Barclays Wealth has expanded its Newcastle team with the appointments of Richard Clark and Simon Patterson to the private banking team as assistant vice presidents, progressing plans to double the size of its Newcastle business. Meanwhile, James Braddock joins the Birmingham office as a private banker.

Both Clark and Patterson latterly worked at Newcastle-based law firm Dickinson Dees. Clark’s roles there included private banker, investment manager and financial planner, where he was responsible for managing investments for his intermediaries’ clients.

Patterson was manager of the investment and pensions team, a role that required providing financial planning advice to predominantly high net worth individuals, trustees and charities.

Meanwhile in Birmingham, Braddock, who has eight years of wealth management experience, joins from Coutts & Co, where he was a private banker. Prior to this, he was a private banking manager at NatWest Private Banking.

Braddock’s new role will focus on supporting clients from an entrepreneurial background and on clients based in and around Stafford.