People: MD appointment for Mainstay Group; Black Country director of economic intelligence takes university role; and more

Worcester-based Mainstay Group has appointed a new managing director following a period of growth in which it recorded its highest ever turnover.

The full-service property management company has brought on Andy Billson to head up its residential property management arm of the business.

He joins from residential giant Barratt Homes, where as managing director, he was responsible for introducing an in-house property management service – Barratt Residential Asset Management – from 2012, until its successful sale in March 2019.

At the time, it was the first developer outside of the retirement sector to launch such a service.

Prior to that, he held various operational roles during his 21-year career with the Peverel Group, including setting up its specialised mixed-use brand consort.

In his new role at Mainstay, Billson will report in to group managing director Luke Sanders, and will work alongside his predecessor, Gary Crook, who has a new role as managing director for new ventures.

Sanders said: “Andy’s appointment comes at a fitting time for Mainstay Group, as our residential part of the business continues to flourish and develop.

“To have secured someone as knowledgeable and high-profile as Andy is testament not only to our past track record, but to our bright, exciting future.

“His passion for innovation in real estate and his 29 years of experience in the sector are exactly why we hired him, as we look to drive forward our corporate strategy and enhance our offering.”

Established in 2000, Mainstay was founded by Glyn Miles, Graham Donaldson and Andrew Tilly.

The business now manages in excess of 80,000 homes across the UK, and headcount stands at 726.

Mainstay recently announced that it had achieved the largest rise in its turnover in its 20-year history, reporting a turnover of £26.1m for the year to 31 March 2019. This was up from £20.1m in the previous 12 months, and surpassed the original target of £25.9m

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Delma Dwight, director of economic intelligence at Black Country Consortium has joined the University of Wolverhampton as visiting professor bringing over 24 years of experience to the Business School.

The role will see her working with the university to develop evidence-base policy delivering real impact to the Black Country communities and businesses.

Dwight established the Black Country Economic Intelligence Unit in 2002.

She has been pioneering the development, implementation and leadership of an evidence-based approach to policy and strategy development across the West Midlands for over 17 years.

Prior to setting up the Intelligence Unit her work experience included the Economist Intelligence Unit London, Curtin University, Perth and the ESRI, Dublin.

She is heavily involved in the West Midlands Combined Area – encompassing the 3 LEPs across the West Midlands and has lead on the economic work stream to support the creation of the WMCA Strategic Economic Plan and the evidence base that supporting the first Local Industrial Strategy.

Dwight said: “It is a real honour to be taking up this role of Visiting Professor for the Business School at the University of Wolverhampton. The work of the team at the Intelligence Unit informs, supports and influences decision-making at all levels across the Black Country and I hope to work even closer with the University to ensure the strengthening of this evidence base to make real impact.”

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Specialist project management company Buro Four has appointed Richard Bridgman as senior project manager at its Birmingham office.

Bridgman brings 17 years’ experience and knowledge of the industry covering the private rented sector (PRS), student residential schemes, and the delivery of luxury retirement villages including facilities and specialist care homes.

Bridgman’s most recent role was development manager and asset manager for Audley Group, where he managed the successful planning and delivery of developments including the refurbishment of several major listed buildings.

He has also delivered a number of PRS and student residential projects for developers throughout the region.  Buro Four has a track record of managing industrial & manufacturing, higher education and commercial projects across the Midlands for the likes of St Modwen, the University of Nottingham and the Manufacturing Technology Centre.

David Boles, director of Buro Four, said: “Richard is a fantastic addition to our team. His client-side experience, and personable and diligent approach will be an invaluable benefit to Buro Four clients. The Midlands is an exciting and active market, and the investment we are making in our team reflects our commitment to the region as well as providing us with the greater capacity needed to support growing demand.”

Buro Four is proud to have managed some of the UK’s most prestigious projects including Resorts World Birmingham, Museum of London, the UK’s biggest Engineering Campus for University of Manchester and the National Theatre redevelopment.