People: DLA Piper; Office Principles North; Feasibility; and more

DLA Piper has appointed Noel Haywood as the office managing partner of its Birmingham office, succeeding Trevor Ivory, following his successful three year term.

Ivory will continue in his role as UK Head of Planning.

Haywood was head of the Birmingham corporate team for eight years and has been leading the firm’s Consumer Goods, Food and Retail Sector as global co-chair.

He joined DLA Piper in 1998, became a partner in 2007 and went on to lead the Birmingham corporate team in 2014.  He has been a prominent member of the corporate finance and wider business advisory community for a significant amount of time.

He said: “Birmingham is a vibrant and rapidly growing and changing city and as a firm we have been proud to be part of its evolution. As the only truly global law firm in the region, I will continue to build upon this legacy by ensuring that our local clients continue to benefit from our expertise, international reach and perspectives and that our international clients similarly benefit from our local experience and execution excellence. None of this is possible, however, without our exceptional people and having now moved into our landmark new office I will make it a priority to continue the progress already made in creating an environment where everyone feels that they belong and are inspired to thrive and grow.”

UK managing partner Liam Cowell added: “Noel has proven himself to be an outstanding and effective leader, both through leading the Corporate team in Birmingham and Co-Chairing the firm’s Global Consumer Goods, Food and Retail sector team. It is this experience, coupled with his passion and advocacy for the region, that makes Noel a natural choice to succeed Trevor and continue his excellent work in leading the Birmingham office.  On that note, I would like to thank Trevor for his invaluable contribution towards building our presence and reputation in Birmingham and beyond and for his ever present enthusiasm over the past three years, not least of all in overseeing the move into our state of the art offices in the city. He leaves a fantastic foundation on which Noel will undoubtedly build.”

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One of the fastest growing interior design consultancies in the West Midlands has announced the expansion of its team with six hires.

Office Principles North, which is based in Coleshill, has recruited for the new roles to meet a growing demand for its services, having secured projects to fit out and refurbish more than 350,000 sq ft of office space this year.

The new appointments include creative director Jason Batour who has almost 30 years of interior design experience in the commercial and hospitality sectors, spanning CAT A and CAT B projects. He is joined by associate creative director, Paul Scott, whose portfolio includes work for Sony Mobile, Microsoft, BMW and Skype.

Katie Jarvis joins the firm as account manager and will oversee all elements of the design and build process. She has 15 years experience in client and project management, and was previously special projects manager at Gymshark.

Office Principles North has welcomed Dan White as commercial manager. He has extensive national and international experience in the property and construction sectors, including industrial, residential, offices, hotels, student accommodation and care home renovation.

The firm has also strengthened its project management and operations teams with the appointment of Stuart Bond from Transforming Developments as project manager and Chris Stevens from GTH Construction as operations manager.

Formed in 2019 by Gary Tailby and Tina Batham, Office Principles North delivers multi-disciplinary design, consultancy and construction solutions across a variety of sectors in the built environment.
The firm has grown to employ a team of 22 people at its regional office at Coleshill Manor Office Campus and is part of a wider group of companies headquartered in Reading, employing 65 staff.

Recent projects include the design and refurbishment of 148 and 154 Great Charles Street in Birmingham city centre on behalf of Ergo Real Estate, the creation of 24,000 sq ft of grade A office accommodation in Summer Row for Aegon Asset Management and the new 53,882 sq ft Solihull headquarters of underwear and apparel brand, Lounge.

Tailby, joint managing director of Office Principles North, said: “We are thrilled to have added six new and highly skilled employees to our outstanding team, who will help us to take the business forward. What is especially pleasing is that people are approaching us from all over the UK and overseas, as they want the opportunity to work with an ambitious and dynamic company in an environment that will allow them to develop.

“Tina and I have significantly expanded our operations in the West Midlands in the last three years, with ten projects delivered or in contract in Birmingham’s city core alone. Our success has been built on strong relationships and the creation of outstanding work spaces and we’re excited about our potential to grow even further in the years ahead.”
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Construction consultancy Feasibility has appointed Paul Brunt as an associate director.

He joins with more than seventeen years of experience in quantity surveying, employer’s agent and project management. Some of his major projects expand across various sectors that include strategic land regeneration, industrial and logistics, and education including student accommodation, commercial, infrastructure and refurbishment.

Brunt will be applying his wealth of expertise across a varied client base as Feasibility continues to expand, ensuring the business continues to provide its first-class services to existing clients as well as a growing portfolio.

Feasibility director Seb Rose said: “Paul brings with him almost two decades’ worth of experience making him a valuable asset to the whole team. In a period when we are only getting busier, it is great to be able to hire such a capable director who can help guide the company to new heights.”

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The Princess Royal Princess Anne has awarded the OBE to Rob Colbourne, chief executive of Midlands training provider Performance Through People.

Colbourne, who received the honour in recognition of his services to apprenticeships and skills, attended Windsor Castle with his wife Helen, and family members, to receive the honour.

Colbourne has headed PTP Training, part of the BCTG Group, for nearly 20 years, and was behind the launch of The Ladder campaign which has created more than 4,000 apprenticeships across the region since 2018.

He said: “Helen and I had a wonderful day at Windsor Castle, and it was a great honour to meet Princess Anne to receive my OBE.

“While I was thrilled to receive the honour, it is very much a reflection of hard work of everyone both here at PTP and across the wider BCTG Group, helping to enhance the provision of training and apprenticeships across the Midlands regions.

“I am therefore now really enjoying sharing my experience of the day with all my colleagues.”

Chris Luty, chairman of the BCTG Group, which supports almost 10,000 young people and adults each year, said: “We’re all very proud of Rob, who has worked tirelessly for the sector for more than 25 years.”