People: Savills; Lanyon Bowdler; Lesniak Swann

Savills has announced the appointment of Emily Summerfield to its growing rural and projects team based in Telford.

Summerfield, who has more than 15 years’ industry experience, joins the firm’s rural professional team as a surveyor at associate director level. She will focus on providing valuation and expert witness advice to a range of clients throughout Shropshire, the West Midlands and Cheshire.

Prior to joining Savills, Summerfield has held positions at Summerfield Surveyors and Andrew Dixon and Co., as well as undertaking some freelance work for various national and regional firms, including Savills. She has wide ranging expertise in valuing residential and commercial property within the West Midlands and her previous roles have seen her carry out red book valuations for tax planning, matrimonial disputes including Single Joint Expert work and bank lending valuations.

She has a degree in Rural Land Management from The Royal Agricultural College, is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and a Registered Valuer.

Rhydian Scurlock Jones, rural director and head of Savills Telford, comments: “Emily is a welcome addition to the team, and the first of several planned appointments this year. She joins us at an exciting stage of our team’s continued growth and will be instrumental in the delivery of the office’s growth plans and strategic objectives.

“Having worked with us previously on a freelance basis, she already knows the business well which, coupled with her knowledge and experience of working across Shropshire and the wider West Midlands, has meant that she is already hitting the ground running.”

Laura Weir

A Welsh-speaking clinical negligence specialist has become the latest partner at a law firm working with clients across Shropshire and North Wales.

Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors have offices in Shrewsbury, Telford, Hereford, Oswestry and Conwy, and the firm has kicked off the new year by welcoming Laura Weir as a new partner.

Weir joined Lanyon Bowdler’s award-winning clinical negligence team in 2020, returning to her native Wales following a successful career in London.

She is a fluent Welsh speaker and her knowledge of the Welsh healthcare system is of great benefit to her clients when dealing with a range of legal claims.

Weir said: “I am delighted to have become a partner of the firm, and feel as passionate as ever about supporting people in claims arising from delays in, or failure to diagnose, refer or treat a range of serious conditions resulting in a significant injury.

“I have a particular interest in brain, spine and birth injury claims, as well as cases arising from the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

“Although based in Shrewsbury, I work closely with the team in Conwy and am always happy to help with any clients who prefer communicating in Welsh.”

Brian Evans, managing partner of Lanyon Bowdler, said Weir’s promotion was richly deserved.

He added: “Laura has been an extremely valuable member of the team since she joined us in 2020, and we are delighted to welcome her as a new partner.”

Joel Hine

Specialist B2B marketing agency Lesniak Swann has welcomed a new account executive to its expanding team based in Stoke on Trent.

Joel Hine, will work in the agency’s account management team which develops and delivers creative marketing campaigns for big, international clients in sectors such as construction, energy and engineering.

Hine is a recent graduate of The University of Manchester and specialised in marketing during his Business Management degree.

As managing director Alex Swann explains, focusing on hiring and developing talent local to Stoke and Staffordshire is a key part of the agency’s growth plans:

“The business has been based in Stoke since we began over 20 years ago, and we’re always impressed by the quality of creative and marketing talent available locally. It’s a great feeling to help people build experience and progress while working with some of the biggest international brands such as Michelin and Caterpillar.

“We take career progression very seriously and make sure that everyone has a clear idea about their next steps and the development they need to undertake to get there.”