Former Balfour Beatty MD joins Seddon

BALFOUR Beatty’s former regional managing director for the Midlands has joined Seddon as commercial director.
 
Steve Davies, who worked for the contractor for 14 years, joins Seddon at its Birmingham office and will be responsible for the company’s commercial contracts across the Midlands region.
 
Davies brings with him 40 years of experience in the construction sector having started his career with John Laing, working his way up to managing director of Mansell and subsequently Balfour Beatty Regional. 
 
Davies said: “I am delighted to have found a home at Seddon. The company has a great reputation and even though it is a national construction firm, Seddon has committed further resources to the Midlands, most recently when it purchased an office in Birmingham.
 
“Seddon is dedicated to creating a lasting legacy in the region with its training and development initiatives – something that is very close to my heart.”
 
Davies’ appointment comes shortly after the company purchased a 4,000 sq ft office at Birmingham Business Park in Solihull.
 
Seddon boasts two offices in the region, Stoke and Birmingham, with staff working on almost £60m of projects.

New recruit joins JLL valuation team

ASHLEIGH Hayes has joined JLL’s 18 strong Midlands valuation team following record instructions, over the previous 12 months.

The multi-disciplinary team covering both the residential and commercial sectors, operates across the Midlands region supporting property companies and banks with LCP, IM Properties, Prologis, Barclays, RBS and Standard Life amongst its clients.

JLL director Stuart Smith said: “The past 12 months have been exceptional for the team and the next 12-18 months looks set to be even more active.

“Certainly we benefit from JLL’s global and national reputation in attracting a wide range of clients, mainly large corporates with extensive portfolios but as James said, the strength of our team is also down to the people.

“We also work very closely with our agency and investment teams within JLL and from Ashleigh’s point of view this adds significantly to her breadth of experience in delivering a more integrated approach.”

Associate director appointment at Wright Silverwood

NICHE retail and leisure property advisory company Wright Silverwood has promoted Scott Robertson to associate director. 

Joining Birmingham-based Wright Silverwood as a graduate surveyor in November 2007, in recent years Robertson has acted on behalf of a number of institutional landlords on major shopping centre leasing instructions, including Royal London Asset Management, CBRE Global Investors, Threadneedle and LaSalle Investment Management. 

He has been instrumental in securing occupiers for a number of high profile properties, for landlords including Aviva and Picton Capital. These include the letting of 30 Waterloo Street in Birmingham to Pure Bar & Kitchen and, more recently, the letting of space within the Grand Hotel, Birmingham, for Hortons’ Estate. 

Wright Silverwood director Simon Smith said: “Scott is a real asset to the firm.  Throughout his time with us, he has consistently proved his ability to handle a wide variety of instructions in the retail and leisure market place and this well-deserved promotion recognises the significant contribution he has made to the success of our agency department.”

Promotions at the double at Richborough Estates

BIRMINGHAM-based Richborough Estates has promoted Robert Mitchell and Jonathan Bloor to regional manager and regional director respectively.

Mitchell joined the team in 2010 and has worked on a number of high profile projects, including the planning applications for the company’s Sandbach, Kilsby and Roughley sites.

Having previously been responsible for working across all regions as planning manager, he will now manage the South West region in his new role as Richborough Estates looks to develop its presence in the area.

Bloor has been promoted from regional manager to regional director of the North West region, having driven the approval for sites including Eccleshall and Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

Karl Parkinson-Witte, Joint MD at Richborough Estates said: “Both Robert and Jonathan have shown great skill and tenacity in their tenure to date, and their promotions signal both their positive development and the direction the business is taking.”

Keepmoat brings in engagement specialist

THE homes division of national housing and regeneration specialist Keepmoat has appointed its first community engagement and investment manager in the Midlands.
 
Charlene Withall joins from Ricoh UK where she spent 12 years, first as a corporate social responsibility advisor and later as its community investment manager where she was responsible for implementing and delivering strategic initiatives that promoted employee engagement to its 2,600 strong UK workforce. 
 
She joins the homes division’s expanding partnerships team led by Shaun Fielding, partnership director.

He said: “Keepmoat prides itself on the investment and opportunities for local communities that our work delivers and Charlene’s appointment is a huge boost for the Midlands Homes’ region.”