People: Environmental consultancy eyes West Midlands expansion with Birmingham office growth; M3 recruits new ops director; and more

National multi-disciplinary environmental consultancy Delta-Simons has cemented its presence in the West Midlands with the expansion of its office in Birmingham.

The firm, which specialises in environmental and geotechnical services, opened the doors to its latest office in Colmore Circus Queensway in late 2017 following a number of contract wins across the region.

After a successful 12 months establishing a presence in the region, current unit director of the Midlands region Paul Bennett has been appointed to head the division through its new stage of growth.

He joined Delta-Simons in 1996 as an environmental scientist and progressed through the company to unit director of the Midlands region, overseeing the Lincoln and Nottingham regional offices.

Bennett said that having a presence within Birmingham would help to further enhance Delta-Simons’ profile within the booming region as well as support its strategy for growth.

“We have ambitious plans for growth as a firm over the next three years and key to that strategy is building a base within the West Midlands,” he said. “Colmore Row is the heart of Birmingham’s business community and we look forward to developing our existing relationships with professionals working in the sector as well as meeting a few new faces over the coming months.”

Delta-Simons managing director Alex Ferguson said: “Opening an office in Birmingham was the next logical step for us as a firm. It is the UK’s second city and at the heart of the Midlands Engine with significant opportunity for growth and investment, especially ahead of the city’s successful bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2020.

“Broadening our client base within the West Midlands is a priority for us and being in the heart of the city means that we are better able service our clients from a local base, as well as adding to our national capabilities.”

Delta-Simons is currently recruiting for a geo-environmental due diligence consultant and a principal ecologist to work out of the Birmingham office.

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M3, the full service advertising agency, is moving into a new office in Birmingham in a bid to establish itself as an alternative to the city’s existing marketing community, in a move helped by the recruitment of digital marketing specialist, Sam Hufton.

Hufton has joined M3 from Rice Media, where he was commercial director, and, in his new role, he will be responsible for delivering £1m of new business, as well as managing the continued execution of the £500,000 Solmar Villas campaign, which has delivered a 35% increase in sales and record visitor numbers to the website.

In previous roles Hufton has worked with Aston Villa, National Geographic and “Hardly Ever Worn It” accounts.

Hufton said:”This is no better time to be moving into the second city. Extensive investment in Paradise Circus, and the imminent roll out of HS2 has generated a fantastic vibe  and means we have a great opportunity to attract both high profile work that usually favours London and some of the region’s most creative minds.”

M3 has a national client base that includes West Midlands Safari Park, Wasps, Formula One Auto Centre, Harley Davison, the pub retailer Marstons and continued strategic for Solmar Villas.

Nick Lovett, the MD of M3, added:”It is a real coup to attract someone of Sam’s calibre and reputation and reflects our desire to get people talking about what we do. He knows Birmingham very well and has lots of interesting contacts so it made perfect sense for him to lead our first ever foray there. The decision to base ourselves in Alpha Works in the city ensures we are at the heart of the business community. It also represents a great opportunity to connect and collaborate with other creative businesses and start ups as we look to grow our West Midlands client base.”

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PR agency Grayling has made the internal appointment of Lee Southen as head of its Birmingham office.

Southen joined Grayling Birmingham last year as an associate director, making an immediate impact by helping grow the agency’s client base in the region to include Aston Villa Football Club and the University of Gloucestershire.

He will be responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the Birmingham office as well as providing strategic guidance to some of Grayling Birmingham’s flagship clients in the Midlands region, including HSBC and HORIBA MIRA.

Southen said: “Grayling is an exciting place to be with a strong reputation and a promising future ahead. We’ve already experienced strong growth this year, but my focus remains on developing Grayling Birmingham’s offer in the region and growing the diverse and talented team.”