People: Bicycle; Surface Transforms; Tapeswitch; WeDo Business Finance; GC Business Finance; DCB Legal; Hurst

Independent media agency, Bicycle, is expanding its business outside London to include a social shop led by the agency’s incoming managing partner, Natalie Jackson.

Jackson has been hired as a managing partner of the media agency to head up and relocate Bicycle Ripple to Manchester, and diversify its offering. Bicycle launched Ripple last year, initially with influencer marketing at its core.

Jackson is a self-starter social media marketing specialist who founded her own Manchester-based agency, Lifestyle Social, seven years ago.

Her brief will be to expand Ripple’s capabilities beyond just influencer, to include the full breadth of social marketing and to help existing Bicycle clients seamlessly integrate social into media strategies. Ripple will also be tasked with going out to market to bring on board social-first brands.

Henry Daglish, Bicycle CEO, said: “This expansion underlines Bicycle’s belief that social isn’t just a channel, it’s the canvas where brand creativity comes to life. By embedding Ripple in Manchester, we are ensuring our clients can harness social to be braver, more creative, and more effective in how they connect with culture.”

Natalie Jackson, managing partner of Bicycle and head of Bicycle Ripple, said: “Social is no longer a bolt-on, it’s the heartbeat of modern brands. What excites me most about leading Bicycle Ripple is bringing social, creators and communities into the centre of media strategies, not left on the sidelines.”

Jackson started yesterday (September 22). She will report to Bicycle co-founder and exec chair, Pedro Avery, who said: “Natalie is the rare operator who protects the creative spark and delivers exceptional business results. With a proven track record, she will bring to Bicycle unique skills that will help us turn live cultural signals into performance.”

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Steve Harrison

Surface Transforms, the Knowsley-based specialist brakes manufacturer, has confirmed that Steven (Steve) Harrison has agreed to become permanent chief financial officer and join the board of directors with immediate effect, having originally assumed the role as interim CFO (non-PLC board) on March 17, 2025.

Steve brings more than two decades of experience in senior finance roles, having held CFO positions within both public and private companies, in the UK and internationally. His career encompasses a wide range of expertise, including leading two successful AIM IPOs, multiple secondary placings, M&A transactions, and business transformation projects.

He joins Surface Transforms from Aurorium, a private equity-backed global manufacturer of specialty chemicals, where he most recently served as interim European CFO. Prior to this, Steve has held roles at Saietta Group, JATO Dynamics, IAG, Waterlogic, Avis Europe and Menzies Aviation. Steve qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte in 1995.

Surface Transforms CEO, Kevin Johnson, said: “Steve has already demonstrated his expertise in ensuring financial stability and implementing operational excellence within the business. He brings a wealth of experience in risk management, investor relations and strategic leadership and will play a pivotal role in guiding the company through its next phase of growth.”

Steve Harrison said: “Since joining in March, I’ve been delighted to see a company with a clear strategy, moving in a direction towards an exciting future. It’s a pleasure to become a permanent member of a team with the passion and dedication to realise that strategy. “

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Blake Shields

Chorley-based Tapeswitch has promoted Blake Shields to the position of business development manager, marking a strategic evolution in the company’s commercial leadership.

Established in 1956, Tapeswitch specialises in the design and manufacture of pressure-sensitive safety technologies used in industrial, transport and automation environments.

Shields first joined Tapeswitch in 2016 as a sales representative, progressing through to head of sales before his promotion to business development manager.

The new role also sees Shields focus on expanding access to Tapeswitch’s systems across existing and emerging applications, with a particular emphasis on customer-led design and industry compliance.

He said: “Tapeswitch has built its reputation on durable, dependable safety technology, and on the ability to respond to complex, site-specific challenges. My focus is on making that expertise more accessible to end-users, integrators, and OEMs alike.”

Tapeswitch managing director, Karen Keighley, said: “Blake’s knowledge of our technology, markets and customers is second to none. He has played a key role in developing the commercial side of our business, and this new role will allow him to take that further, ensuring our offering stays relevant, responsive and globally competitive.”

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Aman Gill

A new senior role has been created at WeDo Business Finance to help drive growth by accelerating deal completions in support of SMEs throughout the UK seeking funding.

Aman Gill has been appointed head of credit risk and underwriting at the Oldham-based company.

He has worked in financial services for nearly 20 years and has joined from Bibby Financial Services, where he was responsible for structuring and underwriting asset-based lending facilities as head of trade services and corporate underwriter.

WeDo provides senior secured working capital facilities through invoice, asset and trade finance. The group, which is based at Annie Kenney Mill in Chadderton, supports a client base spanning sectors such as recruitment, engineering, manufacturing, logistics and wholesale distribution.

Kelly Tighe, WeDo’s chief risk officer, said: “Aman brings vast experience in credit risk management, underwriting and corporate finance, as well as in the invoice finance market. His knowledge and professionalism, alongside a deep understanding of the corporate sector and proven ability to balance commercial opportunity with prudent risk assessment, make him a valuable addition to the leadership team and we’re excited to have him on board.”

Aman said: “I’m thrilled to be joining WeDo Business Finance at such an exciting stage in its growth journey.”

WeDo Business Finance – previously called WeDo Business Services – was founded by Mark Lindsay and Chris Robinson in 2019 with four staff and has grown organically and through acquisition. It currently has more than 70 staff based in Oldham and across its network of offices.

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GCBF SUL team

GC Business Finance (GCBF), a business support partner for the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans (SUL) programme, achieved its strongest month so far in August, providing 230 loans worth £2.1m to ambitious start-ups across the UK. 

With such impressive growth in activity, the team has continued to expand to support even more businesses across the UK. Now 22-strong, the underwriting team has recently grown by 23%, with new hires including Ford Wilding, Emma Fearon and Christy Alokan.

Daniel Hughes has also been promoted to senior underwriter, helping to lead the expanding team on its lending efforts.

Alex Mearns, head of star-tup lending at GC Business Finance, said: “Despite what is a quieter month for some, our Start Up Loans team has continued to scale across the UK, resulting in what has been our busiest month to date.

“Set against this impressive growth, it’s only natural that our team has grown further, welcoming talented new underwriters, along with the very well deserved promotion of Daniel.”

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Eddie Harrison and Gary Robinson

DCB Legal has appointed Eddie Harrison as its new managing director to lead the business into a new era of expansion.

Bringing more than 20 years of experience across debt recovery, litigation, and financial services, Eddie will spearhead new growth and innovation.

Eddie most recently oversaw the build of debt collection processes for Revolut UK, managing the end-to-end journey for retail credit portfolios. He was responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance, optimising in-house and outsourced collections with advanced technology and analytics, and delivering best-in-class contact and cure rates.

DCB Legal, based in Runcorn, is the legal services arm of DCBL, a debt resolution specialist.

Eddie Harrison said: “DCB Legal has established a prominent position in the private parking market in a relatively short amount of time. The business’s ambition to now grow beyond this really struck a chord with me.”

Gary Robinson, group CEO of DCBL and DCB Legal, said: “Eddie’s appointment marks a significant step in DCB Legal’s growth. His depth of experience, combined with his proven ability to innovate and scale legal services, makes him the perfect fit to lead the next chapter of our development.”

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L-R: Maysa Machachane, Liam Lloyd, Anya Lloyd, Lewis Clough, Simone Soni, Tobias Graham, Emily Combs, Lewie Ridgway, Ben Harrison-Mirfield, Alyssa Broughton

Independent accounting and business advisory firm, Hurst, has welcomed its latest group of trainees, comprising five university graduates and a teenager who has joined from sixth-form college.

The Stockport-based firm has recruited graduates Alyssa Broughton, Benjamin Harrison-Mirfield, Liam Lloyd and Simone Soni to its business services team to train towards becoming Chartered Accountants. Lewie Ridgway has joined the tax department. He will be studying for the Association of Taxation Technicians’ qualification.

Emily Combs has joined the firm’s outsourcing team, Host, after completing her A levels at Ashton Sixth Form College in Tameside.

Meanwhile university students Lewis Clough, Anya Lloyd and Maysa Machachane in the business services department and Tobias Graham in Host have begun one year placements at the practice.

Simone and Lewie graduated in accounting and finance at Manchester Metropolitan University. Alyssa has a degree in maths with financial mathematics from the University of Manchester.

Benjamin graduated at the University of Newcastle in economics and finance, and Liam has a degree in accountancy and financial management from the University of Sheffield.

Tobias and Anya are studying at the University of Liverpool, Lewis is an undergraduate at the University of Sheffield and Maysa is undertaking a degree course at the University of Salford.

Senior manager, Jon Ward, who heads the graduate and placement recruitment programme, said: “Following intakes in January and April, this brings our 2025 cohort to 20 trainees and placements, which is an increase on last year. This growth reflects our commitment to building the firm’s future and ensuring we have the talent to deliver our strategic plans.”