People: Burley Browne; Clarke Willmott; Telford College; Beswicks Legal
West Midlands commercial property consultancy Burley Browne has strengthened its retail agency team with the appointment of chartered surveyor Emma Hughes.
Hughes has joined the Birmingham-based business as a senior surveyor to support the continued growth of the busy commercial agency department.
In her retail agency role she will support David Hemming in the letting and sale of the firm’s retail instructions and provide advice on investments and acquisitions.
She has 10 years’ experience in the commercial property market, having worked at Cushman and Wakefield, Savills, Holt Commercial and Sanderson Weatherall.
Joint managing director and head of commercial agency and investment David Hemming said: “Here at Burley Browne we’ve had a fantastic start to 2024 and we are continuing to secure significant new instructions. We recently won one of our largest instructions when we were appointed by the National Farmers Union (NFU) to manage its entire property portfolio across the UK, and we are gaining new business across our specialisms.
“We are therefore extremely pleased to welcome Emma to the retail agency and investment team at such an exciting time for the business and we wish her enormous success in her new role. She has a lot of experience in valuation of commercial premises and the skills and expertise she has acquired are transferable and will enable her to provide advice and market knowledge.”
National law firm Clarke Willmott has appointed a new partner to its growing housing management team.
Neelam Sharma joins the firm’s Birmingham office and will be supporting the head of housing management and co-head of social housing, Lindsay Felstead, in her work with regional and national housing providers.
Neelam Sharma
Sharma, who was admitted as a Solicitor in 1998, will act on various aspects of housing management including anti-social behaviour injunctions, committal proceedings, claims for possession against tenants, trespassers, tenancy management issues, common law injunctions and complex cases involving mental capacity and discrimination.
Lindsay Felstead, said: “Neelam joining our team at Clarke Willmott has been an important step in our growth as we deal with more and more Housing Management issues. She brings with her an invaluable insight into the challenges faced by Social Housing providers on a daily basis having worked inhouse as a Housing Litigation Manager.
“Neelam has a fantastic practical attitude to achieving her client’s objectives and will be an asset to our team.”
Sharma said: “I am delighted to join the well-respected social housing team at Clarke Willmott. I am looking forward to working with the firm’s broad client base of Housing Providers and Local Authorities. Housing Management is a key priority for these clients at the moment and I’m excited to add value.”
Telford College has appointed a new principal and chief executive.
Lawrence Wood will succeed Graham Guest, who is leaving his role at the end of the current academic year.
Wood is currently principal of Coleg Llandrillo in North Wales, and has worked in the further education sector for nearly 25 years, including more than a decade in senior post-holder positions.
He has a wealth of experience in partnership working and employer engagement, and has led on a number of projects strengthening the role of the college within the community.
Lawrence Wood
He said: “It is a privilege to be leading Telford College to build on very strong foundations for the benefit of Telford and Wrekin. I look forward to working in partnership with the community, employers and the local authority to support the growth and development of our region.”
In addition to his leadership responsibilities at Coleg Llandrillo, Mr Wood has also been a peer inspector for Estyn, the Welsh education and training inspectorate.
Gail Bleasby, chair of Telford College’s governing corporation, said: “We had an incredibly high calibre of candidates for this position, and it was an extremely tough decision for the interview panel. We look forward to welcoming Lawrence to Telford College in August. All the candidates commented on how impressed they were with the college, and this is an amazing reflection of the hard work and commitment of all.
“We would like to put on record our sincere thanks to Graham Guest for the incredible work he has done for the college since joining us as principal and chief executive in 2017. He oversaw a seamless and successful merger between New College Telford and Telford College of Arts and Technology and turned the college’s financial fortunes around. Under his stewardship, we have also achieved an Ofsted Good rating, financially ‘outstanding’ recognition, and expanded our collaborative working with businesses, local government, universities and other stakeholders.”
Beswicks Legal’s family law team has been further boosted by the addition of Natalie Baggaley.
Natalie Baggaley
Baggaley is a licensed paralegal with nearly a decade’s experience in family law, dealing with a wide range of family matters.
She said: “I am delighted to join the team and am looking forward to enhancing my career further with the knowledge and support that I know I’ll receive from Beswicks Legal.”
Beswicks Legal group operations director Ryan Yates said: “Natalie is experienced in supporting and advising clients at what can be a difficult time in their lives. She is a great fit for our family team, sharing our passion for providing the very best legal advice with a caring and compassionate approach to client care. It’s great to welcome Natalie to the team.”
