People: Sixteen Real Estate; OBI; Forbes Solicitors; Pearson Solicitors & Financial Advisers; Tritax Symmetry; Hunter Price

Sixteen Real Estate has continued its growth following the appointment of Brad Angel from Cushman and Wakefield who has joined the building consultancy team headed by David Whitney.

The Manchester-based firm now has a headcount of 15 with a focus on Offices, Industrial, Investment, Retail, Building Consultancy and Professional.

David Whitney said: “Our building consultancy team has grown steadily since its inception in 2019 with 2022 being our busiest year to date.

“We have seen an increase in our workload across the disciplines and are working with broad range of clients including Custodian Capital, Bruntwood, Chancerygate, Mayfair Capital and Nissan.

“Brad fits the profile for the team and will provide valuable additional expertise within the team.”

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Commercial real estate consultancy, OBI, has prepared for 2023 with eight new hires across a number of departments to support its ambitious growth strategy.

Joe Denman

James Board has joined from developer, Vita Group, and is now part of OBI’s Transactions and Asset Management team with a particular focus on investment transactions, asset management and market analysis.

Also joining OBI’s Transactions and Asset Management team is Joe Denman, who will focus on business development and deal origination, and James Davies, a recent graduate from the University of Nottingham who was offered the role after completing a three-month internship with OBI in 2022.

In addition Elsa Ramos and Rogena Gordon have also begun roles in OBI’s Workplace Consultancy team to support on a raft of new client wins.

Elsa joins with previous experience as a Project Architect and as a Senior Designer for a multinational company based in Manchester. Rogena rejoins with an established track record in multi-disciplinary design in both commercial and residential markets.

Beth Kynaston

OBI has also bolstered its studio and content team. Liz Ainsworth will work as Production Assistant and has a background in animation, which further adds to OBI’s broad skillset. Beth Kynaston, with background in textiles and theatre production, has taken a Graphic Designer position and works as part of the brand and marketing team to create compelling strategies and visual identities for brands to communicate to their target market.

Following on from a successful 2022, Gina Reiger has also joined OBI to focus on marketing, content creation and events. Founding director of OBI, Will Lewis, said: “The market will undoubtedly be challenging during 2023, but we wanted to make sure we recruited strongly rather than taking a more defensive strategy.

“The new hires have strengthened the business in a wide variety of disciplines and will ensure we are well placed to guide our clients through these more uncertain times.”

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Forbes Solicitors has appointed Gabriela Hammond in the newly created role of Head of HR Consultancy.

The role will see Gabriela work together with Forbes’s established employment law team to support clients with employee relations matters and to develop people strategies.

Gabriela brings with her more than 20 years of people management experience, having led the HR function for the UK arm of leading PVCU window systems manufacturer for the construction industry, VEKA UK Group. She said: “I’ve been part of a progressive organisation that really values HR as a strategic part of the day-to-day. This has provided me with a wealth of experience in terms of developing people-focused ways of working that boost staff retention and recruitment, and overall performance.

Gabriela Hammond

“I’m looking forward to drawing on this insight to support Forbes’s clients in addressing the many varied and fast-changing HR opportunities and challenges they face. From the prospects of four-day working weeks, through to changes in flexible working and disengaged employee trends such as quiet quitting, it’s increasingly important for businesses to take a more innovative and agile approach to HR. The newly created Head of HR Consultancy role will help clients with this.”

Jonathan Holden, partner and National Head of Employment at Forbes Solicitors, said: “Through a number of different retainer agreements, we work closely with a wide variety of SMEs, PLCs, Public Sector bodies and Education establishments, often acting as an extension of their senior leadership teams and HR functions. This enables our team to properly understand how to provide bespoke employment law advice that suits specific goals and delivers against wider commercial objectives.

“The new Head of HR Consultancy position enhances this offer and will provide clients with greater opportunity to dovetail our services with their people and organisational development strategies. Gabriela has the ideal experience and expertise to work together with our employment law team to make this a reality, enhancing the people strategies of those organisations to meet specific business goals.”

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North West based law firm, Pearson Solicitors & Financial Advisers has significantly strengthened its Employment Law Department with a triple appointment from Linder Myers Solicitors.

Alan Lewis, who is recognised by The Legal 500 as a ‘leading individual’ joins as a Partner. He will work alongside existing Pearson Employment Partner, Susan Mayall. Alan brings with him 30 years of experience. In addition, joining Pearson alongside Alan are team members from his former practice: Ben Williams, an employment solicitor and Robyn Saunders, a paralegal.

The expansion of the employment team has been made possible through continued business growth at Pearson and the strategic development of the corporate and commercial offering, which provides a viable alternative to city centre firms.

Employment Team: Robyn Saunders, Ben Sharp, Sharon Walton, Alan Lewis, Susan Mayall, Ben Williams

Over the past few years, the client base of the employment department at Pearson Solicitors has grown significantly. It represents large national companies, SMEs and private individuals across England and Wales.

Pearson Director, Chris Burke, said: “We see this strategic hire as a platform to enable us to carry out our ambitious growth plans. It positions the firm for the future and bolsters our presence in both the North West and nationally.”

The team will be based at the law firm’s North Manchester commercial office at Hollinwood Business Centre.

Alan Lewis said: “Having worked in Manchester and led a national team of employment lawyers for many years, I decided to make a move to my home town.

“I have kept a close track on Pearson over the years and have always been impressed with the depth of legal expertise that the practice offers, which easily rivals many city centre firms. The firm is also pretty unique in being able to offer financial advice together with its full range of legal services to individuals and companies.”

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Tritax Symmetry has appointed Andrew Dickman as managing director.

He takes over from Richard Bowen who will stay with the business. As part of his new role he will head up a newly created management board, comprising Finance Director, Will Oliver and Development Directors, Jonathan Wallis and Tom Leeming. Jonathan Wallis will also take on the role as head of the Northampton office.

Andrew Dickman

Andrew Dickman, said: “Tritax Symmetry is at an exciting stage in its growth journey, having expanded from 24 people at the start of 2019 to 45 people today, as a result of the successful implementation of our strategy.

“We believe the business is well placed to capitalise on the underlying structural drivers of the logistics and industrial market and are committed to continued collaboration with our customers to support their needs, including enhancing ESG credentials.”

Richard Bowen said: “We are proud to have built the business from its inception in 1996 through organic growth and a series of mergers and acquisitions in recent years, to become one of the leading logistics developers in the UK. I am delighted to now hand the reins over to Andrew and look forward to seeing the business continue to go from strength to strength under his leadership.”

Tritax Symmetry is building more than three million sq ft of logistics and industrial space comprising 15 units across 10 schemes, and equivalent to 40 football pitches worth of space.

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Consumer products business, Hunter Price International, has announced the arrival of Ben Cornwell, as the new sales director, for its stationery, arts and craft division.

It says the appointment of such a highly respected name in the industry, continues to send a big message on the future direction and ambitious growth plans for Hunter Price.

Ben joins the Oldham-based business from art materials specialist, Daler Rowney, where he was responsible for managing the UK and EU mass market retailers, for fine art and kids craft.

As part of his role, Ben also led the USA and international sales strategy for its Crayola license. He delivered extensive growth and category solutions, which resulted in his team winning the Crayola product of the year award.

Ben Cornwell

Hunter Price International is the product developer and supplier of innovative and design-led consumer products for the UK’s leading retailers. The business has three core divisions, home & lifestyle, toys & activity and stationery, arts & craft.

Stationery, arts and craft is a key division for Hunter Price and following Ben’s arrival, he’s set out his mission to become a category-defining pillar within the business. The team will drive the delivery of exceptional product quality and designs across all brands, from Hunter Price own label and its extensive licensed offer.

Ben said: “Working in the retail industry, it’s been impossible to not notice the growing buzz around Hunter Price over these past few years.

“I’ve known founders, Jeremy and Josh for a while, and it’s been really intriguing to watch their vision to become a leader in the marketplace, quickly become a reality.

“As a highly driven individual, it’s truly exciting when you find a business where your passion and ambitions both align.”

In addition to the recent appointment, Allana Holmes has been promoted from head of sales, to sales director, for the Home & Lifestyle division. Ben and Allana will work collaboratively alongside Richard Belford, sales director for the Toys & Activity team, to drive the overall sales and growth strategy for the wider business.