The personal and family department at Sintons is moving forward with new leadership, as it seeks to grow its presence.

Paul Nickalls will head the department, which brings together Sintons’ family, residential property, court of protection and wills, trusts and probate teams, and look to develop its range of services, while bringing in new talent and developing its existing team of lawyers. The department has also appointed two new partners, Louise Masters and Emma Saunders.

Mr Nickalls said: “Our personal and family department is one of the strongest and most highly-esteemed in the North of England, and we are regularly instructed in matters from across the UK in all four of our specialist teams, particularly those of significant value and complexity. Through the new senior appointments and leadership changes, we are better positioned than ever before to continue to progress.



Brett Devenish heads the new AspinallVerdi office in Newcastle
Brett Devenish heads the new AspinallVerdi office in Newcastle

Property regeneration consultancy AspinallVerdi has expanded into the North East with the appointment of Brett Devenish to head a new office in Newcastle.

The Newcastle office of AspinallVerdi will serve the entire North East and represents the latest addition to the Leeds-headquartered firm’s network of offices in Leeds, Liverpool and London.

Having worked in the private and public sectors in the North East for the past 14 years, Mr Devenish joins AspinallVerdi from Capita, where he was head of property for the international outsourcing consultancy’s partnership with North Tyneside Council, as well as working with clients across England.

He said: “AspinallVerdi is a well-respected and growing firm, and I firmly believe its culture matches my own philosophy. I’m looking forward to the challenge of growing the brand further in the North East and beyond.



Creo Comms new appointment to the team Lee Weatherburn.
Creo Comms new appointment to the team Lee Weatherburn.

Sunderland based communications consultancy Creo Comms has appointed a new designer.

Lee Weatherburn joins the city centre firm with over 20 years of design experience across a range of clients, specialising in graphic and web design. He previously ran design agency Depict Design for five years and before that worked as the design, print and web manager at North Tyneside Council, responsible for the graphic design team, web team and an internal print and reprographics department.

He said: “Creo’s ambition, along with the opportunity to work with an exciting and growing range of clients, was just too good a proposition to ignore. I’m looking forward to joining a dynamic team and complementing the current high standards of creative output.”



eQuality Solutions (eQS) has appointed Alison Costello as their group finance director
eQuality Solutions (eQS) has appointed Alison Costello as their group finance director

North East disability and wellbeing specialist, eQuality Solutions (eQS) has appointed Alison Costello as group finance director.

Ms Costello is an accomplished finance director with a progressive career transforming financial and operational performance and driving revenue growth across diverse sectors. She said: “I was excited to take on this position because I felt the values, purpose and vision of eQS really resonated with my own.

“One of my core strengths I look forward to applying to the role is my ability to build and maintain trusted relationships with business leaders and senior stakeholders to provide advice and insights as a key financial leader.”



Chris McDonnell, Sean McNicholas, David Laidlaw outside the Seaburn Inn in Sunderland, a construction project Metnor was involved in.
Chris McDonnell, Sean McNicholas, David Laidlaw outside the Seaburn Inn in Sunderland, a construction project Metnor was involved in.

Metnor Construction, part of the Newcastle based Metnor Group, has promoted Sean McNicholas to operations director and Chris McDonnell to pre-construction director.

The firm said the promotions support Metnor Construction’s ambitious plans for growth, demonstrating its commitment to investing in talent.

Mr McNicholas joined the firm in June 2019, bringing with him a wealth of experience having previously worked at a number of national construction firms.

He said: “It’s been a challenging yet hugely rewarding time since joining Metnor Construction. The pandemic threw a number of challenges at us, but we have managed to come out of it stronger than we went in. To be rewarded with a directorship after this difficult year is a huge personal achievement, but also shows how the business promotes from within.”



Left to right: RMT director Maxine Pott and head of corporate finance Michael Cantwell with Julie Cuthbertson
Left to right: RMT director Maxine Pott and head of corporate finance Michael Cantwell with Julie Cuthbertson

RMT Accountants & Business Advisors has strengthened its specialist corporate finance team with the appointment of experienced finance professional Julie Cuthbertson.

Ms Cuthbertson has moved into a corporate finance manager role with the Gosforth-based firm after spending her entire career within NatWest Bank’s North East operation.

A Northumbria University graduate, she started within the bank’s branch network, working her way up to be area manager for its Tyne and Wear branches, before moving over to its business and commercial team. She has worked as a business relationship manager for the last decade.

Ms Cuthbertson said: “Bringing a banker’s mindset to the corporate finance team will provide fresh perspectives on the options available for the many ambitious North East firms that are looking to grow and evolve.”

Send details of appointments to [email protected]