People: Law firm boosts employment law team with partner appointment; Senior development manager recruited at Urban Growth Company; and more

Commercial law firm Harper James Solicitor has further bolstered its growing employment law team with the appointment of partner Simon Gilmour.

Gilmour joins the Birmingham office from Harrison Clark Rickerbys where he was a partner and head of employment in their Worcester office.

He brings with him more than 20 years’ experience working on contentious and non-contentious employment matters, with particular expertise advising on M&As and TUPE, as well as supporting internal HR departments on matters including project managing and delivering restructure exercises and change management programmes.

CEO and corporate solicitor, Toby Harper, said: “Simon is a well-respected and highly skilled lawyer and his appointment demonstrates the high-quality recruitment that we at Harper James are undertaking in order to deliver affordable, best-in-class legal services and we’re excited to have him on-board.

“We are experiencing a very busy period with new clients and instructions, which is reflected by the growth of the firm, and we have no doubt that Simon will be an excellent asset for us, and in turn for our clients.”

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UK Central Solihull Urban Growth Company (UGC) has appointed Lisa Chaney as its senior development manager.

With 15 years property industry experience, Chaney will support acting managing director Philip Farrell and lead projects including the redesign of infrastructure at the HS2 Interchange Station site and the redevelopment of Birmingham International Station.

Nick Brown, chairman of the UGC, said: “The Urban Growth Company has made significant progress towards creating Europe’s best-connected destination for leisure, living and business at The Hub in Solihull.

“We’re now moving towards a new phase of delivery which will require in-depth knowledge of the design, consultation and planning process.

“With Lisa leading some of our key projects, the wider UGC team will continue working alongside private and public sector partners and landowners, building support and driving £1.6bn of infrastructure investment to maximise the full potential of the site.”

The UK Central Hub in Solihull is one of the country’s most strategically important development sites and a major driver of economic growth in the Midlands. As well as being the location of the new HS2 Interchange station at the Arden Cross site, The Hub is already home to Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre, Jaguar Land Rover, Birmingham Business Park and Birmingham International Station.

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Engineering specialist SES Engineering Services is strengthening its presence in the Midlands and South West region with the appointment of bid manager Ashley Rabone.

Rabone, with 13 years industry experience, joins the team from Balfour Beatty and takes on responsibility for helping grow SES’ reputation and client base, particularly in the Midlands region, managing compliance of project tenders in line with the company’s business development strategy.

SES’ Midlands’ team is due to complete a £9.5m full M&E contract on the Godiva Place development in Coventry, which will provide accommodation for more than 750 students. The business has also recently completed a £7.4m M&E project to deliver a new flagship building for bet365 in Stoke-on-Trent and a £4.5m contract on the University of Warwick’s new Sherbourne halls of residence, set to house almost 260 students.

Rabone said: “SES Engineering Services has a great history of engineering excellence, which we continue to deliver each day by providing innovative prefabricated and cutting-edge digital engineering technology solutions to our customers.

“Since joining I have been really impressed by the commitment to regionalised project delivery and in-house engineering support, which will ensure we remain on the doorstep of our clients and providing award-winning building services solutions.

“As bid manager for Midlands and the South West Region, I look forward to helping SES Engineering Services shape its future as a market leading MEP contractor by ensuring we remain customer focused.”