People on the Move: Forbes Solicitors; ITC Travel Group; Primas Law; Farleys Solicitors; Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

North West law firm Forbes Solicitors’ successful housing and regeneration department now boasts seven High Court Advocates after the latest successes in the Higher Rights of Audience qualification assessments.

Partner Justine Hunkins and solicitors Amy Chadwick and Emanuele Bellanca became the latest members of the team to achieve the standard set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

They join partners Lachlan McLean and Shirley Faragher and associate solicitors Lucie Cocker and Sarah Rogers, who are also qualified to represent clients in the high court.

The Forbes housing and regeneration department comprises a large team of more than 35 specialist lawyers and staff working with in excess of 90 registered providers and local authorities in England and Wales.

It is recognised in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 as being a leader in the sector and members of the team regularly hold and speak at housing seminars, conferences and forums.

Stuart Penswick, partner and head of housing said: “The team is packed full of talented and hungry individuals who focus on delivering a first class and cost-effective service to their clients and these latest successes will help us to continue to build on that reputation.”

Lachlan, based in Chorley, specialises in housing management and leasehold.

Shirley, based in Chorley, has a focus on anti-social behaviour, advises clients on the merits of litigation and attends court throughout England.

Justine, based in Leeds, advises social landlords in relation to their housing management functions. She specialises in disrepair claims and rent possession actions which have complicating factors.

Lucie, based in Chorley, works with registered providers across the country and has a great deal of litigation and advisory experience in relation to all aspects of housing management and antisocial behaviour.

Sarah, based in Chorley, concentrates on representing tenants in relation to homelessness, allocation of housing, unlawful eviction, injunction and possession proceedings.

Emanuele, based in Chorley, represents local authorities and social landlords in relation to all aspects of housing management work but deals predominantly with cases involving anti-social behaviour and breach of tenancy.

Amy, based in Chorley, represents social landlords and local authorities in relation to a wide array of housing management work, with a predominant focus on disrepair claims and counterclaims, possession proceedings and anti-social behaviour injunctions.

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ITC Travel Group has announced that Jennifer Atkinson will be stepping in to the position of chairwoman, making her one of only a handful of females at chair level in the travel industry, and in the UK.

The move will see current chief operating officer Mal Barritt step into the position of chief executive officer.

The announcement comes as the Chester-based luxury travel company is expected to announce final profits of £4.6m in its year end results. The record-breaking year for the company – up from £4.3m last year – comes despite the economic challenges of the past 12 months, including Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Maria in the Caribbean where trips to destinations such as Barbados and St Lucia continue to form a key part of ITC’s product.

Ms Atkinson said: “We’ve seen positive growth this year as a business and I’m optimistic about the future of ITC Travel Group.

“This is an exciting time for me to step into a bigger-picture role so that we can continue to grow and develop over the years to come. I’m very much looking forward to the new challenge.”

Mal Barritt said: “It’s a great privilege to be given the opportunity to lead the ITC Travel Group as CEO. Jen and I share a passion and vision that centres on putting our staff at the heart of what we do, ensuring we continue to deliver exceptional customer experiences.”

ITC Travel Group incorporates a number of travel businesses, including the Inspiring Travel Company, Western & Oriental, Rainbow Tours, Villa Select, Regent Holidays, ITC Sports Travel and Horse Racing Abroad.

The company employs around 200 staff across its travel brands, with UK offices in Chester, Harrogate, Preston London, Bristol, Warwickshire and Norwich.
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North West law firm Primas Law has appointed experienced commercial litigator Daniel Thomas as a partner and head of its litigation team.

He joins the firm – which has offices in Cheshire, Manchester and London – from Blackstone Solicitors where he was a partner.

Specialising in all aspects of commercial litigation, he will oversee the ongoing development of the litigation department at Primas Law.

Senior partner Adam Kerr said: “We’re a growing firm and want to make sure we stay at the forefront of a legal market that continues to see huge changes.

Daniel Thomas

“Daniel is an experienced lawyer who shares our outcomes-focused approach to helping clients achieve the best possible results. He will be a real asset as we grow the department and develop new services within our dispute resolution offering.”

Mr Thomas said: “Primas is a firm on the up and has an excellent reputation and great clients. The firm is well known in its core areas of corporate, commercial and real estate work.

“It also has a quality litigation offering and I want to help the firm become more widely known for this across the region and beyond.”

Primas Law’s litigation team specialises in handling a broad range of matters, including contract disputes, partnership disputes, property disputes, shareholder and director disputes, intellectual property, fraud and insolvency disputes.

Founded in 2013 by Adam Kerr, Primas Law has an 18-strong team working across its three offices.

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Farleys Solicitors has announced a number of new additions to its commercial department to cope with an increased demand for commercial law services in the city.

The firm, who were shortlisted at this year’s Manchester Legal Awards, has appointed solicitor Jonathan Burton-Baddeley following his successful completion of a training contract at Farleys. He has a particular specialism in commercial property.

Solicitor advocate Rebecca Fairclough has re-joined Farleys having previously spent a number of years with the firm. Rebecca has specialisms in commercial disputes, debt recovery matters, and professional negligence claims.

Molly Greenwood began her career at Farleys as a paralegal and has now been awarded a training contract. Molly will take up a number of seats in various departments throughout the programmes and will begin in the commercial department.

Managing partner Ian Liddle said: “This trio of appointments kicks off a particularly exciting time for Farleys’ Manchester office.

“Since we opened back in 2007, we have continued to develop our presence in the city, so much so that we are now looking to move to bigger offices.

“I want to congratulate Jonathan, Rebecca and Molly and, on behalf of everyone at the firm, wish them all the best in their careers here at Farleys Solicitors.”

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Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s new commercial development and investment director has started work at its Mann Island headquarters in Liverpool.

Originally from the Wirral, Mark Bousfield joined the Combined Authority from real estate business Igloo Regeneration.

His earlier career included positions with Google and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

An Oxford graduate, he also holds a Masters degree focused on international economics and policy from the Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC.

Mr Bousfield said: “I am tremendously excited to join the Metro Mayor to contribute to the Combined Authority’s drive to transform the Liverpool City Region.

“We have a great opportunity to do things differently in terms of how we use investment for the benefit of the public.

“We will be moving away from a culture of giving grants and towards investing in developments and projects that deliver a public good, while providing a return to the Combined Authority that we can then reinvest.

“The willingness of the Combined Authority to embrace this new approach was a major factor in my decision to join it and I am very much looking forward to building a team of like-minded professionals who want to be part of this project, which has the potential to transform the city region.”

Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, said: “We are very pleased to have Mark on board. He brings a wealth of experience in responsible investing and is absolutely the right person to drive through our new approach.”