People: Savills; Ampa, Midven; Coventry Building Society Arena

Savills has appointed Tim Partridge as a director to its growing planning division in the Midlands.

With more than 30 years industry experience, including consultancy and in-house for developers, advising both private and public sector clients, he brings a wealth of skills and knowledge. He will be based in Savills’ Birmingham office.

Joining from Tritax Symmetry where he was in-house planning director, Partridge has particular expertise in the industrial and logistics (I&L) sector in strategic promotion and development delivery of major I&L schemes across the country. His broader experience extends to the promotion of strategic residential and mixed-use development proposals through development plan public examinations , planning applications and appeals, and S106 negotiation.

His focus at Savills will be on the industrial and logistics sector, enhancing the team’s resources and reach whilst working alongside Savills’ leading development, agency, economics, and research teams in the industrial and logistics sector.

Paul Rouse, director and head of planning for Savills in Birmingham, said: “Tim’s reputation in the industry precedes him and we are thrilled to have him on board. Having operated client side most recently, Tim understands the client perspective and knows the advice that makes a difference to commercial transactions and securing advantageous planning permissions. He will enhance Savills market leading multi-disciplinary services to the I&L sector across the Midlands and nationally.

“This is a significant appointment which complements our well established Midlands planning team working across our Birmingham and Nottingham offices and underlines the importance Savills places on planning consultancy services for its clients. Tim’s arrival also comes at a time when our team continues to grow due to a number of substantial new opportunities and projects within the region and his wealth of knowledge will be of enormous benefit to our clients and the wider Savills network.”

Partridge added: “It’s an incredibly exciting time to be joining Savills and I am looking forward to building on the success that the team has had to date and furthering  its market leading services in the I&L sector and continued growth across the Midlands.”

In March, the Birmingham planning team announced the promotion of Michael Burrow to director and Jessica Graham to associate director.

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Legal and professional services group Ampa has announced 30 promotions, including nine in the West Midlands, across its Shakespeare Martineau and Lime Solicitors brands.

Within the region, there have been four promotions to partner level, including employment specialist Esther Maxwell and residential development expert Lucy Haynes, both in Shakespeare Martineau’s Birmingham hub.

In Stratford-upon-Avon, agricultural law professional Jennie Wheildon and personal injury specialist Peter Jones, who work within the Shakespeare Martineau and Lime Solicitors brands respectively, have also been promoted to partner.

Maxwell – who qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and joined Shakespeare Martineau three years ago – predominately works for clients in the education sector, supporting universities, further education colleges and schools with sensitive and complex employee-related matters. Recently, she has completed a seven-year tenure sitting as a lay member on Teacher Disciplinary Tribunals.

With more than nine years’ experience, Haynes joined Shakespeare Martineau in 2019, acting for housebuilders, promoters and landowners on a range of matters, including instant land, strategic land transactions and land promotion.

Wheildon has been practising in agricultural law since qualification in 2010 and has always enjoyed the variety and complexity of the area – as well as the opportunity to get outside and visit her clients on their farms. She has worked for Shakespeare Martineau since 2020 and is looking forward to helping grow the firm’s agricultural law offering.

Jones has almost 40 years’ experience in a wide range of serious or catastrophic personal injury claims, including fatal accidents, head, brain and spinal injuries and often arising from cycling or motorcycling accidents or accidents at work.

In Birmingham, employment experts Lubna Laheria and Emma Glazzard have been promoted to associate level, alongside contentious probate specialist Tamsin Walker and corporate solicitor Gweni Rees-Evans, all from the Shakespeare Martineau brand. They are joined by their social housing colleagues Sonal Panesar and Michael Lang in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Victoria Tester, managing director at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “It’s our people who make our business – and it’s our clients who benefit from our investments in them, so recognising and rewarding high performance is part of our culture across all our brands in Ampa.

“We are committed to the continued investment and development of our people in the West Midlands, empowering them to provide excellent customer service to clients regionally and nationally.”

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Venture capital firm Midven, part of the Future Planet Capital Group, has welcomed Rupert Lyle as fund principal of the newly launched £25m West Midlands Co-Investment Fund (WMCIF).

Lyle brings over 30 years of investment experience to the company. His role will be to position the WMCIF at the centre of the SME ecosystem. This will give early-stage, high-growth companies in the West Midlands access to the capital they require to grow.

Surjit Kooner, director at Midven, said: “I’ve known Rupert for years and he is a strong force within the region. With his background in venture capital and experience from non-executive director and chairman roles, Rupert brings a wealth of contacts and knowledge that will amplify our team’s capabilities. I’m confident he will enable us to have an even bigger impact on the Midlands.”

With director roles at 3i Group and Barclays Ventures in Birmingham, Lyle has a strong track record in investing in and managing diverse portfolios of businesses in the Midlands.

However, it is not only his experience in venture capital and on boards of directors that he brings. Since 2014 Lyle has been on the advisory committee of the London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF). This fund, set up by the Mayor of London in 2014, not only invested in over 150 companies alongside £200m of private co-investment, it also created more than 3,000 new jobs.

Lyle said: “The LCIF has played a huge role in developing the support and funding landscape for high-growth businesses in London. The challenge and opportunity are to replicate this in the West Midlands. We have so many bright, innovative, and entrepreneurial people here, but the support available is too siloed and there is a gaping hole when it comes to funding.

“To help businesses in the region the WMCIF needs to not only tap into the sources of capital already in the region, but also encourage investors from outside the region to invest in our corporate stars of tomorrow.”

Midven was appointed fund manager for the WMCIF in March 2023.

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Frasers Group has announced that Gary Hoffman has accepted the position of non-executive Chairman of Coventry Building Society Arena.

The appointment of Hoffman, a former chair of the English Premier League, follows the recent announcement that Frasers and Coventry City FC have agreed a new licence for the club to continue to play at the arena.

Michael Murray, CEO of Frasers Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome Gary to the Arena. Gary is a lifelong Sky Blues fan and brings a wealth of relevant experience to the role. This appointment is aligned with our commitment to invest in the Arena and support the local community.”

Hoffman said: “I am delighted to be joining Coventry Building Society Arena at such an exciting time for Coventry City FC and the people of Coventry. I look forward to working on behalf of Frasers to benefit the community and further strengthen the Arena’s relationship with all its partners including the club.”

In addition to his former role at the Premier League, Hoffman is also a former vice chairman of Coventry City FC.

Frasers Group acquired the arena in November and has since signed a new five year licence agreement with the club, with all parties committed to continuing work towards making the arena the long-term home of CCFC.

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