Irwin Mitchell has doubled the size of its leadership team with the appointment of five new executive board members.

The firm has promoted its HR director Andrea Preston, group general counsel Bruce Macmillan, sales and marketing director David Ward, chief information officer Garry Dowdle, and director of operations Sarah Ball.

Ball is the only new board member from legacy firm Thomas Eggar, which merged with Irwin Mitchell in 2015.

Ward joined from delivery company Yodel last September, Macmillan from RPC last February, Preston in summer 2017, and Dowdle in December 2016.

The five join existing directors: divisional chief executives Vicky Brackett and Craig Marshall; personal injury managing partner Stuart Henderson; chief financial officer Andrew Merrick; and group chief executive Andrew Tucker.

The firm said the board expansion follows a one-year trial where the five new members attended most board meetings and advised, but were not full decision-makers.

Tucker said in a statement that the board was expanded to "make sure we effectively use the expertise and knowledge of senior leaders across the firm".

He said the revamped board will "undoubtedly help us make better and more informed decisions at senior level".

Irwin Mitchell operates within a corporate structure. Irwin Mitchell Holdings was set up in 2011 and is the parent company of its LLP.

Irwin Mitchell Holdings had a profitable 2017-18 financial year after making a total loss of about £2.5m in 2016-17, according to its latest accounts.

Profits rose to £6.9m, and shareholders were paid out £1m – a 9% increase on 2016-2017.

A 2.8% revenue increase to £241.8m marked a slowdown on the 6% growth posted by the firm the previous year.