Appointments: The Lowry; Cushman & Wakefield; Weightmans; Mills & Reeve; Clough & Willis

LAW firm Weightmans has promoted seven new partners including the first person with a non-legal background.

Marketing director Sarah-Jane Howitt, who is based in the Liverpool head office, has become a fixed-share member.

She joins Andrew Clarke (local government and police, Leicester), Paul Horton (family and private client, Manchester), Euros Jones (regulatory services, London), Jonathan Lanigan (large loss, Manchester), Adrian Le Monnier (local government and police, Birmingham) and Jawaid Rehman (employment, Birmingham).

Managing partner John Schorah said: “The recent promotions at Weightmans, which include seven FSM Promotions, and 13 associate promotions show positively that Weightmans continues to grow and invest in its people.

“We recognise a mix of skills is required within our partnership to enable us to meet the market challenges we are facing and our ABS Licence has made this year’s promotions even more profound in allowing us to encourage development across business support teams as well as solicitors.”

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CUSHMAN & Wakefield has hired Ben Roberts to head its Manchester office.

Roberts has over 20 years’ experience in the North West property market, working with institutions, property companies and private investors from the UK and overseas.

In 2002 he established and ran Kenmore’s Manchester office buying assets in excess of £175m across all sectors. More recently he has been running his own company, Torran Property Investment, a niche investment and asset management business. He started his career at CBRE before moving to Knight Frank, after graduating from Reading University.

Roberts was also involved in establishing the Investment Property Forum (IPF) in the North of England acting as vice-chairman for a number of years.

UK chief executive Digby Flower said: “Ben has an exceptional track record in the North West of England and brings the skills, connections and experience required to spearhead the growth of our business in the region.”

Roberts said: “This is a fantastic opportunity and I am delighted to be joining Cushman & Wakefield. I am looking forward to leading and expanding the Manchester team and confirming Cushman & Wakefield as a major commercial property advisor in the North West.”

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RACHEL Miller has been appointed the new director of marketing and communications at The Lowry, Salford Quays.

She moves into the role from her current position as head of ticketing for QuayTickets, a division of The Lowry Centre Ltd that sells more than one million tickets a year for thousands of events across the UK.

Miller will be responsible for all marketing, communications and box office activity to promote not only the visual and performing arts programmes, but also the retail, charitable, conference and events, and learning and engagement strands of the business.

Julia Fawcett, chief executive of The Lowry, said: “Rachel’s industry experience and in-depth knowledge of our sales operation made her the ideal candidate for this role. She has a great track record of taking strategic objectives and delivering very real results and will play an important part in ensuring the ongoing success of the venue.”

Prior to joining The Lowry, Miller held senior marketing positions with Ambassador Theatre Group and Live Nation. In this new role, she replaces Jon Gilchrist, who leaves The Lowry to become the executive director at Bush Theatre in Shepherd’s Bush, London.

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THE Manchester office of law firm Mills & Reeve has appointed Heather Leese as a solicitor in its property team.

Heather joins from the Manchester office of Eversheds where she has advised on a broad range of real estate matters.

Anne Fairhurst, head of the real estate team in Manchester, said: “Mills & Reeve is committed to growing its real estate team nationally and this latest appointment in Manchester reflects that strategy. Heather’s previous experience makes her a great fit for the growing team and our clients.”

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BURY law firm Clough & Willis has hired Olivia Hepworth as an assistant solicitor in its commercial property team.

Hepworth, who joins Clough & Willis from the Manchester office of Squire Sanders, will be working alongside David Leviten – partner and head of the department.

He said: “The last couple of years have seen an upturn in the demand for our commercial property services, despite some pretty tough market conditions. Our aim is to continue building a strong team and I’m sure Olivia’s experience and drive will add real value. The focus for us is to continue growing our offering and to further build our client base right across the North West.”