People: CBRE appoints head of office agency in Birmingham; New addition for corporate finance firm; and more

CBRE has promoted Theo Holmes to head up its Birmingham office agency team.

He joined the property consultancy in 2004. He qualified as a surveyor at the firm, quickly progressing to director within the office agency team.

Holmes leads the investor leasing business across Birmingham’s CBD and has been involved with trophy instructions including the likes of Brindleyplace, Mailbox, Platform21, Alpha Tower, Birmingham Health and Innovation Campus, Paradise and Arena.

He said: “It’s a real privilege to take on this role and I look forward to further supporting our clients, growing the team’s instruction book and cementing our reputation as the leading office agency team in Birmingham.”

The Midlands office advisory team includes lead occupier adviser Liz Bailey and recently appointed flexible workspace specialist Dan White.

Holmes takes the seat vacated by Will Ventham, the firm’s newly appointed head of office in Birmingham. Ventham continues to advise key office development clients including MEPC, Kier, CBREIM and IM Properties.

Ventham said: “Theo is a highly regarded adviser and an esteemed colleague. He has been instrumental in the team’s success and his promotion reflects his valued contribution and our commitment to providing the best service to our clients.”

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Gary Ward has joined Regent Assay, the mid-market growth focused corporate finance firm.

Ward has extensive experience in business development and investing, primarily in the private equity sector. Recently he has been a business development director at LDC.

Ward worked as a partner for Gresham Private Equity for 15 years, where he and other partners successfully led a buy-out of the business from Zurich and subsequently raised over £650m across two funds.

He was previously a member of the PwC corporate finance team and has a broad international network and has served as a mentor for The Princes Trust since 2003. He has also served as a Royal Marine Commando.

David Tucker, managing partner, said: “We had our best ever year in 2021 and this year has seen a strong appetite for M&A and investment funding across all our key sectors. Our private equity clients remain keen to grow via acquisition and new investments. The recruitment of Gary is a demonstration of our continued growth strategy and investment in high calibre people to provide outstanding services to our clients. We are all delighted to welcome him to the team and know his experience will be invaluable to many of our current and future clients.”

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Staffordshire University has confirmed the appointment of Professor Kevin Hetherington to the post of deputy vice-chancellor.

Professor Hetherington, who will take up the role on 1 March 2022, was previously pro vice-chancellor at The Open University and has a 30-year career in higher education as an academic, researcher and senior leader.

He said: “I’m excited to be taking on this role and I am most looking forward to being part of Staffordshire University as it sets out on its plans for success over the coming years. I am also looking forward to re-acquainting myself with Stoke-on-Trent and its region, a city I lived and worked in for much of the 1990s, and helping to put Staffordshire University centre-stage in its developments too.”

Vice-chancellor and chief executive professor Martin Jones said: “This year heralds the start of a new chapter for Staffordshire University, and we are delighted to be appointing Professor Hetherington to the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

“Kevin comes with considerable knowledge and expertise, and we have every confidence he will help the University accelerate its direction towards innovative and impactful research, alongside effective academic and strategic planning, which is so critical to the University’s development and the success of our wider region.”