People: Stoford; Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP; Hexagon Leasing
Commercial property developer Stoford has bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of a new director.
Edward Peel has been promoted within the firm’s development management team, based at Ludgate Hill in Birmingham city centre.
He will have responsibility for sourcing new pre-let and site opportunities, as well as managing Stoford’s existing development pipeline.
He joined Stoford as Development Manager in 2017, having previously worked as acquisitions manager for the UK’s largest operator of restaurants, pubs and bars, Mitchells & Butlers.
Since joining Stoford, he has predominantly focused on delivery within the industrial property market, capitalising on growth within the sector, and has a proven track record of delivering for occupiers and investors across the UK.
Recent experience includes delivery of a combined speculative industrial pipeline of 970,000 sq ft, including schemes at Liberty Park Lichfield, Exeter Logistics Park, Spa Park in Leamington Spa and Worcester Six Business Park.
In addition, Peel has transacted more than 725,000 sq ft of pre-lets and is under contract on an additional 380,000 sq ft forecast to commence in 2022. The combined development value of completed speculative schemes and pre-let transactions exceeds £295m.
He said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed to this new role. Stoford has enjoyed a period of impressive growth which has been exciting to be a part of. I’m now looking forward to the future and the opportunities this will present. We have a very healthy pipeline which I will seek to capitalise on and further enhance relationships with new and existing partners.”
:::
Hexagon Leasing, headquartered in Burton Upon Trent, has hired the former commercial director of Motus Commercials, Alan Ellison, as its new CEO.
Ellison, who begins his role this week, previously held the position of commercial director at Motus for five years and spent 12 years at DAF Trucks in various senior roles. He also holds an MBA from Warwick Business School.
Following a number of other senior appointments this year, Ellison will add further strength to the management team at Hexagon whilst it continues to develop its growth strategy and development plans. The company moved to a new head office in Burton Upon Trent last year to allow for the expansion of its customer service team to support the growing fleet size and customer base post pandemic.
Ellison said: “This is an exciting time to be joining Hexagon, the business has a unique history of providing innovative solutions to customers and has a fantastic, long-standing and loyal customer following.
“With supply chain disruptions and long manufacturer lead times, it’s really pleasing to see that Hexagon took a proactive stance and have a strong pipeline of new vehicles to support customers’ business both in 2022 and in 2023. The company has a talented and award-winning team of people which I am truly looking forward to working with.”
:::
Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) has promoted Satnam Rana-Grindley to the newly created role of director of communications and external affairs.
She joined GBSLEP in August 2020 as head of communications after 21 years at the BBC as a Broadcaster, Journalist and Arts & Culture Correspondent.
Over the last 21 months, Rana-Grindley has been instrumental in designing and delivering corporate communications as well as transitioning PR and media production in-house.
Anita Bhalla, GBSLEP interim chair, said: “The value of GBSLEP’s contribution to inclusive and sustainable economic growth has been shared far and wide through corporate communications thanks to the wealth of storytelling experience Satnam has brought to the organisation. Her journalism background and strategic thinking has helped shape the direction of GBSLEP. This will be invaluable as we continue our negotiations with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), on how we will integrate LEP services following the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper.”
Satnam Rana-Grindley added: “Since joining in summer 2020, I have been impressed and humbled by the breadth of GBSLEP’s achievements from Paradise in Birmingham to our work with colleges to equip the next generation of our workforce with the right skills. Our agile and flexible business support for SMEs across the region is making a difference everyday. There is so much to be proud of and I look forward to continuing to lead the communications and marketing team to amplify the voice of GBSLEP through our transition year.”
