Here is BusinessLive’s regular summary of all the changes, appointments and promotions affecting businesses across the wider East Midlands:
rg+p:
Leicester-based multi-disciplinary design practice rg+p has appointed a new director to lead the next phase of growth for its planning division.
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Chartered town planner and member of the Royal Town Planning Institute Chris Lindley will initially be based from its Leicester studio.
With a residential and commercial development background, Chris’s experience includes delivering net zero carbon schemes, green belt development, listed buildings and heritage work, estate planning and land promotion.
He also has experience in appeal hearings and appearing at local plan examinations and public inquiries as an expert witness.
He said: “My entire career has been spent in consultancy roles, acting for a range of developers, landowners and public sector clients, and I’ve been fortunate enough to work all over the country.
“When the opportunity arose to take on a directorship at rg+p, I felt the time was right to make a move and join an environment where I can work alongside colleagues to see a project from inception to completion.
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“The practice has a strong reputation across the Midlands and London, especially in the residential market, and I’m keen to build on this.
“The planning industry is set for a major shake-up over the coming months with the introduction of the Planning Bill and changes to Permitted Development rights so I want to make sure we’re at the forefront of new development in the region.”
Established a decade ago, rg+p’s planning division has gained a successful track record with some of its biggest schemes including the £85 million Ashton Green sustainable urban extension in Leicester, Magenta Court in Hemel Hempstead, conversion of the former Feltham Magistrates Court, in London, as well as student accommodation and BTR developments across the Midlands.
Rolls-Royce:
Rolls-Royce has named Anita Frew as its new chairman to succeed Sir Ian Davis.
Anita will join the board on July 1, and will succeed Sir Ian on October 1. Her predecessor will retire from the board on September 30, after nearly nine years as chairman.
The engineering giant has also announced the appointment of Mike Manley as a non-executive director.
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Ms Frew is currently chair of Croda plc, the science, technology and chemicals group and a non-executive director of BHP Group, a global resources company.
Until recently she was deputy chairman and senior independent director of Lloyds Banking Group.
Sir Ian Davis said: “Rolls-Royce is a pioneering company with tremendous potential and it has been a huge privilege and responsibility to be its chairman.
“I am immensely grateful to my fellow board members for their support and hard work during my tenure as chairman.
“I wish Anita every success as she joins the Board at a very exciting time for Rolls-Royce as we deliver a more sustainable agenda.”
Ms Frew said: “It is an honour and privilege to join the board of Rolls-Royce and to succeed Sir Ian as chairman.
“I look forward to working with the board, Warren East and the leadership team to support the next stage of the group’s development.”
Chief executive Warren East said: “I would like to thank Ian for his steadfast leadership, guidance and unwavering support during a crucial period for the group, both strategically and operationally. Ian has played a key role in contributing to Rolls-Royce’s future.
“On behalf of the executive team and all our employees, I would like to wish him well for the future.
“I am delighted to welcome Anita to Rolls-Royce, with her extensive experience and leadership I look forward to working with her.”
Dice:
Nottingham multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy Dice has welcomed three new staff members to its growing team after winning a number of new contracts.
Mehmet Ertay, Jenni Littlehales and James Brant have joined the firm as a senior civil engineer, marketing and content manager, and civil engineering technician respectively.
It follows several project and client wins since the start of the year for Dice, which has grown rapidly since being set up in 2018 by Wayne Oakes and Raj Somal.
Mehmet has more than five years experience, after gaining a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Nottingham.
He said: “I’m delighted to join the Dice team – I was drawn to the firm as it is ambitious and forward-thinking, while it also genuinely cares about its staff, clients, and projects.
“Starting a new job during a pandemic was always going to be a different experience, however Dice is a paperless, tech-savvy firm so the transition has been seamless.
“I’m already working on some fantastic projects and really looking forward to getting into the office, getting to know the team and developing my career at Dice.”
Jenni, who is the firm’s first non-engineering hire, said: “There’s nothing more exciting for a marketeer than to join a business at a time of change or growth.
“I’m therefore thrilled to help the team capitalise on this growth as well as support and shape the overall vision into 2021 and beyond.
“Even after a very short time, I already feel that the supportive culture and team spirit at Dice makes it not only a great place to work, but a great company to be involved with.”
Dice director Wayne Oakes said: “We’re delighted to welcome Mehmet, Jenni and James to the team.
“The past year has been incredibly busy with a number of really exciting project wins – particularly within the residential sector, with several MMC schemes now underway – so they have joined at an exciting time.
“We are dedicated to delivering the best possible service for our clients as well as developing the very best talent from the East Midlands.
“We’re therefore certain that Mehmet, Jenni and James will help us to continue delivering a fantastic service to our existing clients and help to push the business forward.”
Aggregate Industries:
Construction materials supplier Aggregate Industries has made what it calls a major step towards achieving its sustainability goals by appointing Kirstin McCarthy as its sustainability director.
Kirstin, who will sit on the Leicestershire-headquartered company’s executive committee, will be responsible for driving forward the company’s ambitions to become a net-zero company.
She has more than 20 years’ experience in environmental management and was head of sustainability at Birmingham Airport for more than six years.
Kirstin said: “I’m delighted to be named Aggregate Industries’ new sustainability director, a role introduced at an exciting time in the company’s journey to become a leading sustainable business.
“I look forward to making my mark as the newest member of the executive committee and contributing to building a greener, smarter world for all.”
Chief executive Dragan Maksimovic said: “As part of our strategic commitment to reduce the carbon footprint across our business we have appointed a new sustainability director who joins our executive committee.
“I’m delighted to welcome Kirstin to the team and I look forward to her playing an integral part in achieving our ambitions.
“This appointment is placing us in a unique position at the forefront of our industry and we must continue challenging ourselves to continuously reduce our carbon footprint through innovation, commitment and personal accountability.”
Aggregate industries is a £1.3 billion turnover business with more than 200 sites and around 3,700 staff, which produces everything from building aggregates to asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete products.
Cambridge and Counties:
Specialist business lender Cambridge & Counties Bank has expanded its fast-growing classic, vintage and sports car finance team with the appointment of Mitchell Reavell to the role of business development officer.
The appointment means the classic car team has now grown to three members of staff, each catering for record demand for the bank’s dedicated finance products.
He joins the bank from Daventry-based MediaLease, a broker in the broadcast, live event and A/V sector.
Prior to that, he worked for Close Brothers for eight years in its motor finance team, underwriting new applications and maintaining dealer and broker relationships.
Cambridge & Counties Bank’s classic, vintage and sports car finance business saw a 175 per cent increase in the volume of deals in 2020 compared to 2019.
The business said 2021 has started even stronger, with value growth of 300 per cent year-on-year to end-of March.
The bank offers finance covering classic, vintage, racing and modern classic cars.
Mitchell said: “Cambridge & Counties Bank has developed a market-leading classic car proposition and I’m delighted to be joining the team. The bank is well known in the sector for its differentiated service and we see continued demand from what remains a buoyant market.”
Neil Fender, Head of Classic Car Finance at Cambridge & Counties Bank, said: “Following three years of consistent growth, the time was right to appoint a new member to the team to better cater for the strong demand we see in the 海角视频.
“Indeed, our expectations are that this growth will continue for the foreseeable future – making it imperative that the bank continues to deliver an enhanced service through increased capacity and team expertise.”
Nelsons:
Nelsons has added to its wills and probate team in Nottingham – after welcoming a new associate and solicitor.
Tom Newton qualified as a solicitor in September 2020 and joins Nelsons after working at Astle Paterson in Burton-on-Trent both during and after his time at university.
He specialises in all areas of wills and probate, including administration of estates and powers of attorney.
He said: “I am thrilled to have joined the team at Nelsons – it’s an innovative and ambitious firm that puts its clients at the heart of everything it does. This is incredibly important for all departments but particularly wills and probate as we help and support people with crucial decision-making processes, which is very rewarding.
“While restrictions are easing, we’re continuing to work from home but the support and warm welcome I received from the team when I started was fantastic. I may have only joined a few weeks ago but I already feel like part of the team and have been able to hit the ground running thanks to the expert technology provided by the firm.”
Tom graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2017 before going on to complete his LPC and LLM at the University of Law in Birmingham. He then undertook work experience with Astle Patterson, where he was later given a training contract and qualified as a solicitor.
Shakespeare Martineau:
Law firm Shakespeare Martineau has welcomed two new property specialists to its Midlands teams – legal planning legal director Julie Russell, and legal planning partner Anna Cartledge.
Operating from the Leicester office, Julie Russell brings more than 14 years’ experience, working on all aspects of legal planning, development and infrastructure work.
She has particular experience in dealing with nationally significant infrastructure projects and negotiating complex Section 106 agreements and infrastructure and highways agreements as well as providing strategic planning advice to housebuilders, commercial developers, landowners and local planning authorities.
She also regularly deals with planning enforcement, public rights of ways issues, planning appeals, planning due diligence on site acquisitions and challenges to planning permissions.
Anna Cartledge joins the firm’s Birmingham hub and has more than 15 years’ experience in legal planning, compulsory purchase and highways law, acting for a variety of public and private sector clients throughout her career.
Anna has a particular interest in heritage issues and has advised a number of local authorities and private sector developers on various listed building consents.
Alex Smith, managing director of the infrastructure and specialist markets business unit, said: “We have a great reputation in real estate and work closely with our planning consultancy Marrons Planning to provide a holistic service to clients.
“From small listed buildings to large development projects, planning is a complex area law and it requires specialist knowledge, both Anna and Julie have great expertise and are well-placed to advise clients across the Midlands and nationally.”
Hobsons Chartered Accountants:
Hobsons Chartered Accountants, an accountancy and tax practice with offices in Carrington and Newark, has promoted Giles Lang to director and Katie Hart to audit and accounts manager.
Giles joined Hobsons 19 years ago as a trainee, qualifying as a chartered tax adviser, and has gone on to lead the personal tax department becoming associate director in 2017.
Katie joined Hobsons at the age of 18 and has been with the firm for more than 15 years. During that time she has qualified as an accountant with the AAT.
Katie works with, and manages a wide portfolio of Hobsons audit and accounts clients, and has a particular specialism in academy schools and charities.
Jim Scully, Hobsons managing director, said “We are delighted that Giles and Katie have joined the management team at Hobsons.
“Both have a fantastic work effort and bring a wealth of ideas and enthusiasm to their roles whilst continuing to develop and build strong relationships with our clients.”