People: Godwin Capital recruits debt funding expert; Partner hire for law firm; and more
Godwin Capital, the fundraising and investment arm of Godwin Group, has recruited senior debt funding consultant Stan Lersch.
Lersch has over 20 years’ lending experience in the property market, having previously worked for a number of lenders including Barclays Bank, Bank of Ireland and Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank.
More recently, his career includes working for Consensus Business Group, a family office, for four years, where he arranged and restructured long term debt packages, and at Alpha Real Capital for five years, arranging debt for its commercial property funds management business.
Andrew Mitchell, Godwin’s investment director, said: “Stan has been directly involved in developments in the hotel, student accommodation, commercial and residential sectors including build to rent, and is therefore a natural fit for the team.
“As Godwin Group continues to grow its interests in these sectors, his experience and knowledge of the market will prove invaluable.”
Godwin Capital is part of the Godwin Group, the regional property development and investment company, with offices in Birmingham, Nottingham and London.
:::
Law firm Pinsent Masons has boosted its real estate sector with the hire of planning and compulsory purchase partner, Lucy Thomas.
With extensive experience of development planning and compulsory purchase matters, Thomas will advise on a range of UK and international projects.
Her client base includes major corporates, developers, development corporations and public sector bodies. Her expertise will add further strength and depth in an expanding practice and reinforce major client relationships for Pinsent Masons including Lendlease, Berkeley Homes, Transport for London and Countryside Properties.
She joins the firm’s Birmingham office from Ashurst, where she has played a key role in the firm’s planning and compulsory purchase team, working on a number of high profile projects for more than 20 years.
Head of Planning at Pinsent Masons, Iain Gilbey, said: “Lucy will be an asset to our number one rated planning and compulsory purchase team. Her role on big ticket planning and compulsory purchase work, as well as experience in the Australian market, will boost our real estate sector capabilities in the UK and internationally. We are delighted she is joining us. Her move reinforces our commitment to delivering exceptional client service and expertise.”
:::
Forresters’ Birmingham office has been given a boost after the patent and trade mark firm has welcomed a number of new recruits to the team.
Recently joining as a trainee patent attorney is Anthony Ajanaku who started his career in IP at the European Patent Office, where he worked assisting patent examiners. One exciting area he worked on was climate change technology, which meant dealing with patents for internal combustion engines and fuel efficient technology.
He joins recent trainees Nathan Chambers and Ian Duncan, recent additions to the firm’s Edmund Street office.
Chambers has taken up the position of trainee trade mark attorney after previously working as a trade mark paralegal for an IP firm in Cheltenham.
Duncan is also a trainee patent attorney and prior to joining Forresters he worked as a design engineer for Bosch Rexroth and specialised in designing factory equipment for some of the country’s largest manufacturers.
