People: Gateley; FBC Manby Bowdler; Russell Roof Tiles

Gateley’s regulatory & business defence team has enhanced its services for housebuilders and construction businesses with the appointment of a new senior regulatory law adviser.

Richard Ellis, an experienced criminal defence adviser and accredited police station representative, joins Gateley to support clients facing criminal and regulatory investigations, including those led by the Police, HMRC, the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and the Environment Agency (EA).

With more than 20 years’ experience, Ellis has acted for individuals and businesses in both the Crown Court and Court of Appeal, often in highly publicised, serious criminal cases involving significant public interest.

Ruth Armstrong, partner and head of Regulatory & Business Defence, said: “I’m very pleased to welcome Richard to Gateley. His skills and experience perfectly complement the existing capabilities within our growing team and will help us to continue to deliver our high-quality service to clients, whatever kind of regulatory investigation or crisis they may be facing.”

Ellis said: “Housebuilder and construction clients are facing tougher regulation, increasingly proactive regulators, and greater enforcement sanctions, so it’s more important than ever that they have someone ready to fight their corner and ensure they are treated fairly. I’m looking forward to adding to the already extensive regulatory expertise here at Gateley to ensure clients are supported at the most difficult and stressful times from the moment they pick up the phone.”

Four new partners and two associates have earned promotions within FBC Manby Bowdler’s teams in Wolverhampton, Redditch and Shrewsbury.

Wolverhampton-based Christopher Bate, Sharaz Khan and Elisabeth Glover have become partners alongside Claire Bentick from the Redditch office, while Megan Price from the Shrewsbury office and Rajpreet Sangha in Wolverhampton have been promoted to associate.

Megan Price, Elisabeth Glover, Sharaz Khan, Neil Lloyd, Christopher Bate, Rajpreet Sangha and Claire Bentick.

FBC Manby Bowdler’s managing partner Neil Lloyd said: “As a firm, we are committed to supporting all of our staff to be the best they can be, and I’m delighted that we have been able to appoint four new partners and two associates.

“We have an established track record of appointing our most senior staff from within our own ranks as we know we develop the best people. Congratulations to Christopher, Sharaz, Elisabeth, Claire, Megan and Rajpreet – I look forward to seeing where their careers will go from here.”

Christopher specialises in Court of Protection and deputyship work, making decisions on behalf of individuals who lack the mental capacity to do so themselves as a result of illness or injury. He is dedicated to his clients’ long term welfare, and always acts with their best interests in mind.

He was recognised as a key lawyer in the prestigious Legal 500 Directory 2024.

Sharaz, who was also recognised in the Legal 500 Directory, is FBC Manby Bowdler’s highways law specialist and manages the personal injury litigation team. He specialises in all types of personal injury cases on behalf of both claimants and defendants and has detailed knowledge of public liability claims.

Elisabeth joined the firm as a trainee in 2004 and now specialises in commercial contract disputes, commercial debts, sale of goods and professional negligence. She advises on motoring offences and as well as investigations or prosecution by regulatory bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive or local councils. Elisabeth was recognised as a Rising Star in the Legal 500 Directory.

Claire, a senior associate in the commercial litigation team at FBC Manby Bowdler’s Redditch office, is also a member and Liveryman of the Merchant Taylors Company in London and a recognised as a key lawyer in the leading Legal 500 2024 Directory. She deals with a wide variety of commercial litigation cases such as contract disputes, property disputes and professional negligence and insolvency.

Rajpreet is based in the family team, advising clients about divorce, financial matters, issues with children and cohabitation disputes, as well as pre and post-nuptial agreements.

Megan, who works in the agriculture team at the Shrewsbury office, also qualified as a fellow of the Agricultural Law Association last year and specialises in land and rural property law. She has experience in the sale, purchase, secured lending, leases, easements, covenants, first registrations of title and other associated matters.

Burton-based manufacturer Russell Roof Tiles has recently promoted Chris Bailey to the new role of group IT director.

This new role includes responsibility for IT at the firm’s sister company Crown Roof Tiles in Florida.

Since Bailey first joined Russell Roof Tiles as IT manager in 2019, he has managed the technological upgrades, including the international roll-out of SyteLine to the sister company in the US.

Chris Bailey

Now, in his role as group IT director, he is exporting his knowledge and expertise of Infor SyteLine and sharing with the team at Crown Roof Tiles, ensuring that the manufacturing sites in the US are operating at the same high level as Russell Roof Tiles.

He said: “It’s particularly rewarding to step into this role at a time of significant investment and growth for Russell Roof Tiles. We’ve made huge strides forward since implementing SyteLine, ensuring we’re getting the maximum capacity out of the software so it’s only right we share this knowledge with the rest of the Group, ensuring that the whole group continues to be known for its innovative and superior solutions.”

Andrew Hayward, managing director at Russell Roof Tiles said: “I’m pleased to announce Chris Bailey’s promotion to Group IT Director. His dedication and expertise have proven to lead Russell Roof Tiles down a path of growth and innovation. I look forward to seeing his continued success.”