People: Trowers & Hamlins; Trident; LGPS Central

Trowers and Hamlins has strengthened its projects and construction offering in the West Midlands with the hire of a new partner Rachael Hobbis.

Hobbis will be based at the firm’s Birmingham office and has vast experience in advising private and public sector clients on non-contentious and contentious construction-related matters, as well as providing risk management advice during the life cycle of projects.

She has advised a wide range of project stakeholders, including residential and commercial developers, healthcare operators and NHS Trusts, educational institutions, financial institutions, hotel and leisure operators, occupier end users, consultants and contractors.

Hobbis joins Trowers from Higgs LLP, where she helped to establish the firm’s Construction team.

She said: “I am delighted to join Trowers and Hamlins and contribute to the growth of its dynamic Projects and Construction team in Birmingham. Trowers is a firm that is renowned for its work in the construction sector, so I am excited to be joining the team and look forward to working alongside my colleagues as we look to expand our capabilities and drive continued success.”

Stephanie Canham Head of Projects and Construction at Trowers & Hamlins, said: “I’m pleased to welcome Rachael to the team. With her vast experience and excellent client relationships across the West Midlands, Rachael is well positioned to add considerable value to our construction offering as we continue to expand.”

A surveyor from Trident Building Consultancy’s Birmingham office has been promoted to the company’s senior team.

William FitzPatrick, who works at the office in Cavendish House, Waterloo Street, has been appointed to associate director from the role of principal surveyor.

FitzPatrick, who specialises in building inspection reports and technical due diligence reporting, joined Trident Building Consultancy in 2012, passing his APC qualification in 2015.

He also sits on the fire consultancy committee within the business, as well as the internal standards committee.

He said: “I’m delighted to join the senior team here at Trident Building Consultancy as it will enable me to play a more meaningful role in guiding the future direction of the business. As an EOT, Trident is owned by its employees which means it is managed very much with our people in mind. This, we believe, is the secret to the business’s ongoing success.”

Dan Roe, managing director of Trident Building Consultancy, said: “We are extremely fortunate at Trident Building Consultancy in that we have a great track record of recruiting and retaining talent.
This is helped by being an EOT, meaning everyone who works at the business has a hand in making key decisions and shares in our financial success.

“To ensure this continues, we are keen to reward the hard work and talent of our people by helping them to get to the position they want to in their careers and fulfilling their potential. William’s well-deserved promotion is a reflection of that.”

LGPS Central has announced the appointment of Jayne Atkinson as their new chief investment officer (CIO), who will be joining in Spring 2025.

Atkinson is an experienced investment professional and qualified actuary with over 20 years of expertise across various investment disciplines.

The first decade of her career as a qualified actuary focused on pensions and investment advisory roles, serving as lead investment consultant to FTSE 100 companies and trustee boards.

Subsequent years saw a transition into chief investment officer (CIO) roles, where she became a key leader and board member for cross-border pooled funds, with roles at Unilever and Nestlé.

Atkinson currently heads up the investment side of the Unilever UK Pension Fund, looking after both the direct investments and advisory areas of the business, large-scale, international cross-fund collaboration projects and ensuring robust governance across all areas.

Richard Law-Deeks, CEO at LGPS Central, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jayne Atkinson as our new Chief Investment Officer. Her impressive skillset will be pivotal in guiding the next chapter of our investment strategy and delivering strong returns for our Partner Funds. Jayne joins us at a crucial time as we continue to refine our offering and, with deep-rooted experience from a fund perspective, was the ideal choice to support LGPS Central in building upon the progress of the past six years.”