People: KWL; Northern Gritstone; York Civic Trust; and more

Hull City Council has appointed Councillor Jan Loft to be the chair of KWL, a construction and maintenance business which the council set up in 2007.

The business has doubled in size over the last 16 years. Cllr Loft has nearly two decades of experience in customer services and brings a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering exceptional service.

She has a deep understanding of retail operations, customer behaviour, and community engagement.

Loft said: “As a ward councillor, my aim is to improve the lives of local people.

“Since 2007, KWL has shared this objective by enhancing homes and local areas for residents.

“I have always recognised the quality service provided by KWL, which has been responsible for maintaining and refurbishing over 23,000 properties on behalf of Hull City Council.

“Moreover, KWL has undertaken various commercial projects across multiple local sectors.

“As a councillor, I strive to make a positive difference, and KWL, with its entrepreneurial senior management team, directly aligns with this ethos.”

Roger Grannon, chief operations officer, added: “We are pleased to welcome Jan Loft as our new chair. With a background in retail this adds different experience to the Board and complements our current team.

“Jan’s skills will undoubtedly contribute to KWL’s continued growth and positive impact in Hull.”

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Fiona Marston has joined as an independent member of Northern Gritstone’s Investment Committee, bringing decades of experience as a biotechnology entrepreneur and expertise in building and scaling life sciences companies.

With a background in supporting start ups and scale ups, she is Royal Society’s Entrepreneur in Residence at Reading University, spearheading the commercial translation of research and the development of entrepreneurial skills and mentoring among research staff and students.

She previously held the same role at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, as director of the Centre for Excellence in Infectious Diseases Research.

Having started her career in biotech, she founded the investment incubator Heathcare Ventures for Rothschild Bioscience Unit and J&J Development Corporation.

Subsequently she led Novacta Biosystems and Absynth Biologics in advancing anti-infective products to treat and prevent infections caused by S. aureus and C. difficile.

Alongside her other roles, Marston is non-executive chair and CEO of synthetic biology company Erebagen Ltd, non-executive director at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and an advisor to seed fund UKI2S, a £40m early-stage venture capital fund backed by UK Research and Innovation.

Northern Gritstone’s Investment Committee reports directly to the company’s Board as part of its corporate governance structures.

To date, Northern Gritstone has made 10 investments to date in science and technology firms in the North of England, including last month in Leeds-based chip designer Optalysys.

Duncan Johnson, Northern Gritstone CEO, said: “Fiona has unparalleled experience working with scaling businesses in biotech and life sciences.

“We are pleased that she is joining Northern Gritstone’s Investment Committee as an independent member and she will play a vital role in shaping our approach as we look to back the most exciting businesses across the North of England.”

Marston added: “Northern Gritstone’s commitment to the philosophy of ‘profit with purpose’ closely reflects my experience and focus, so I’m very pleased to be joining its Investment Committee.

“Building on its historic research strengths, the North of England has incredibly exciting prospects in biotech and life sciences.

“Northern Gritstone is perfectly positioned to back high-growth companies and support them on their path to scale.  I am looking forward to working with Duncan and the team.”

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An architect from York has been appointed to York Civic Trust’s board of trustees.

The organisation helps safeguard the city’s heritage buildings and historic monuments.

Matt Seddon is an associate director at Brewster Bye Architects in Leeds, where he has worked for almost 20 years.

His architecture work includes the restoration of the historically important crescent at St Leonard’s Place in York city centre, which has been transformed back into grand houses and apartments.

He said: “The York Civic Trust is a membership organisation that is run by volunteers for the benefit of everyone who lives, works and visits the city.

“As well as owning and running Fairfax House, which is an impressive Georgian town house dating back to the 1760s in the centre of York that is open to the public, the trust is involved with several restoration projects throughout the city.

“It also provides the City of York Council with crucial planning reports and recommendations.

“My role will be to provide a contemporary viewpoint and insight into the most recent planning rules and regulations when reviewing policy documents and creating planning reports for the Local Authorities and Council on behalf of the trust.

“I will also help the board of trustees review and consider new uses for the historic buildings it is responsible for.

“It’s a fascinating role that will allow me to play a part in the protection of some of the city’s most interesting and historic buildings.”

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BRM, a law firm providing services in Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire, continues to grow with a new senior associate solicitor, Travis Wood, joining its Sheffield Real Estate division.

Wood joins BRM from a large Midlands firm and has significant experience in property development and investment work across a number of sectors.

His appointment will enable the Sheffield property team to continue to support and grow its client base in the city and beyond.

James Alger, head of the Sheffield Real Estate department at BRM, said: “We are pleased to have added an experienced and commercially focused senior associate in Travis to our team in Sheffield.

“He possesses the technical quality and affability we always look for in what is a very challenging recruitment market presently. He will be a great asset to the team.”

Wood, who has recently relocated to Sheffield to join the firm, said: “I am enthusiastic about my move to the firm, known for its high quality of work and strong commercial focus and I am pleased to have moved to Sheffield at an exciting time in the city’s continued growth and redevelopment.

“I particularly enjoy climbing in my spare time and with the close proximity of the Peak District there could not be a better place to combine work and recreation.£

His appointment is the latest in a long line of appointments made by BRM recently. Together with other recent hires, the Real Estate team now numbers 25 lawyers across the firm’s offices.

Adrian Sheehan, executive director and head of real estate, said: “The Commercial Property legal market in South Yorkshire is dynamic with existing firms active and new ones coming to the region.

“Our expansion supports our desire to manage our clients’ requirements in an efficient and flexible manner tailored to their business.

“We believe this appointment will help us maintain our strong service levels and the growth of the team will add to the breadth of expertise we offer. We are happy to welcome Travis to the firm.”