People: Carter Towler; Lake Legal; FMG; and more

Leeds-based commercial property specialist, Carter Towler, has appointed Jeff Robertson, an experienced chartered surveyor and registered valuer, to its Valuations and Lease Advisory team, as a consultant.

Robertson has nearly 30 years’ experience and has provided Valuation and Lease Advisory services at practices such as Lambert Smith Hampton, Dresler Smith, and Bowcliffe.

Carter Towler director, Matt Faulkes, said: “We are extremely lucky to have persuaded Jeff to join Carter Towler.

“Our valuations team, headed up by Chris Green, is very much looking forward to working with Jeff, not only for his depth of expertise but also to assist with the increasing demand we are experiencing for our valuation services.

“In the last 12 months we have completed over 300 valuations, with a total asset value exceeding £500m.

“Jeff’s appointment strengthens our offering and will enable us to expand our geographical reach across Yorkshire, the North East, Cumbria, Humberside, Lincolnshire and the Midlands.”

Robertson added: “Carter Towler’s Valuations and Lease Advisory team is one of the busiest and most experienced in the region.

“Its expertise is based on specialist knowledge gleaned from managing exceptional volumes of activity across many sectors, including industrial, commercial, retail, leisure, and healthcare. I am very much looking forward to being part of that.”

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Isabella O’Donoghue, of Leeds-based Lake Legal, has qualified as a chartered legal executive.

She completed her academic stage of her qualification with the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives in 2023 before joining Lake Legal in April in 2024 and becoming fully qualified in February 2025.

She has experience in dealing with divorce, financial settlements, domestic abuse and child related issues.

O’Donoghue also sits on the Local Resolution Committee which promotes a non-confrontational approach to family problems. 

Lake Legal’s managing partner, Claire Glaister, said: “We are extremely proud of Isabella, she has been a great addition to the team and shows real talent. We have no doubt that she will go on to have a very successful career.”

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Huddersfield-headquartered incident management specialist, FMG, has made a key addition to its board, appointing Phil Jerome to the role of sales director – fleet.

He brings considerable industry knowledge and experience following a 25-year career in the leasing and fleet sector.

His appointment follows the promotion of former sales director Andy Chandler to managing director in October 2024.

Jerome takes responsibility for growth and customer retention in a role which capitalises on his wealth of experience managing customer-facing teams and growth opportunities within the sector. 

Chandler said: “This is a key appointment for FMG which underlines our commitment to remaining true to our core strategy, to be the UK’s leading provider of high quality, outsourced fleet incident management solutions.

“Phil is vastly experienced and is a welcome addition to the board as we develop our business proposition to ensure we’re evolving and innovating to meet client needs whilst delivering the high level of service we’re synonymous with.”

Jerome was sales director at Zenith for 15 years, where he took commercial responsibility for new business sales across all products.

In 2016 he launched his own business, Meridian Vehicle Solutions, specialising in medium-term car lease, where he was managing director for the past nine years.

Jerome said: “I’m excited to join FMG and welcome the chance to support their long-term growth aspirations by working closely with customers, partners and colleagues to deliver first class solutions that make our customers’ lives simpler.

“FMG has a great reputation for customer retention which is largely due to its ability to configure innovative solutions and empower colleagues to support clients more readily.

“I look forward to contributing to this continued focus and adding value within my role.”

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Leeds-headquartered property consultancy Eddisons has appointed Dan Whittaker as an associate director in its growing asset advisory and restructuring team.

Whittaker, who is a registered property receiver, will work as part of wider team across the north of England.

He joins Eddisons from risk and financial advice group Kroll, where he was a real estate advisory group manager and also spent over five years at Lambert Smith Hampton in Manchester.

Eddisons director Matthew Hattersley, who heads the firm’s Asset Advisory and Restructuring team, said: “We are really pleased to welcome Dan to the team, especially at a time when we are seeing increasing demand for our services, driven by the ongoing economic uncertainty that continues to challenge the property sector and the wider UK economy.

“The Asset Advisory and Restructuring team have a wealth of knowledge and experience and are well positioned to provide lenders with asset valuations, restructuring and disposal strategies for distressed assets throughout the UK.

“Dan’s wealth of experience and extensive network of contacts make him a really valuable addition to the team.”

Whittaker added: “My career began in asset management in the leisure and hospitality sector and I’ve worked in the corporate recovery sector since the financial crash in 2008, advising lenders on maximising the value of assets along with a wide range of other asset management and restructuring activity.

“It’s great to be using my skills and experience as part of the growing team at Eddisons who have built such a formidable reputation for expertise and customer service.”