People: Barnsdales; ITM Power; Esh Construction; and more

A rising star has become the newest director at Doncaster-based property management company Barnsdales, which also welcomes a new hire to its growing team.

Head of block and residential property management Rebecca O’Neil, has been promoted to director while former surveyor for Barnsley Council, Adam Carratt, joins the business.

Having arrived at the company in July 2019 to develop the firm’s residential management business, O’Neil now oversees more than 500 properties, including 50 blocks of flats throughout the UK as a company director.

Meanwhile, Carratt has joined as a property management surveyor dealing with a mixed portfolio of retail, industrial and office properties located throughout Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

Jason Barnsdale, managing director, said: “I am thrilled to be welcoming Adam to our team and promoting Rebecca to director.

“This is in complete recognition of the hard work she has put in and the significant growth of her department which she has been instrumental in delivering over the last two years.

“Since joining our team, Rebecca has made a visibly positive impact not just on her department but also the whole business.

“Rebecca’s lateral thinking and innovative ideas established her as an immediate asset and I look forward to supporting her in continuing the growth of our residential property management business.

“Adam joins our team as our newest surveyor, bringing his specialist expertise, as well as his local knowledge of the South Yorkshire area from his time at Barnsley Council and as a surveyor at Flexspace.

“I’m looking forward to working with Adam and I’m sure that he’ll be of great support to our clients across the region.”

O’Neil added: “I’m so pleased to have been appointed as a director of a company that’s been supporting property owners, buyers and renters for more than one hundred years.

“With the last few years having seen some fundamental shifts in how buyers and sellers think, especially in the wake of the pandemic, it’s an incredibly exciting time to be working in the property market.”

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Energy storage and clean fuel company ITM Power has appointed Denise Cockrem as a non executive director.

Cockrem is the group CFO of Ecclesiastical Insurance Office, a specialist insurance provider that is part of the Benefact Group – a charity owned, international family of financial services companies that exist to donate profits to good causes.

Prior to joining Ecclesiastical Insurance Office in August 2018 she was chief financial officer at  Good Energy Group plc, an AIM listed renewable electricity company

Sir Roger Bone, chairman of ITM Power, said: “I am delighted to welcome Denise to the Board of ITM Power. She combines a strong history of knowledge and experience of accounting with valuable experience in the renewable energy sector. She will bring directly relevant skills to the governance and future development of the Company. I am delighted she has agreed to join us and look forward to working with her.”

Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, said: “I would like to welcome Denise as a Non-Executive Director. ITM Power will greatly benefit from the wealth of experience that her appointment brings. We look forward to working with her as ITM Power continues to grow.”

Cockrem said: “I am excited to be joining the Board of ITM Power. The Company is playing a key role in global efforts to decarbonise fuel and energy, which is hugely important in the road to net zero. I look forward to working with the team to share my experience and help them achieve their ambitions.”

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North of England contractor, Esh Construction, is building on the success of continued growth within its civil engineering division by announcing nine director and senior-level promotions.

Strengthening the division in all sectors both commercially and operationally, the new appointments will drive forward growth plans across the North East and Yorkshire regions.

Stephen Wilkie, executive director, said: “Successful growth in this industry takes careful planning and timely execution to ensure the business model is sustainable.

“Over the past three years, we have been re-positioning our civil engineering division to grow organically, to secure larger capital projects, to demonstrate our abilities to deliver such schemes and to do so with client collaboration and maximum social return at the forefront.”

Strengthening the operational capabilities of the civil engineering division is Steven Garrigan, who has been appointed divisional director.

He takes the reins following his success as project director for Esh’s flagship scheme, Phase 3 of the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor, and builds on a 33-year career in the industry.

The operational team will be supported by Alan Croft and Stephen McClean, with the pair promoted to general civil construction manager and special projects construction manager, respectively.

Elsewhere, the division’s abilities has been boosted by the appointment of Steve Conn as pre-construction director, Giovanni Asoni as estimating director and Ross Markwell as business development director.

The string of new appointments includes Lee Taylor as commercial director for Esh’s housing infrastructure division, Lumsden & Carroll, as well as Norman Barnett who has been appointed framework director with the responsibility of managing the delivery of Esh’s small works schemes with the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water Group.

Finally, Martin O’Connelley has been appointed group commercial director for all Esh Construction divisions.

He has 12 years’ experience within Esh’s civil engineering division and is now tasked with driving performance and collaboration across the wider group as part of the new leadership team.

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Avery Walters Solicitors has appointed private client paralegal, Ellie Evans, to its expanding Private Client team.

Evans, who will be based at Avery Walters’ Chapel Allerton offices, in Leeds, joins the firm having competed an LLB Law Degree and LPC both at Leeds Beckett University.

She has always had an interest in Property, Wills and Administration of Estates and is looking forward to learning from a team of experienced individuals.

Evans said: “I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to learn and develop my legal career by working with such an established and well respected team.

“Working with a firm of Avery Walters’ reputation will allow me to work in all the key areas of Private Client law, an area in which I am particularly keen to develop my career.”

Managing director, Andrew Parascandolo, said: “We are very pleased to have appointed Ellie to work in our expanding Private Client Department and at a time of significant growth for the firm as whole.

“Her assistance will allow the department to continue to provide expert legal advice and a highly professional level of customer service to clients in the Chapel Allerton and Leeds areas.”

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Growth at regional law firm BRM Solicitors continues, with seven promotions across its two offices.

The promotions include two new heads of departments, one director, three senior associates and an associate.

James Alger, newly appointed as head of Sheffield real estate said: “This is an important chapter in the continued growth of BRM, I aim to continue to grow the real estate team and continue to provide a top-tier service to all clients.”

New corporate director, Trevor Bird, said: “The team at BRM are very talented and it is great to see the team being strengthened to support our growing client base.”

Property litigation solicitor, James Parden, plot sales specialist, Rachael Sawyer, and real estate solicitor, Chris Hey have all been promoted to senior associate.

Wills and Probate solicitor, Rose Evans, was promoted to associate.

Additional promotions have also been made at the firm, including employment specialist Ellie Leatherday who has been promoted to the position of senior solicitor in the Employment team.

Sanjeev Batra, new head of Chesterfield real estate said: “The promotions highlight BRM’s commitment to staff development and we are dedicated to offering mentoring and clear career progression for our staff.”