People: Law firm bolsters commercial property team with senior appointments; Chase de Vere recruits senior manager in Birmingham; and more

Law firm mfg Solicitors has strengthened its commercial property team with the double appointment of a new partner and an associate.

Clare Regan has joined the regional firm as a partner and divisional head of its commercial property team.

Successfully representing some of the commercial property industry’s biggest brands in a career spanning 23 years, Regan brings an expertise in the purchase, sale and development of retail, office and industrial property portfolios across the UK.

mfg, which has offices across Worcestershire, Shropshire and Birmingham, has also added associate Lisa Morrison to the team. She brings 22 years of commercial property experience to the firm, including having acted for major institutional lenders.

Regan said: “I am thrilled to be joining mfg Solicitors and hope to contribute to the firm’s already outstanding reputation for providing sought-after commercial property advice. This is a perfect move for me and I am looking forward to contributing to mfg’s success in the months and years ahead.”

mfg Solicitors chairman Maynard Burton added: “Clare and Lisa are a great addition to our highly-regarded commercial property division at a time when we are seeing much growth across the West Midlands.

“Both have top credentials in the industry and have the skills, qualities and energy we need. They are already making a big impact with clients.”

The two appointments bring the commercial property team at mfg to 12 solicitors and 17 fee earners.

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Chase de Vere has hired Darren Fletcher as senior manager for its Birmingham office.

Fletcher will be responsible for running the company’s Birmingham office and managing the team of 13 independent financial advisers who are based there. These advisers provide investment and retirement planning advice to private clients in Birmingham and throughout the West Midlands.

Fletcher has 25 years of industry experience across a variety of financial services roles. He has worked as a financial adviser for Lloyds Bank and Prudential, managed investment teams in the Isle of Man and Gibraltar for Lloyds Bank and managed financial advice teams at Scottish Widows.

He said: “Chase de Vere has a truly independent proposition which puts their clients at the forefront of everything they do. I am looking forward to working with the advisers in the Birmingham office and helping them to deliver exceptional financial advice and service.”

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The appointment of a new head of human resources has been announced by Al Rayan Bank, the UK’s oldest and largest Islamic bank.

Sophie Gulliver, who joined the Birmingham-based bank in 2018 as HR business partner and was appointed as interim head of HR earlier this year, has been appointed as head of HR on a permanent basis to help lead the company through the next phase of its development.

She brings a strong financial services background to Al Rayan Bank; prior to her role with the bank, she worked at Birmingham-based Personal Touch Financial Services, a mortgage and related insurance distributor.

Gulliver said: “I’m very proud to have been appointed as Head of HR at such an exciting time in the Bank’s story, and I’m looking forward to working closely with colleagues to ensure that we have the very best people strategy to support the continued growth of Al Rayan Bank.

“Increasingly Islamic banking is seen as an important part of the mainstream banking sector, rather than a niche specialism that runs in parallel to it; this means that Al Rayan Bank is able to retain and attract talent looking to work in a progressive, ethical and dynamic environment.”