People: £200m turnover professional services firm announces new MD; Law firm recruits construction specialist; and more

Professional services firm Turner & Townsend, headquartered in Leeds, has appointed Patricia Moore as UK managing director and executive board member.

Leading a team of over 2,000 experts with an annual turnover of around £200m, in her new role Moore will drive the continued growth of the UK business across real estate, infrastructure and natural resources.

Moore’s career started in Scotland in 1988 as a trainee quantity surveyor – working in marine civils for the Navy.  She moved to London in 1994, providing cost management services to the Jubilee Line extension, followed by the Paddington Station refurbishment.

She joined Turner & Townsend in 1999 and having supported clients across a range of projects, in 2015 was appointed as managing director of Turner & Townsend’s UK infrastructure business.

Vincent Clancy, Turner & Townsend chairman and chief executive, said: “Patricia has made a tremendous impact at Turner & Townsend and is a respected industry figure.  Her client experience in almost 20 years with Turner & Townsend includes advising many of the largest infrastructure projects in the UK such as HS2, Crossrail and Hinkley Point C.  The UK Managing Director role will allow Patricia to bring her experience and insight to the whole UK business and help us to unlock further growth.”

Moore added: “I am delighted to be appointed to this role at a time when our UK business is delivering some of the most complex and transformational programmes across the built environment.  The strength of our business is built on our talented and diverse team and our ability to provide high-quality consultancy and drive better performance for clients and their investors.

“I am proud to lead a team of such dynamic people as we set our ambitions high and pursue even greater achievements in the coming years.”
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Law firm Milners has further strengthened its litigation team with the recruitment of a leading name in construction dispute resolution.

Mark Lawton joins the Leeds-based firm as a senior solicitor, bringing with him 30 years of specialist expertise acting for contractors, developers, housebuilders and consultants.

His legal CV includes many well known names in the industry, including Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley Group, Atkins, Taylor Woodrow Developments, St James’ Homes, St George, Kier, Persimmon, White Young Green, The Co-Op, Bellway, Allenbuild, Charles Church, CLC Group, Irwins, and Stonewest Group.

Giles Ward, Milners’ senior partner and head of litigation, said: “Few lawyers can match Mark’s track record and exclusive focus in this specialism. His rare blend of expertise, industry insight and tactical know-how will be a tremendous asset for new and existing clients.

“We have ambitions to develop our services further in key growth areas and the appointment of a construction law specialist of Mark’s calibre is another major step forward for us as we broaden our talent pool.”

Lawton advises on all issues arising out of construction and development operations and projects.

He joins the team which successfully acted on behalf of Ampleforth Abbey Trust in a landmark High Court ruling for the construction industry. It resulted in the trustees winning damages of over £226,000 from contractors who failed to ensure new school buildings at Ampleforth College were finished on time.

Milners also has offices in Harrogate and Pontefract.
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Biomass wood pellet supplier Y Pellets has appointed Chris Wilson as general manager having seen continuous growth within the renewable energy sector and unveiling ambitious expansion plans.

Wilson brings over 17 years of operations management, logistics as well as import and export experience to Y Pellets which supplies high quality, sustainably-sourced, biomass wood pellets to homes, private and public sector businesses across the UK.

He will play a vital role in the company’s strategic growth, establishing maximum distribution capability nationally as well as working closely with the company’s European pellet manufacturing plants to cordinate transportation and delivery of thousands of tonnes of sustainable wood pellets direct to a dedicated 5,000 tonne storage facility at
the Port.

Y Pellets managing director, Neil Holland, said: “Chris is an integral part of the management team and brings a very professional and high level of expertise in terms of coordinating, organising and managing the supply of wood pellets from initial transportation through to overseeing deliveries and final customer distribution.

“His logistics and operational experience is second to none and as we continue to develop and expand the business, his knowledge will allow Y Pellets to provide a unique, all encompassing level of service to its UK clients.”

Y Pellets recently announced it is to invest more than £10m this year constructing a new state-of-the-art wood refinery in Goole, East Yorkshire.