People: The Wigley Group; Shakespeare Martineau; Boyer

A property, development and construction company has promoted a key senior staff member to its board of directors.

Claire Lynch has joined the executive board at The Wigley Group, where she has been appointed to the role of chief governance officer as a company director and company secretary as the firm continues to grow.

She joined the business in 2016 and previously held the role of director of group governance and development, playing a key role in the development and implementation of certified management systems across all facets of the group’s business, alongside health and safety regulations, and the delivery of wider group infrastructure.

Her new role will see her take on responsibility for ensuring the group’s board of directors adhere to best practices in governance, leading on the protection of business interests, providing strategic governance, and overview of legal and regulatory compliance.

James Davies, chief executive of The Wigley Group, which is based at Stockton House in Southam, Warwickshire, said: “Claire has been at the foundation of all of our good work around risk and governance over the years, helping to change the ethos within the Group.

“She has become an integral member of the leadership team as she has taken on more responsibility, so this is a natural promotion which recognises her significant contribution to the business over the last seven years.”

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Law firm Shakespeare Martineau has added to its Birmingham-based banking team with a trio of hires.

Associate Mariam Mansoor, who brings with her more than five years post-qualified experience, developed her debt finance experience – including acquisition, asset and real estate finance and acting for borrowers, banks, government and financial institutions – in Leeds before relocating to the Channel Islands to specialise in financial services law for a Guernsey-based magic circle firm.

There, she provided legal advice from a Guernsey law perspective for corporate and private clients, financial institutions and intermediaries worldwide involving banking, regulatory, funds and corporate transactions.

Also newly-appointed to the team is Noreen Khan-Ghalib, taking on the role of chartered legal executive. Coming from a real estate and commercial property background, Khan-Ghalib has acted for a variety of clients, particularly in the retail sector, with some renowned law firms. In her new role, Noreen will be focusing on UK corporate banking and finance, and acting for both lenders and borrowers, drafting transactional documents while building on developing her debt finance experience.

Joining the team as a paralegal is Tina Sehmar, who spent the past 12 months as part of the in-house legal team for a global accountancy and professional services firm. Prior to this, she assisted in advising lenders and borrowers on all aspects of banking and finance, including corporate mergers and acquisitions, real estate finance, restructuring and asset-based lending.

Naomi Tudor, head of corporate banking at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “We are thrilled to have three exceptionally talented people join our growing team. We have experienced increased instructions from existing clients and have recently on-boarded new clients, so Mariam, Noreen and Tina will help us as we deal with this growing demand. I look forward to all three of them building their careers with us.”

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Planning consultancy Boyer has created a new head of its Midlands office through an internal appointment.

David Hutchinson, already a land and planning director in the Midlands office, has been promoted to its head.

Andy Williams, managing director of Boyer, said: “David joined the office shortly after it opened in 2018 and has been instrumental in establishing our presence in the region. He has brought significant land, planning and new homes instructions into both Boyer and the Leaders Romans Group for high profile clients on a number of strategic land sites.

“David will lead and develop both the land and planning teams in the region as part of our business plan for the growth of Boyer and LRG.”