People: Lloyds Banking Group; Avison Young; Lupton Fawcett; and more

Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed the appointment of Karl Oxford to its Black Business Advisory Committee (BBAC).

Since its inception in December 2020, led by Claudine Reid, the BBAC has provided Lloyds Banking Group with insights into the challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs in Britain, guiding the development of effective strategies to mitigate barriers.

Hailing from Yorkshire, Oxford’s experience in strategic community regeneration, policy design and business development, has helped uplift Black businesses and communities in the region.

His extensive career includes current roles such as director of African and Caribbean business ventures, an executive director at Palm Cove Society CIC, vice chair of the BAME Committee at the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, co-founder of Voice 4 Change England and co-founder of the former African Caribbean Westminster Initiative.

His latest appointment builds on Lloyd Banking Group’s continued engagement in Yorkshire through its Black Entrepreneurs Programme and its sponsorship of the West Yorkshire Black Business Expo.

Oxford said: “I’m honoured to join the BBAC. This role enables me to support Black entrepreneurs, with a special emphasis on addressing the unique challenges they face across the North.

“I look forward to working with the committee to deepen Lloyds Banking Group’s understanding of the challenges faced in the region and ensure our support is as impactful and inclusive as possible.”

Reid added: “Karl’s unique blend of expertise and dedication to community development makes him a valuable addition to the committee through his strong connections with businesses and community leaders in Yorkshire.

“His perspective will be instrumental in our continued efforts to build equity for Black business owners nationwide.”

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Commercial real estate firm, Avison Young, has appointed Jamie Wallace as associate director in its Leeds office.

He brings over a decade of experience working in planning at leading UK consultancies.

Wallace joins Avison Young from town planning and development firm DLP, where he spent two years as an associate director, responsible for the delivery of planning consents within the residential, leisure, commercial and education sectors.

Key projects that he has recently led include delivery of planning permission for the regeneration of Freshney Place Shopping Centre in Grimsby and a new 29,000 sq ft advanced manufacturing facility and research centre (AMRC) based at the University of Sheffield Innovation District.

As part of the Place team at Avison Young’s Leeds office, he will apply his experience in the planning industry, collaborating with colleagues on a series of high-profile projects, including the redevelopment of Bradford City Village, and the Kirkgate Innovative Neighbourhood Gateway (KING) and Old Westgate, both of which are being delivered in partnership with Wakefield Council.

Stuart Howie, regional managing director for Leeds at Avison Young UK, said: “I’m very pleased to welcome Jamie to Avison Young.

“The experience he brings with him from the planning industry positions him as a crucial member of the Leeds team and will enable him to provide a holistic advisory service to a range of clients across different sectors, managing complex local planning guidelines and client priorities.

“Jamie has already thrown himself into client support and is doing great work. I have no doubt he’ll continue to make a huge impact on both Avison Young and our clients’ projects.”

Wallace said: “It’s a pleasure to be joining the Avison Young team after 12 years in the industry and having long admired their work from afar.

“It’s an exciting time to be getting started, with significant projects underway and huge opportunities for growth across the business.

“We have a strong and diverse client base, which has already been bolstered by numerous recent wins, and I’m very much looking forward to collaborating with colleagues to deliver great results.”

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Law firm Lupton Fawcett has appointed a new head for its Sheffield office.

Sarah Sargent will lead the South Yorkshire team. Sargent, who is also head of residential property, joined the firm in 2015 and became a partner in 2019.

She has more than 20 years’ legal experience and is a Law Society Council member.

She said: “We are a close-knit team here at Sheffield who all complement each other well to meet the needs of our clients and we have a real strength in experience and expertise in the fields we are working in.

“I’m looking forward to leading the team to further accomplishments in the coming months and am excited about maximising the opportunities that are available to us.

“We have the people, the teams and the experience and now we’re ready to make further impacts on the Sheffield legal scene and build upon on our reputation for providing client service without compromise.”

James Richardson, managing partner, said: “Sarah brings a wealth of experience to this role. She has played a key role in driving our change initiatives firm-wide and her leadership skills have been key to the development of our people in Sheffield.

“Sarah’s practical and engaging approach is an example for all at Lupton Fawcett and we are proud to have her in our leadership team.

“Our plans for growth in Sheffield are supported and driven by this appointment and we are confident Sarah is the perfect fit for us moving forwards.”

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A property professional who made the switch from an estate agents to a legal career has now completed her move to Rollits LLP.

Amber Deas joins the firm’s residential property team working across the offices in York and Hull.

She lives in Stillington near York and attended Easingwold Secondary School before starting out in personnel and training and then moving into property as a sales progressor with Hunters Estate Agents in 2019.

Deas then took up a role as a legal secretary with Cowling Swift & Kitchen in York.

As her career progressed, she moved into a fee earning role as a conveyancer, dealing with a variety of matters including sales and purchases, transfer of equity and remortgages as well as a mixture of freehold and leasehold sale and purchases.

At Rollits, she is based in the York office and working with property colleagues across the firm’s client base dealing primarily with residential sales and purchases as well as providing support to the wider property team.

Deas said: “I am pleased to be continuing my legal career at Rollits. I’m excited about the opportunity to develop my expertise in conveyancing and be part of a growing residential property team.”

Partner and head of property, Neil Franklin, added: “We are happy to welcome Amber to the Property department and I look forward to helping her progress as she continues to develop in her new role.”