People: CBRE; The West Brom; Global Underwater Hub

CBRE has appointed Hannah Badger as a director in its residential capital markets and investment properties team in Birmingham.

Badger joins CBRE from Knight Frank, where she was a partner in the residential investment team.

While at Knight Frank, she specialised in trading income producing residential blocks and portfolios across the UK, before moving to the built-to-rent (BTR) funding team where she was involved in the £103m forward funding deal between MEPC and City Developments for the Octagon, the 49-storey residential tower at Paradise, and the sale of The Square development, acting on behalf of Taylor Grange, on Broad Street, Birmingham.

At CBRE, Badger will be involved in helping to grow the residential investment business, alongside Stuart Eustace, in the multi and single family housing rental sector across the Midlands and South.

Nick Woodward, executive director and head of CBRE’s investment properties team in Birmingham, said: “Hannah’s experience and knowledge of the residential investment market is second to none and her appointment adds further strength and depth to the team.

“The residential investment market is buoyant in Birmingham and I’m looking forward to working with Hannah to grow the business in both existing and new sectors.”

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The West Brom has welcomed Sara Bennison to its board as non-executive director.

With 15 years of retail financial services experience, Bennison brings a wealth of expertise from holding senior brand and marketing roles at Nationwide and Barclays. Prior to this, she worked in advertising agencies in the UK and Asia on a range of well-known brands.

Bennison also brings experience as a non-executive director as she holds current positions at DUAL UK and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

She said: “For me, mutuals most definitely matter. When you dig back into history, you see the extraordinary change they brought about, enabling people to achieve things together which would have been impossible alone, by saving wisely and becoming homeowners.

“That purpose, to improve the lives of members in West Brom and beyond, is as core now as it was back on St George’s Day 1849 when the Society’s Founders first met in Paradise Street Methodist School Rooms. Being a custodian of that legacy for this generation of members with all the challenges they face is a great privilege.”

John Maltby, the Society’s chair, said: “I am delighted to welcome Sara to the West Brom and our board. Her skills and experience will complement the range of expertise we have and add real value for our members.”

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Global Underwater Hub (GUH), the representative trade body for the underwater industry, has announced the appointment of Andy Williamson as business development director, and also regional manager for the South of England.

With 30 years’ experience in the underwater sector and renewable energy industry, Williamson is responsible for driving new business and delivering the GUH strategy across the South East, South West, East Anglia, East and West Midlands, and Wales.

He is an experienced commercial, major projects and economic development energy professional with a strong track record working with large corporations, start-up innovators, R&D institutes and governments, across offshore wind, subsea, and marine and ports industry. He’s developed and led teams focused on major clean technology and infrastructure developments, supply chain capacity building and cross-sectoral knowledge transfer.

Prior to taking up his position at GUH, Williamson was senior vice president, energy transition at energy industry skills organisation OPITO, where he supported key projects on behalf of industry and UK and Scottish governments under the North Sea Transition Deal. He’s also held senior business development roles at Port of Blyth, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and Marubeni Corporation.

He said: “I’m thrilled to join Global Underwater Hub because the organisation is genuinely unique in supporting growth for UK plc in the underwater sectors. The blue economy provides enormous potential for the UK supply chain globally and we are here to help organisations take advantage of this exponential growth.

“In the South of England our aim is to drive value for the UK underwater industry through cross-sectoral collaboration, notably in floating offshore wind, defence and marine science where our supply chain members are extremely active, not just in the south, but nationally and internationally. Having a presence in the south allows us to support additional companies involved in the underwater industry and convene collaboration which will support innovative, supply chain growth to stimulate investment, order book value and job creation.”