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Feeling of hope and renewed optimism
A couple of years ago I remember writing about the chronic lack of employment land in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.
Sadly, it would appear from the information I am receiving, that this situation has not improved and if anything is getting worse!
Something needs to be done or else the economic impact will have far reaching consequences, inasmuch as potential businesses looking at moving to this region will simply go elsewhere, or businesses already here and looking to expand will have no option but to relocate out of this area.
In simple terms, that will mean job creation is non-existent and existing employment levels could fall, resulting in much-needed income for all types of businesses being lost!
It is a situation that would be totally unacceptable, especially given what everyone has had to endure over these past twelve months.
One thing is for certain and that is the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce will continue to lobby for more employment land to be created, if only to ensure that there are enough jobs in the future to match the additional homes that are being built throughout the Coventry and Warwickshire area.
We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand on this issue, future generations deserve better and those generations deserve a future!
And speaking of futures, at time of writing all businesses have just started to open up and there is certainly a feeling of hope and renewed optimism out there and long may it continue.
History will determine how the world in general handled this pandemic, history will judge whether the actions taken were a success, an abject failure or something in-between.
I really do wonder what history will make of it all, one thing for sure is that everyone I speak to has an opinion and discussions can become quite heated, obviously depending on your point of view.
However, for now and going forward let us hope we will not have to endure any further lockdowns.
Finally, as President of the Chamber I want to offer my congratulations to two outstanding individuals at the Coventry & Warwickshire’s Chamber of Commerce.
Firstly, to Louise Bennett OBE DL and CEO of the Chamber, who has been appointed as High Sheriff of The West Midlands, it is without doubt a great honour and thoroughly well deserved.
Secondly to our Commercial Director Louise Wall, who will be taking over the role of CEO to the Northampton & Milton Keynes Chambers of Commerce in July.
Louise is an exceptional individual and will be sorely missed by everyone within the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber network.
Sarah Perry
A Midlands law firm has announced 17 promotions across its business as part of its on-going growth plans.
Leamington-based Wright Hassall has appointed three partners, two senior associates, eight associates, a legal director and promoted three individuals within its wider business services teams.
Growing Midlands law firm announces flurry of promotions
Those who have been promoted to partner include Gemma Baker (invoice collection and debt recovery), John Gregory (planning) and Tracy Ashby (wills and tax planning); while Luke Moulton (intellectual property) and Sarah Beer (agriculture and HS2) are now senior associates.
Kaleigh Brown, (real estate), Laura Steel (commercial) and Nathan Hinks (commercial property) have been appointed as associates, as have Patrick McCallum (commercial), Rees Herrod (corporate) and Sandra Piaskowska (construction).
James Leighfield (real estate) and Jennifer Rhind (litigation) have also achieved associate status, while Claire Halle-Smith (data protection) has moved up to the position of legal director.
Also being promoted are three members of the firm’s business services teams: Ann-Marie Davis (senior executive assistant), Shaan Jamal (compliance) and Charlotte Bowler (sales & marketing).
The promotions come in a year in which Wright Hassall – which employs more than 245 staff – is marking its 175th anniversary with a range of celebrations.
Sarah Perry, managing partner at Wright Hassall, said: “As a firm we pride ourselves on helping to develop and nurture the talents of our staff, and these promotions further underline this commitment.
“Our business, like so many others, has had to adapt and show resilience in what has been a challenging year, and we’re delighted to now be in a position to promote these outstanding individuals who’ve all shown such dedication, application and teamwork in everything they do.”
Trio of High Sheriff awards for Rugby College staff and students
Rugby College staff and students have received a trio of awards from the High Sheriff of Warwickshire to recognise the significant impact they have made on a local community.
Joe Greenwell CBE DL, High Sheriff of Warwickshire, visited the college to congratulate those involved with The Prince’s Trust Team Programme for their recent project at a community church garden in Brownsover.
He presented the college with three High Sheriff awards and spoke with leaders about how the programme is supporting the development of young people in the region.
The Prince’s Trust Team Programme is based at Rugby College and is delivered in the area by college group WCG, which is the largest provider of programmes for the trust in England.
The first award was presented to students enrolled in the course who carried out work to renovate the garden in the church grounds of Christ Church Brownsover.
Team leader Georgia Allen received an award for leading the programme and delivering the project. Paul Harrison, senior Prince’s Trust programme coordinator for Coventry and Warwickshire at WCG, was also recognised for his impact regionally with the course delivery.
Joe Greenwell CBE DL said: “It is very impressive for the initiative to have been able to achieve what it has in such a challenging year. I visited Christ Church in Brownsover during the project and I feel confident that the programme is making a huge difference to the lives of the young people involved.”
Georgia Allen added: “Joe has been very supportive since we first met him last year and we’re hoping to continue this work with his successors over the coming years.
“Many young people involved in the programme are in difficult circumstances, so to receive an award like this from a highly respected person in society gives a great boost to their confidence.
To find out more, visit https://wcg.ac.uk/page/25/princes-trust
From l-r: Chris Gately (WCG) Angela Joyce (WCG), Paul Harrison (WCG), Joe Greenwell CBE DL and Georgia Allen (WCG)
Barrister, tax, estate planning, wills and trusts specialist Alana Graham has joined Lodders private client department
Qualified barrister, tax, estate planning, wills and trusts specialist Alana Graham has joined local law firm Lodders in its top-ranking private client department.
A barrister for more than 20 years, Alana has a wealth
Lodders hires estate and tax planning specialist
of tax and private client experience having worked for several national law firms and inheritance tax consultancies and one of the UK’s big four accountancy firms. She regularly advises clients based around the world on tax, wills and trusts matters.
In Lodders’ top-ranking private client practice, she will advise on all tax-related matters and utilise her advocacy skills to represent clients in the courts.
Louise Igoe, head of Lodders’ private client department, said: “Alana combines an impressive breadth of knowledge with being able to represent clients in the tribunals and courts, which has a national reputation for excellence and top tier rankings from both Chambers guide to the UK Legal Profession and the Legal 500.
“For the private client department, Alana represents the addition of a tax expert, which not only strengthens our current offering, but will also contribute to the development of our estate and tax planning services in other areas.”
Alana, who holds a Bachelor of Arts (Combined Honours) degree from McMaster University, Toronto, Canada and an LL.B. (hons) law degree from Brunel University, Uxbridge, England, said: “This is my dream job as it combines tax issues and advice, with tax law, which has always been my first love.
“Over the years, I have advised individuals on tax, will, and trust matters, as well as challenging wills and trusts. Nowadays this type of work is primarily combined, and with my skills and passion I can offer clients completely holistic advice based on my many years of experience.”
For more information visit www.lodders.co.uk.
Law firm Shakespeare Martineau is celebrating a raft of internal promotions in its Shakespeare Martineau, Lime Solicitors and Marrons Planning teams as part of its ambitious growth strategy.
The 13 promotions include eight in the West Midlands. Birmingham-based property litigation expert Justine Ball has been promoted to partner after nearly ten years with Shakespeare Martineau. Justine specialises in telecoms and advising landowners on the termination and renewal of leases.
Shakespeare Martineau announces multiple promotions
Further promotions in the Birmingham office include Hannah Pickering and Lucy Haynes who join the ranks of legal director, working in the corporate and residential development teams at Shakespeare Martineau, respectively.
Shakespeare Martineau has also awarded six promotions to associate level. Laura Taylor and Samantha Vaughan of the firm’s Birmingham office and Aller Dawlat in Nottingham now sit within the commercial property and development team, while Monica Ghai and Nicola Lediard in Birmingham support the wealth and litigation and restructuring teams. The final associate promotion is Sarah Parker in Solihull, who sits within the residential development team.
Contentious trust and probate expert Debra Burton who works as part of the inheritance disputes team at Lime Solicitors, has also been promoted to partner at the firm’s Leicester office.
Meanwhile, David Pendle and Jenny Keen, who work as part of Marrons Planning, have been promoted to planning director in Nottingham. Also in Nottingham, family law expert Nikki Aston who specialises in children, divorce and complex financial settlements has been promoted to legal director for Shakespeare Martineau.
Sarah Walker-Smith, CEO of Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Unlocking the potential of our people is fundamental to our growth. It’s our people who make our business – and it’s our clients who benefit from our investments in our people. Everyone promoted has shown outstanding commitment to our values and working collaboratively across our regions to take our business forward in its next phase of growth.”
Double senior hire for Lodders’ growing teams
Local law firm Lodders has strengthened its dispute resolution and private client teams with two senior hires.
Commercial litigation specialist Andrew Wylde joins Lodders as a senior associate in the firm’s 13-strong dispute resolution team, and trusts and estate planning specialist John Padget joins as an associate in the private client department.
Previously, Andrew led the commercial litigation team at East Midlands firm Ringrose Law Solicitors for five years, and was a partner at Irwin Mitchell.
He joins Lodders’ dispute resolution team, which is headed by partner Jane Senior, to advise clients on all aspects of dispute resolution, including corporate and shareholder disputes, contract breaches, together with providing insolvency advice.
As associate in Lodders’ top-ranking private client department, which is led by Louise Igoe and is one of the Midlands’ largest dedicated private client practices, John Padget will utilise several years of experience working solely in private client law, including providing advice on trusts and estates administration, estate planning, wills, lasting powers of attorney, inheritance tax and capital gains tax.
An affiliate of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP), John joins Lodders from Birmingham’s Meridian Private Client, where he was an associate working principally on estate planning for high net-worth individuals. He qualified as a wills and probate solicitor in 2014 at Solihull firm Wallace Robinson & Morgan and has worked exclusively in private client law since then.
Paul Mourton, Lodders’ managing partner, said: “The firm has seen sustained growth in instructions for our private client and dispute resolution advice. Maintaining our pledge to recruit only the best-in-breed legal specialists and our commitment to providing the very best legal skill and client service, Andrew and John’s appointments represent significant additions to our expanding team.”
For more information visit www.lodders.co.uk
Lodders has appointed Andrew Wylde as senior associate in its dispute resolution team and John Padget as an associate in the private client department
Director invited onto the global compliance panel
Red Laces director, Jonathan Dempsey, has been invited onto the global thought-leader panel of the International Compliance Association (ICA) to provide thought-provoking content and guidance to compliance professionals across the banking and finance sector.
Coventry-based Red Laces was founded by Jonathan in 2020 and has worked with many businesses within the area. The company is a management consultancy, unravelling the mystery and requirements of risk, safety and compliance to empower business leaders towards success.
Jonathan said: “It’s a privilege to be invited onto the global ICA Panel. It offers new possibilities for innovation and collaboration with ICA’s community to unravel the mystery and requirements of risk and compliance in a rapidly changing world. This is a world in which it’s vital for businesses to be agile, adaptable and resilient.”
The ICA panel is a body of top industry thoughtleaders and subject matter experts who meet ICA’s high standards for excellence in knowledge delivery and who work in partnership with the ICA to support and empower communities.
Key promotion at CityFibre
Leigh Hunt, CityFibre’s city manager for Coventry, has been promoted to the role of regional partnership director.
This new role has been created to support CityFibre’s drive to roll out full fibre to eight million homes by leading on key local city relationships and co-ordinating the regional Midlands team.
Leigh will retain ownership of her role as city manager for Coventry whilst leading on the expansion into Warwickshire and further afield. Speaking of her appointment, she said: “I am pleased to be playing an increased role in helping CityFibre achieve its ambition.
“In Coventry we are investing £60m to bring about a Gigabit City transformation that will bring future-proof digital infrastructure within reach of almost every home and business locally.
“As a born-and-bred Coventrian, I am delighted I have a part to play in bringing about this latest chapter in our city’s proud history.”
New director Jennifer Wale
New director at Midlands accountancy firm
A national award-winning firm of chartered accountants based in the East & West Midlands has promoted one of its most experienced client managers to a directorship role.
Armstrongs has appointed Jennifer Wale as director of its Hinckley practice after seven years with the firm. Jennifer, who has a wealth of experience managing clients across a range of sectors, specialises in audit and assurance services. She has been based at the firm’s offices in Hinckley since June last year when Armstrongs took over longstanding practice Lester & Co. Jennifer said: “The Hinckley office was a fantastic opportunity for me to get involved with. I have really enjoyed working with the new clients and team. I am looking forward to my new role and raising the profile of Armstrongs Lester & Co over the coming months. Paul Farmer, Armstrongs director, said: “At Armstrongs, we pride ourselves on providing clear career paths for our employees. We invest heavily in the training and development of our staff, supporting them to achieve their potential as accountants and business advisers. “Jennifer has been with us for seven years now and her hard work has been rewarded. Her promotion is well deserved and we wish her every success in the new role.” Armstrongs provides a wide range of services including accounting, tax, corporate finance, wealth planning, audit and assurance, business support and business development.
