Who we are
Place North is an independent, employee-owned news publisher and event organiser, proudly based in the North of England.
We’re a team obsessed with quality and passionate about places and people.
We love to bring our community together, celebrate the North, and tell the stories that inspire you.
Fairness | Balance | Openness
Place North has quality journalism at the heart of what it does, bringing the best in business-to-business content to all we do – whether it’s on the page or the stage.
We believe in treating people the right way and forming meaningful and long-lasting relationships. This means fact-checking our news, transparently pricing our marketing services and being excellent event hosts.
Employee-owned
Place North is proud to be part of a growing movement of progressive businesses putting people first.
In 2023 we became employee-owned. This was a bold move and a proud endorsement of our future and the people who make up the business.
Being employee-owned means we run the business more openly, maintain the continuity of our regional roots, and support a team that’s driven and committed to the future. We also get to reward everyone with an annual profit share.
Please send ALL press releases to news@placenorthwest.co.uk
Place North West reports on activity in Manchester, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Merseyside, Preston, Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire, Warrington and North Wales.
Charity partner
Championing a diverse and more modern built environment has always been a focus for Place North. That’s why we partner with Regeneration Brainery to accelerate change to make our industry more representative of the world in which it operates.
Regeneration Brainery is a not-for-profit organisation that addresses the skills gap and the need for diversity in the property industry by working with young people from under-represented backgrounds to encourage them to pursue careers in the built environment.
Get involved with Regeneration Brainery
The Place team
Editorial
Julia Hatmaker - Editor (Currently on maternity leave)
Julia is a veteran multimedia journalist, who joined the team in 2021. She comes to Place from the United States, where she worked for nearly a decade at the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper The Patriot-News and its website, PennLive.com. In 2020, she was named one of the 25 rising stars of journalism under the age of 35 by Editor & Publisher, the American newspaper trade magazine.
Dan Whelan - Deputy editor
Dan graduated with a First Class honours degree in journalism from the University of Salford in 2015, before moving to Spain to work as an English language teacher. During his four years in Spain, he worked as a freelance sports reporter, covering football for a variety of publications. Dan joined Place North West in January 2020.
Neil Tague - Senior reporter
Neil Tague is an experienced business journalist, with 20 years’ experience covering property and regeneration across the UK regions for titles such as Estates Gazette, The Sunday Times and Big Issue North. He has worked regularly with Place since 2015.
Charlie Valentine - Reporter
Charlie has a BA Hons degree in politics, philosophy, and economics from the University of Manchester and is an NCTJ certified journalist with News Associates in Manchester. He joined the Place North West team in August 2024.
Sales
Dino Moutsopoulos - Managing partner, head of commercial
Dino has more than 22 years of experience in strategic business development and growing brands. Specialising in event sponsorship, Dino has worked both nationally and internationally, winning work with global brands and SMEs alike. Dino is responsible for leading the commercial offering of Place North and overseeing strategic commercial projects and managing key Partner work across the firm. He holds an MA in Communications and Public Relations from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Products & Events
Kirsty Scrivener (formerly Butcher) - Managing partner, head of product
Kirsty leads on the delivery and development of Place products and services, to ensure we’re providing engaging and quality publications across the North. She has nearly 10 years of B2B publishing experience and has been with Place since 2015, seeing readership grow by 300% in that time.
Lianne Reid - Client services director
Lianne excels at delivering high quality projects, events and client experience, demonstrated over a 14 year career in the B2B Media industry. She brings this experience into her role at Place, where as Client services director she ensures the quality of the offering whilst driving growth and innovation.
Marian Arnold-Lawson - Event director
Marian has over 15 years of event management experience, working both agency and client side across B2B and B2C events. After graduating from UCLAN with a BA Hons in Public Relations, she has worked in senior level event and partnership roles in the media, advertising & charity sectors. She joined Place North In April 2024 as Senior event manager.
Dana Beidas - Event producer
With a BA in English Literature from Damascus University and an MSc in Strategic Communications & Public Relations from Queen Margaret University, Dana brings over 12 years of experience in event management, including senior roles in both freelance and corporate settings. She joined Place North as an Events Producer in April 2025.
Zara Ashraf - Event producer
Zara graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2022 with a degree in Business Management, before completing her MSc in Hospitality and Tourism at Northumbria University. She has several years of hospitality and event experience, joining the events team at Place North in 2023.
David Booth - Video lead & content producer
David graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in Filmmaking and went on to work behind the camera for four years creating videos and digital marketing content for a recycled plastic manufacturing company in Lancashire. David joined in March 2020 to grow the video and content offering at Place North.
Josh Kelly - Marketing & social media producer
Josh moved to Manchester in 2016 to work towards gaining a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Salford, graduating in 2019. He went on to work for a national charity leading on content and branding before joining Place North in 2024.
Office Management & Accounts
Fiona Davies - Senior office and finance manager
Fiona holds a degree in Marketing with Management and has worked in the property sector since 2011, gaining experience in legal, administrative, and managerial roles. A qualified bookkeeper, she oversees office operations and accounts, supporting the smooth running of Place.
Founder
Paul Unger - Publisher
Paul founded regional trade title Place North West in 2007. He started in journalism as a graduate trainee on the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo, rising to become business editor of the Daily Post. After moving into freelance business reporting, he spent six years as North West features writer for Property Week, before creating Place.
Address: Parsonage Chambers, 3 Parsonage, Manchester, M3 2HW
Company number: 09392799
VAT number: 141453734