People on the move: Bardsley Construction; Brabners; HOW Planning; Populo Consulting; Harrison Drury; Your Legal Friend

Family-owned Bardsley Construction has made a series of key appointments after starting 2017 with a raft of new contracts.

The £50m turnover business based in Tameside, Greater Manchester and with regional offices for Yorkshire and the Midlands has appointed eight staff including three that have returned to Bardsley.

Those back at Bardsley are director Adrian Rooney who had worked for the firm since 1995 and is returning from a short spell at John Sisk, site manager Mike Banks who was at Bardsley from 2000 before leaving for Mayo Civils, and contract manager Keith Huntington who worked for Bardsley until 2014 when he left to join Kier Living and has spent 35 years in the construction sector.

The new arrivals at the firm are senior project manager Jim Flannery, who has 32 years of experience in the construction industry and joins from BILT Group Ltd; buyer Steve Albinson who arrives from Forrest with more than 40 years of buying experience including 20 with Lovells; SHEQ advisor Helene Watson who has spent 15 years in health and safety in construction and was previously employed by Forrest; quantity surveyors Ronnie Kennedy from design and build business Mason Lord and bringing with him 45 years’ experience and Curtis Huynh who arrived from Renaker Build with seven years’ experience.

Roly Bardsley, chairman of Bardsley Construction, said: “The influx of talent takes our total workforce to more than 200 people and is reflective of the breadth and depth of skills and expertise that Bardsley Construction can offer to its ever-growing client base.

“We start 2017 with a flurry of contract wins so it’s all hands to the pump for our new and existing colleagues as we look forward with confidence to a strong and successful year in a reviving construction sector.”

Since the start of the year Bardsley Construction has won:
•    A £3.3m contract with Halton Housing Trust to provide 28 affordable homes and apartments on the site of the former Victoria House healthcare building in Runcorn, Cheshire
•    A £4.7m design and build project for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing to replace residential and retail properties at The Strand, Rochdale with three-storey residential and retail buildings and community facility alongside external works and public realm open space
•    A contract with Venture Property Group to deliver a £6.2m six-storey student accommodation block at Hannah Court, Sheffield offering 103 ensuite studio apartments, offices, a management suite and residents’ communal hub.

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Commercial law firm Brabners has strengthened its Liverpool-based property litigation and residential property practices with two new North West hires, who together bring almost 30 years’ experience to the firm.

Andrew Rogers joins as a senior associate in the property litigation team and Nora Schofield as head of residential property.

 With more than nine years’ experience, Rogers specialises in resolving property disputes, with particular focus on the retail and investment sectors.

He advises a broad client base from occupiers and landlords to investment funds and international investors, and has experience working across both the public and private sectors. He joins the firm from DWF.

Schofield has also been appointed head of residential property. With more than 20 years’ experience, Nora specialises in all areas of residential property law, which includes advising on the buying and selling of high-value or complex properties. She combines experience and expertise with the latest technology to ensure clients receive the highest level of service.

Mark Brandwood, managing partner at Brabners, said: “Attracting the best and brightest talent is an integral part of our business strategy and it’s because of this that we’re able to deliver a consistently outstanding service to our growing client base.

“It is a pleasure to bring Andrew and Nora on board, and with them they bring a range of specialist expertise that will enhance the legal advice we provide. The number and quality of individuals joining the firm demonstrates that we are continuing to attract the best talent from across the North West.”

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Planning and environmental specialist HOW Planning has appointed Neil Lucas as partner.
Lucas joins existing partners Gary Halman, Richard Woodford, Jon Suckley and Richard Barton at the Manchester city centre consultancy.

He moves to Manchester from DP9, a central London planning consultancy where he provided planning advice and delivered planning permissions to both private and public sector clients on a range of large high profile projects.
 
His experience includes projects such as Lendlease’s 10ha Elephant Park with its 2,500 residential units and 75,000 sq m of commercial floorspace and Trafalgar Place which won the 2016 Mayor of London’s Award for Planning Excellence.

Lucas has also helped deliver the London 2012 Olympic Velodrome and Grosvenor’s Liverpool One scheme.

In his role at HOW, Lucas will oversee a team of planners, specialising in large, urban mixed-use, regeneration projects.

Gary Halman, managing partner at HOW said: “Neil has worked on some of the UK’s largest regeneration schemes and brings invaluable knowledge and expertise to our team.  We are looking forward to working with him and benefitting from his extensive experience. He will be a great asset to us and will play an important role in the future development of our business in the major centres of the Northern Powerhouse.”

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Populo Consulting has announced the appointment of Mike Turner as managing director.

Part of the international and award winning IT Works Resource Group in Fulwood, Preston, Populo Consulting supports NHS trusts and healthcare organisations in achieving their strategic business goals.

Turner’s background in the private sector and NHS gives him an in-depth and unique understanding of both business strategy and NHS functionality.

With more than 15 years in the NHS, Turner specialised in PAS, EPR and Clinical Systems, working in programme director roles in primary care, secondary care and mental health.  Turner was also responsible for successfully delivering the largest EPR transformation programme in the UK, on time and within budget.

Turner said: “The NHS is rapidly digitising and Populo Consulting have the experience to assist them with the monumental transition to this platform. We offer a consultative approach, fully understand our client’s requirements and deliver a full 360-degree solution to transformation programmes, ensuring efficient clinical change.”

Darren Mills, COO of Populo Consulting and IT Works Resource Group, said: “Mike is a fantastic addition to the business and has fine-tuned our offering for transformation and clinical change.  We’re working closely with the IT Works Health team, sharing resources and experience, to offer a stand-out professional service that is continuing to evolve with our clients.”

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Preston commercial law firm Harrison Drury has bolstered its senior management team after making a series of promotions.

Harrison Drury, based on Winckley Square, has given directorships to operations manager Laura Dover and associate Nick Booth.
 
Dover has been promoted to the role of operations director. She is now a member of the firm’s board and is responsible for overseeing the HR, IT, marketing, estates and facilities teams.

Booth has been instrumental in growing Harrison Drury’s dispute resolution team since joining the firm in 2014 and will take on the role of director in the commercial team.
 
Meanwhile, solicitors Helen Griffin, David Edwards and Jennifer Larton have also received promotions.

John Chesworth, managing director at Harrison Drury, said: “Laura and Nick have both made their mark since joining the firm.
 
 “Nick has grown our commercial litigation service, while Laura has put in place a high functioning administrative support service and created a business development team.

“David, Helen and Jennifer ensure Harrison Drury’s clients’ receive the highest standard of service and advice. These promotions recognise the valued contribution they’ve all made in their specialist areas.”

Griffin has been promoted to associate in the commercial litigation team. She advises business owners on all aspects of commercial litigation, including shareholder and partnership disputes, and professional negligence claims.
 
Edwards, who has played a key role in developing Harrison Drury’s regulatory and compliance team, has been promoted to the position of senior associate. He also heads up the licensing team and the firms dedicated healthcare sector team.

Meanwhile, solicitor Larton has been made associate at the firm’s Garstang office. She specialises in trusts, wills, probate and lasting powers of Attorney and is a full member of STEP.

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Five trainee solicitors have secured permanent roles with Birkenhead-based law firm Your Legal Friend after impressing over the last two years.
Andrew Jones, Chris Tetzlaff, Jess Brotherstone, Agnieszka Giers and Nathan Glover are now qualified solicitors working the company.

The five completed training contracts which saw them progress via the firm’s learning and development scheme, gaining experience across departments specialising in clinical negligence, professional negligence, accidents & illnesses abroad and personal injury.

During their training, the cohort progressed live cases, drafted schedules of damages and financial losses and prepared letters of claim.

Each trainee was also seconded to a partner legal firm to gain additional experience in a different setting.  

Glover and Brotherstone have accepted clinical negligence solicitor positions, Jones is now a travel litigation solicitor, Tetzlaff, a professional negligence solicitor, and Giers becomes a multi-track solicitor.
   
Jo Mercer, human resources manager at Your Legal Friend, said: “We take great pride in offering a robust and comprehensive training programme which gives those entering the legal profession a platform to build a successful career in the industry.

“We offer a supportive environment and a wage that is above the Law Society’s recommended trainee minimum salary for the regions; it’s even above the recommended for trainees in London, such is our commitment to attracting and retaining the best people.”  
   
Colin Gibson, chief operating officer at Your Legal Friend, added: “People are at the heart of everything that we do and it’s always a pleasure to welcome newly qualified solicitors to the

Founded in 1983, the Merseyside-headquartered business employs 250 people and has supported around 200,000 clients over the last 30 years.

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