People: Shakespeare Martineau; DPP; DFS; and more
National law firm Shakespeare Martineau has welcomed corporate legal director Laura Giles to its Sheffield office hub.
With more than 12 years’ experience, Giles has joined from Stone King, where she spent the past three years as a senior associate in the firm’s Leeds office.
Prior to this, she worked for Knights, which acquired Keebles, in Sheffield.
An experienced corporate lawyer, she advises on acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, investments, reorganisations, and general corporate governance and shareholder matters.
She works across a range of sectors, including digital and technology, manufacturing, hospitality, education and social enterprise.
Giles said: “I’m excited to have joined a firm with such a strong reputation and ambitious plans for growth, particularly in South Yorkshire.
“I’m looking forward to helping the Sheffield office go from strength-to-strength and contributing to the development of the corporate offering across the region.
“Having previously worked with various Shakespeare Martineau colleagues in my Keebles days, it’s great to be reunited with familiar faces.
“Whether supporting clients in growing and scaling their businesses through investment or acquisitions, or helping those looking to secure an exit, it’s rewarding to play a part in their success.”
Matt Ainsworth, corporate partner at Shakespeare Martineau in Sheffield, added: “We are continuing our investment in the South Yorkshire market – a region we see a lot of potential in – and we are thrilled to welcome Laura to the Sheffield team, a move that will help to boost this commitment.
“Laura has a strong reputation in Sheffield, and her technical knowledge and broad experience will be a real asset to our national corporate team as we look to enhance our transactional offering and, additionally, cement our reputation in South Yorkshire.”
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Jess Knight
Independent planning consultancy, DPP, is strengthening its team with a series of promotions in Leeds.
The first of the three is Jess Knight, who has been promoted to principal planner.
Since joining DPP’s Leeds office in 2017 as an assistant planner, she has excelled on education and urban living projects as well as being involved in several major residential projects across the region.
Her promotion will see her take a lead on a wider range of projects across England.
DPP’s Leeds office has also confirmed the promotion of two of its planners to senior planners.
Abi Tucker
Abi Tucker joined the business in 2022 as an assistant planner after graduating from the University of Sheffield and has worked on projects in defence, urban living, education and residential sectors.
Alongside Tucker, Chris Wallace has also promoted from planner to senior planner for Leeds.
After graduating from University College Dublin, he joined the Leeds office in 2021. He has worked on a wide variety of projects spanning education, energy and residential sectors.
Wallace secured his associate RTPI membership in March last year and is a committee member for FFT, the “junior section” of the Forum for the Built Environment.
Gareth Hooper, CEO of DPP Planning, said: “We are thrilled to be making these promotions across our Leeds office, they are testament to the hard work Jess, Abi and Chris have brought to the firm.
“Each of them bring different skills, professionalism and talent to the wider DPP team and we are pleased and proud to see them progressing so well within the company.
Chris Wallace
“Jess brings positive energy to the Leeds team, acting as a dependable and approachable leader to junior colleagues which promotes teamwork.
“Abi secured her chartered MRTPI status last year and has been promoted after just a year as a planner thanks to her efforts to improve her professional skills, but also due to her dependability and contribution to the wider team.
“In the past year, Chris has worked hard to develop his skills, demonstrating strong project management and taking the lead on several projects.
“He has contributed to our recent successes through his diligent approach, which means colleagues and clients can really rely on him.
“We wish them all the best in their future at DPP Planning.”
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Doncaster-based DFS Furniture has appointed Tony Buffin as an independent non-executive director of the company effective from 24 February 2025.
He will also be appointed as a member of the Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee, RSC Committee and Nomination Committees, and as the designated non-executive director, from that date.
Steve Johnson, chairman, said: “Tony’s significant retail experience is directly relevant to the DFS’ strategy. I look forward to working closely with Tony as we move forward with our strategy to accelerate growth and develop our home offering.”
Buffin is the chair of European kitchen specialist Nobia AB, which is listed and headquartered in Stockholm.
He is also a non-executive director of Applied Nutrition, which recently listed on the London Stock Exchange.
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James Richardson has started his role as the new Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) managing director, heading the North of England’s multi-billion pound railway programme.
It is designed to deliver more frequent, faster trains on a more reliable railway, better connecting people across the North, between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
Currently, the programme employs more than 5,000 people, with 70 active work sites over 70 miles. The majority of projects are now in the design and delivery stage.
Richardson said: “I’m thrilled to be leading a programme of such national and regional importance.
“In just a few days of being here, the commitment for us to succeed has been clear to me from initial meetings with our talented teams and key stakeholders.
“We’re helping to transform train travel across the North and it’s great to get started.”
Following the electrification of the line between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge last year, 2025 will see another section of the route become fully electrified, with greener services expected between York and Church Fenton by the end of the year.
Another project due for completion this year is the upgrade of Mirfield station, making it fully accessible for the first time and able to facilitate longer trains with enhanced capacity.
Richardson has experience of major programmes, his most recent post being managing director of the Skansa Costain STRABAG joint venture delivering the HS2 London tunnels.
Other roles during his time at Skansa included infrastructure MD and rail sector director.
He also held positions on programmes such as HS1, M25DBFO, Crossrail, Northern Hub, Wessex Capacity Alliance and Thameslink.
