People: Bradford Estates; RSM
Two senior property appointments have been made by landed estates business Bradford Estates to strengthen the team which stewards 12,000 acres on the Shropshire and Staffordshire borders.
Residential manager Clare Amey and asset management director Andrew Barrett have started as part of a new-look line-up on the property management side of the business, which has its head office at Weston-under-Lizard near Shifnal.
To bring specialist focus to the rural portfolio at Bradford Estates, Steve Farrow moves to the role of rural director having been property director since 2020.
Amey will manage the 130-strong portfolio of houses and cottages set in and around the picturesque villages of Tong, Weston-under-Lizard, Blymhill and Church Eaton. She was most recently responsible for the residential portfolio on the Cranborne estate in rural Dorset.
After 17 years working for commercial property investment and management group LCP based in Kingswinford, Barrett has taken on the management of the Bradford Industrial portfolio, which comprises of eight industrial estates from Yorkshire to Kent housing 50 commercial tenants, including leading brands such as Halfords and Screwfix.
On the main land holding, he will be responsible for the expansion of the commercial property offer through the conversion of existing period and modern agricultural buildings into offices and warehouses, alongside some new buildings, for new business clients.
Farrow said the additions to the team have allowed him to take on the dedicated rural management brief.
He said: “There are new, exciting opportunities to explore such as habitat banks, biodiversity net gain, woodland creation and carbon credits on the rural side of our business. It is a positive move to be able to focus more time on this area, with the new team bringing strong sector experience on the remainder of our portfolio.”
Managing director Alexander Newport said: “It is exciting to see Clare and Andrew come on board at Bradford Estates, as the business evolves to enhance its property management with a focus on the integration of sustainable technologies and circular economy through the conversion of buildings to new uses as part of our 100-year plan. I wish them both the very best for their careers with Bradford Estates.
“It is great to have Steve now focusing on the rural side of our business, which is at the centre of everything we do both now and in the future. I look forward to working with all the new team as Bradford Estates evolves.”
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RSM UK’s Birmingham office has made its third senior hire in January with the recent appointment of new risk assurance director Jon Bennett.
Bennett joins the financial services regulation and compliance team at leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM with specific expertise in internal audit and risk management within the financial services market.
He is a specialist in data integrity and has worked across the financial services space with banks, insurers, consultancy firms and broker/traders of all sizes, from owner manager businesses to FTSE 250 firms.
He will lead the financial services regulation team across Birmingham and Bristol, reflecting RSM’s commitment and investment into the UK’s regional middle-market. His focus will be to support the growth and development of the team in these core locations.
He said: “This is an ideal time for me to join the team, which continues to go from strength to strength. My focus will be on expanding our presence across the regions where the firm is already enjoying growth in the financial services sector. I’m incredibly excited to build on the team’s success thus far. On a personal level, RSM’s culture and focus on developing its talent was instrumental in attracting me to the role.”
Neil Pickles, partner at RSM UK, who said: “It’s great to have Jon onboard and a part of our team as we continue to increase our footprint. His extensive experience means he’ll be of extreme value not only at leadership level, but in increasing our capacity so we can provide a specific focus to our burgeoning presence in the West Midlands and South West.”
Before joining RSM, Bennett previously worked at Mazars where he started as a school leaver and progressed through the ranks to become associate director.
His appointment is the third since the start of the New Year following the appointment of employment taxes partner James Hemphill and ESG associate director Nikki Sinclair.
