People: Unity Trust Bank; Castlebridge Hospitality; Lambert Smith Hampton

Unity Trust Bank has appointed leading British economist Lord John Eatwell to its board as an independent non-executive director.

Lord Eatwell has had a distinguished career as a professor, political advisor and member of the House of Lords and has a wealth of experience in banking, financial policy and regulation.

He taught economics at Cambridge, where he was a Professor of Financial Policy, and was president of Queens’ College for over two decades.

While his early interests were in economic theory, from the early 1980s his work included policy issues relating to employment, growth and finance and he became an economic adviser to former Labour Party Leader, Neil Kinnock.

In 1992 he entered the House of Lords and has served several terms as principal opposition spokesman on Treasury and Economic Affairs.

During his career, Lord Eatwell has also been a financial services regulator in London and was chair of the Jersey Financial Services Commission.

He has written several books in the field of economics.

Lord Eatwell said: “I’m excited to join Unity’s board because it brings together all of the elements of my career that I’m interested in. Unity has a ‘double bottom-line’ strategy of careful and responsible financing alongside a commitment to social purpose.

“The bank has performed remarkably well since becoming independent nine years ago and I’m looking forward to being involved in its next stage of growth.”

Chairman Alan Hughes said: “John’s extensive experience, knowledge, and insights will be a tremendous asset to Unity. I am delighted to welcome him to the board.”

With offices in Birmingham, Manchester and London, Unity offers a range of banking services, including current accounts, savings accounts and loans.

Castlebridge Hospitality has appointed two new senior managers to drive the business forward.

Rebecca Bozeat-Moanzi joins as head of sales and Zachary Lovelle joins as social media manager.

Castlebridge Hospitality, based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, is a privately-owned Hotel Management Company that manages Hotel Indigo Coventry, Hotel Indigo Bath, Hotel Indigo Chester, Hotel Indigo Stratford upon Avon, Holiday Inn Winchester and Hilton Garden Inn Birmingham Airport.

With over 20 years of experience in hospitality management, Bozeat-Moanzi has worked across various departments, including operations, food & beverage, meetings & events, and reactive & proactive sales.

She has worked for Marriott, Hilton, IHG as well as independent chains.

Before stepping into the world of hospitality, she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she earned a BA Honours degree in professional acting.

With over two years of experience in marketing, Lovelle has specialised in hospitality marketing and uses his knowledge of cognitive psychology and experiential learning to create clear marketing strategies and content.

He believes social media marketing is key to building brand awareness, driving engagement, and influencing consumer behaviour.

In his previous role, he produced reels that increased viewership by 3,900% to 6,566%.

He is eager to bring his expertise to the Castlebridge Marketing team and drive impactful results.

Scott Rankin, group operations manager at Castlebridge Hospitality said: “We’re delighted to appoint Rebecca and Zachary. Both bring with them a wealth of experience and expertise in the hospitality industry. I’m confident they will be a fantastic asset to our team as well as maximising our hotel’s potential and adding great value to our business.”

Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) has made a quartet of recruits in its Birmingham office.

Elle Gray joins as a senior associate from Knight Frank, before which she was at Grainger.

As a specialist in the living sector, she has an extensive track record in regional PRS acquisitions and disposals as well as working on regional BTR schemes during her time at Grainger.

She has worked heavily in the student and HMO sector for the last couple of years and has recently completed a large HMO/land and development project on Queens Road in Coventry.

Will Higgins also joins from Knight Frank as an associate director within the capital markets team, focused on office and industrial sectors.

As an experienced agent within the Birmingham market, he has worked on key instructions including One Colmore Square, 103 Colmore Row and 4 St Philips Place.

Sam Hill joins as an acquisition surveyor and will bolster the existing team mandated to acquire around 400 new homes on behalf of Birmingham City Council to help re-house families and relieve the pressure and cost burden of temporary accommodation requirements.

Joe Castledine joins the team as an assistant surveyor and will support the operational assets valuation team based out of Birmingham, but operating nationally.

Adam Ramshaw, executive director and head of LSH’s Birmingham office said: “These recruits are part of an ongoing recruitment drive as we respond to a growing pipeline of instructions across all sectors and disciplines. I look forward to welcoming them all to the Birmingham office and the wider LSH business”.