were confident that Directorbank were the right executive search firm to fulfil this brief.

Carolyn Simons has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman, Slimma Plc

Slimma is a British branded ladieswear supplier with a portfolio of exclusive brand names, including Frank Usher and Peter Martin. Slimma is currently a fully listed company but has announced plans to re-launch on AIM. The board recently appointed Carolyn Simons as Non-Executive Chairman, succeeding Alan Webb on his retirement.

Carolyn is currently employed as Commercial Director of Homebase, a division of Argos Retail Group. Prior to this she served 6 years at Homestyle Group plc, being appointed to the plc board as Managing Director of the Group after 2 years' service. She also served 11 years as a board director of Management Horizons Europe, a specialist retailing consulting firm and earlier worked with Boots plc in both commercial and marketing management roles.

Commenting on the appointment, Chief Executive, Stephen Thwaite said “After reading a number of articles on Directorbank and their unique approach to recruiting Non-Executive Directors, I was extremely pleased to receive a shortlist of quality candidates, who fitted our brief, within two weeks. We were seeking to appoint a Chairman within a short timescale and had very clear ideas of the experience we required. Directorbank worked to ensure we met our requirements fully.”

Roger Matthews has been appointed chairman, Land of Leather Holdings Plc

Land of Leather is the UK's only national retailer that specialises in retailing leather sofas. Land of Leather currently trades from 68 retail outlets in the UK and Republic of Ireland and has a turnover of over ÂŁ150m. The company's advisors, Investec, recommended in April 2005 that they approach Directorbank to source a suitable Chairman to lead their flotation on the Stock Exchange, which took place just three months later in July 2005.

Roger Matthews has 15 years of City experience and is the former Group Finance Director of J. Sainsbury Plc. He was Finance Director at Compass Group Plc from 1991 to 1997 and Managing Director from 1997 to 1999, and during this time Compass grew successfully through organic growth and acquisitions to operate across 50 countries and increased its market capitalisation from ÂŁ300m to ÂŁ4.2bn. Roger's earlier finance career was spent at PwC, Cadbury Schweppes Plc and Grand Metropolitan Plc. At a time when flotations were considered to be risky in the face of difficult conditions, especially in the furniture retail sector, his experience and City reputation gave huge credibility to the Land of Leather team's track record and to a successful stock market launch.

Jim Hodkinson has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman, PJH Group

Client: LDC
Deal value: ÂŁ33m

LDC backed the management buy-out of PJH Group, the UK's largest distributor of kitchens and bathrooms. PJH supply quality kitchen and bathroom brand names to major customers such as Persimmon, Barratt Homes and Travis Perkins. It is the sole supplier of bathrooms to B&Q. The business has a head office in Bolton and operates via eight trading centres throughout the UK, employing over 700 staff.

Jim Hodkinson has over 30 years experience in retail – he joined Kingfisher Plc/B&Q Plc in 1972 and rose through the ranks to become Chairman & Chief Executive of B&Q from1994 -1998. Jim joined New Look Group Plc as Chief Executive in 1998 after 18 months as Non-Executive Director. He is also a non-executive Chairman of Polymer Logistics, Big Idea Management, Furniture Village, Ideal Shopping Direct Plc and a non-executive director of Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Massmart ( South Africa). Jim is also the former NXCh of Hamleys, the Regent Street toy store.

Directorbank identified Jim as a proven Chairman with experience of PJH's customer base and area of operations and introduced him to LDC during due diligence on PJH Group. Jim was able to assist LDC with their commercial due diligence during the transaction. His vast retail experience, knowledge of B&Q and knowledge of overseas markets will prove invaluable in helping the management team implement their ambitious expansion plans.

Lee Cooper has recently made 3 appointments through Directorbank

Mark Young, Chief Financial Officer
Reg Adair & Mark Sater, Consultants
Client: Emerisque Capital
Deal value: ÂŁ 30.5m

When Indian industrialist Ajay Khaitan set up Emerisque Capital as an East/West venture capital fund in 2002, his idea was to use Eastern investment, manufacturing skills and distribution contacts to re-energise and grow Western brands (particularly in the East). Working closely with Directorbank on a variety of projects, he eventually struck up negotiations with Matalan to purchase its 100 year old jean brand – Lee Cooper.

Directorbank candidates Reg Adair (ex Manufacturing Director Courtaulds Clothing – Lyle & Scott, Gossard, Jockey & Slazenger) and Mark Sater (Ben Sherman, Caterpillar footwear and current Chair of Hunter Wellies) helped Ajay through the negotiations and are now busy restructuring the company – assisted by CFO Mark Young (Kenwood, Pentland, Umbro) who was also introduced by Directorbank.

“It is that pre-deal, contingent period that makes Directorbank unique” said Ajay Khaitan, “Reg and Mark were invaluable in helping us crack the deal, but no VC can justify paying huge recruitment fees at that highly speculative stage. Directorbank are happy to share the investor's risk.”

Directorbank introduced Duke Street Capital to Neil Utley to fund the buyout of Cox Insurance Holdings Plc

Client: Duke Street Capital
Deal value: ÂŁ430 million

After 3 years at the helm of Peter Wood's Privilege Insurance business (where he quadrupled premiums), Neil Utley joined Cox Insurance as Group Chief Executive in 1999. Over the next 5 years he grew profits from £8m to £58m, but after failing to lead an MBO from within and with a difference in strategic thinking, Neil left the company to explore new opportunities – including a private equity backed buyout of Cox. A six-year relationship with Directorbank made us an early port of call in his networking and through this came an introduction to Duke Street Capital – an ideal funder for the Cox deal. Almost 11 months to the day of meeting, Duke Street partnered by Englefield concluded Neil's successful Public to Private transaction through bid vehicle Fieldstreet.

Nigel Horsman has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, Dorset Cereals Ltd

Client: Langholm Capital LLP
Deal value: not disclosed

Langholm Capital has completed the management buy-in of Dorset Cereals Ltd. Established in 1989, Dorset Cereals is a leading manufacturer of high quality healthy breakfast cereals. Products are distributed from its Poundbury manufacturing site on the outskirts of Dorchester to all major grocery retailers, as well as to the independent trade.

Nigel Horsman has over 10 years experience in the food industry - he spent seven years at Hazlewood Foods Plc, the £750m turnover acquisitive food manufacturing group, latterly pursuing two MBI opportunities with venture capital backing. As Deputy MD of The William Price Group, the £100m turnover private food manufacturing group, Nigel led the successful acquisition of the French Croissant Company. More recently Nigel played a central role in disposing of Rank Leisure Machine Services, which was sold for £30m in February 2004. Nigel joined Directorbank in November 2004 and was appointed by Dorset Cereals just five months later – having worked on the deal for 8 weeks.

Peter Selkirk has been appointed Chief Executive, Taylor Continental Holdings

Client: ECI Partners
Deal value: ÂŁ not disclosed

ECI Partners has backed the buy-out of Taylor Continental Holdings, the family-owned waste container manufacturer and supplier. Taylor has 200 employees and is based in Worcestershire. In 2004 the company had a turnover of £22.6m. The company's products include steel and plastic waste containers for domestic and industrial use, “wheelie” bins and public recycling banks. Taylor's strategy will focus on developing its long-standing relationships with clients such as local authorities and national waste contractors

Peter Selkirk, 49, joins the new management team as Chief Executive. Di rectorbank's identification of Peter as an immediately available, backable CEO candidate, in the early stages of the deal, helped ECI secure exclusivity in the auction process.

Peter Low has been appointed Finance Director, Knight Banner Business Information

Client: 3i
Deal value: ÂŁ17m

3i and Royal Bank of Scotland have backed a BIMBO team led by media entrepreneur and Directorbank candidate Peter Harkness in the ÂŁ17m acquisition of Knight Banner Information, one of the UK's leading media monitoring agencies with 25 percent market share. The company provides its customers with high-speed press cuttings, editorial and evaluation services from approximately 5,000 media titles, websites and newswires. Its customers include PR firms, financial services providers, government bodies and corporates.

Peter Low was most recently the European CFO and then CEO at PR Newswire, the news distribution subsidiary of United Business Media plc , the FTSE 250 business information services group. Previously Peter was Financial Controller at Express Newspapers. Directorbank received the brief from 3i just four weeks before completion – but Peter Low was able to start working with the team just a fortnight later!

James Greenbury has been appointed Non-Executive Director, Holidaybreak Plc

Looking to appoint a young “high flyer” to his board as a non-executive director, Holidaybreak Chairman, Bob Ayling approached Directorbank as a leading source of “diverse” directors. The brief centred around “youth”, “rapier intellect” and “obvious achievement”.

Directorbank had no hesitation in recommending James Greenbury (43). A former Partner in Bain & Co, James acquired Security Despatch at the age of 28. He grew the London based bike and van carrier to profits of nearly ÂŁ1m, selling to DMS Corp in the U.S. in 1998. His next vehicle MailSource UK, grew to become the UK's leading specialist provider of outsourced postroom services with sales of ÂŁ23m. He sold the business to Swiss Post in 2002. James is also Chairman of Go Plant, a VC backed road sweeping business and is Chief Executive of Special Mail Services, a competitor to Royal Mail in the secure post market.

Holidaybreak Plc comprises a group of niche holiday businesses with sales of ÂŁ280m and profits of ÂŁ31m.

John Adey has been appointed Non-Executive Director, New Horizons Childcare

Client: Dunedin Capital Partners
Deal value: ÂŁ not disclosed

New Horizons is one of the UK's premier providers of residential childcare services for emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children. The Company offers a range of therapeutic residential services to children and young people whose behaviour is the result of traumatic experiences. New Horizon operates 10 homes with living accommodation for 30 children.

John Adey has worked in Engineering, Chemicals & Plastics and Healthcare in the Private & Public Sector. His involvement with the government while running Baxter Healthcare, part of Baxter Inc, the world's largest healthcare company, resulted in being headhunted to run the National Blood Authority from 1993 to 1998, reporting through a board to the Minister of Health. John is currently Deputy Chair of Swindon & Marlborough NHS Trust and Chair of a 40 bed nursing home. He is a former Chairman of Adams Healthcare and a former NXD of Seton Healthcare Group Plc and NHP Plc.