People: Law firm grows with latest appointments; developer Harworth brings in new COO; Carter Jonas adds to its senior team

East Yorkshire law firm Jane Brooks Law has added solicitor Glenn Holden to the team.

In addition to Mr Holden’s appointment, existing staff member Amanda Powell recently qualified as a chartered legal executive, and Lilli Grigg completed her solicitor training.

The firm ha seen its team grow since opening a second office six years ago.

Director Jane Brooks opened the firm in Hedon in 2007, with a further office opening in Cottingham in 2013 under Stephanie Sadofsky. Further growth prompted the firm to relocate its Cottingham office in 2017 to a location in the centre of the village.

Under Ms Sadofsky and fellow director Paul Harrison, the Cottingham office has become a specialist in commercial and residential property.

Ms Sadofsky said: “We have a growing commercial and residential property practice and we have expanded across all areas of the business and in both offices.

“We moved our Cottingham office because we found somewhere very central, with more space and better accessibility and we’ve kept growing, with more than 40 people now working for the practice.

“We’ll see where the business takes us but there will be opportunities to expand into other towns and villages in the Hull area and further afield and there might be further recruitment, starting with another trainee solicitor.”

Ms Brooks added: “The successful recruitment and development of our staff has been a key factor in helping us to expand our commercial and residential property work and our private client services across both our offices.”

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Developer Harworth has appointed a new chief operating officer to “drive operational delivery and future growth opportunities”.

Ian Ball has been promoted to the newly-created role of COO from 1 May to support the ongoing growth and evolution of its business.

His role will provide additional oversight over the business’ new regional operating model, whilst bringing together the Capital Growth and Income Generation teams within a single management structure.

Harworth said it was part of the “ongoing evolution” of the company since its re-listing in 2015.

The company said the move will allow chief executive Owen Michaelson, to focus on new business initiatives which support our existing strategy, alongside his continued leadership of the business.

Mr Ball originally joined Harworth in 2014 and was promoted to the role of executive director for Income Generation in 2015

His role included the delivery of over 1m sq. ft of direct developments within its portfolio, funded via a range of partnership and debt structures. He is a chartered surveyor by background and has strong banking & commercial experience having worked for a number of European private equity Real Estate funds in London and commercial banks in the regions.

Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Harworth, said: “As the company develops and evolves so too must our organisational structure in order to maintain the delivery of market-leading total returns.

“I am certain that Ian’s depth of commercial experience, supported by his rigorous analytical methods, will ensure that we maximise available opportunities from our existing and future projects across the North of England and the Midlands.”

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Property consultancy Carter Jonas has appointed partner Matthew Ellams to the senior team of its Leeds-based Architecture & Building Consultancy.

Mr Ellams joins from Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London, where he was head of construction. There he was responsible for the planning and management of all construction activities undertaken by the Trust, including the installation of a helipad on an existing 10-storey building.

He is relocating from London to Leeds to develop the Architecture & Building Consultancy across the North.

Ellams has added to his vocational experience having received an MBA in Construction & Real Estate from the University of Reading. In 2017, Ellams was awarded a Fellowship by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in recognition of his individual achievements.

Richard Love, Head of Architecture & Building Consultancy, Carter Jonas, said: “This is an exciting time for the Building Consultancy team and we’re proud to announce Matthew’s appointment and welcome him into the team. Matthew is well placed to take forward this section of the business, and drive its development in the northern region.”

Matthew Ellams, Partner, Carter Jonas, said: “I am excited to be returning to my roots – to the area in which I initially started my career in construction. Within the industry, the Consultancy has a reputation to be proud of, and I am up to the challenge of replicating this success and taking it to new places.”