People: CBRE; Yorkshire Water; and more

CBRE in Leeds has strengthened its Valuation & Advisory team with the appointment of Jake West as associate director.

West joins the specialist Investment Valuation sub-team undertaking regular valuations for a wide variety of CBRE’s Fund, REIT and property company clients.

Prior to joining CBRE, he worked in the Leeds Valuation department at Lambert Smith Hampton as an associate director and before that was a senior surveyor with Sanderson Weatherall.

He brings a wealth of commercial valuation experience to the CBRE team across a range of asset types, with particularly strong expertise in the retail, office, industrial and specialist markets sectors.

Michael Porter, senior director at CBRE’s Valuation team, said: “We are delighted to have Jake join us and are confident he will strengthen our market leading team.

“Jake has an excellent track record across a wide range of asset types and will bring a depth of knowledge and understanding which will add further weight to our valuation offer.”

West added: “Joining a vibrant, forward thinking and market leading company like CBRE will enable me to further expand my knowledge and tackle new challenges.

“I am delighted to join the Valuation team in Leeds where my previous experience will complement the existing CBRE offer.”

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Yorkshire Water, and its ultimate parent company Kelda Holdings, have confirmed Chris Johns will join the company as chief financial officer with effect from 1 June 2020.

Johns is currently finance director of Northumbrian Water, a role he has held since January 2013.

He was previously finance director of Northern Gas Networks between 2006 and 2013 and before that worked in the regulated financial services industry in both Yorkshire and London.

Yorkshire Water chief executive, Liz Barber, said: “Chris brings wide financial experience from a number of regulated businesses and will be a great asset to the company.

“His appointment largely completes the changes we’ve been making to our leadership team which means that as we start the new five year period we have a strong balance of operating and financial expertise in place to help us reshape the company to deliver what our customers and Yorkshire expect of us.”

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Harrogate Family Law has strengthened its leadership team with the promotion of two of its solicitors to partner level.

Emma Doughty and Laura Mounsey will support managing director and founder Andrew Meehan and partner Carol Jessop as the firm prepares to develop its services and expand its team.

Doughty joined the firm in 2016 and has particular experience in dealing with challenging behaviour in relationships, including coercive control.

Mounsey is a former BPP Law School Cohen scholar who has worked her way up through the firm from trainee solicitor to partner.

Andrew Meehan said: “We are very pleased to have been able to nurture Emma and Laura’s careers and create opportunities for bright emerging talent in the legal sector.

“Emma and Laura encapsulate the Harrogate Family Law ethos of empathy and approachability combined with technical excellence and they will be a huge asset to our senior team.”

He added that the firm is now poised for growth as it prepares to mark its tenth anniversary this year.

He said: “Since launching in the autumn of 2010 we have worked hard to establish ourselves as Harrogate’s leading family law firm, with a reputation for compassion and consistently high rankings in Chambers UK and Legal 500, year on year.

“Emma and Laura’s success puts us in an excellent position to build on these achievements.”