Savills has bolstered its retail, leisure, and food and beverage research capabilities by appointing Matt Thompson as director in a newly created role. With over 15 years of experience in retail and consumer insights within the real estate sector, Thompson brings a wealth of knowledge to the team. He joins
The Institution of Civil Engineers Northern Ireland (ICE NI) has appointed Emer Murnaghan as Chair for 2024-2025. Emer’s appointment was confirmed at the ICE NI Annual General Meeting on Thursday 5th September, at the MAC, Belfast, following her in-person Chair’s address and supper. Speaking about her appointment Emer said: “I
Boutique managing agent, Wildheart Residential Management has appointed Chris March as its new Property Director. Chris will be instrumental in supporting the management of a portfolio of around 5,000 residential units. A Chartered Surveyor with over 30 years of experience working in the sector, Chris has held a number of
Logicor announces the appointment of two new hires to its UK Asset Management team. The appointments mark Logicor’s strong commitment to accelerate its development pipeline across the UK, with continued growth anticipated for the year ahead. Michaela Chidgey will join as Project Manager, where she will be supporting the delivery
Russ Beresford joins leading retirement BTR operator to help drive aggressive expansion Birchgrove, the UK’s leading provider of rented retirement homes, has appointed a new Development Director to help fuel the company’s growth as it gears up to meet the anticipated surge in demand for rental homes suitable for older people
United Trust Bank (UTB) has appointed Ben Jenkinson as Head of Product & Strategy in its Property Development division. Ben has over 20 years’ experience in real estate finance holding senior positions across both public and private sectors and with lenders and agencies including Nationwide, RBS and Homes England. Ben’s
City & Country has further strengthened its expert technical team with the appointment of Adam Towers as Technical Director. Adam joins with more than 17 years’ experience, having started as a trainee technical co-ordinator at Telford Homes, before moving to CALA Homes, based out of its Northern Homes Counties. Adam
LOVELL Partnerships has announced the appointment of a new refurbishment partnerships director, helping to progress social housing and retrofit projects across the West Midlands. With more than 20 years of experience in the housing and construction industry, Matt Hickman has worked in a number of senior management roles and brings
UAP Limited, a leading British door hardware supplier, has made two key management appointments to its growing team. Martin Cope joins as National Account Manager, and Adam Dixon as Senior Technical Manager. Martin Cope has vast experience in sales management across 45 years and will be contributing to UAP’s continued
Geberit, a leading manufacturer of sanitary products and piping systems, has appointed Danielle Lillis as its new Product and Marketing Director for the UK. Lillis brings over 20 years of industry experience to the role, having previously held senior positions at major bathroom distributors and manufacturers. Most recently, she served
Savills has bolstered its retail, leisure, and food and beverage research capabilities by appointing Matt Thompson as director in a newly created role. With over 15 years of experience in retail and consumer insights within the real estate sector, Thompson brings a wealth of knowledge to the team. He joins from Shaftesbury Capital, where he served as Head of Property Insight, and previously held the position of Head of Retail Strategy at Colliers for six years. In his new role, Thompson will collaborate with Savills’ retail and leisure agency and research teams, focusing on integrating analytics and consumer data to create commercial value for clients. Alan Spencer, Head of UK Retail at Savills, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Matt to the team. His expertise in consumer intelligence will enhance our consultancy services and support our ongoing projects.” Thompson added: “I’m excited to bring my experience to Savills, helping clients navigate the shifting consumer landscape and ma Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Institution of Civil Engineers Northern Ireland (ICE NI) has appointed Emer Murnaghan as Chair for 2024-2025. Emer’s appointment was confirmed at the ICE NI Annual General Meeting on Thursday 5th September, at the MAC, Belfast, following her in-person Chair’s address and supper. Speaking about her appointment Emer said: “I am committed to leading the institution in its mission to advance civil engineering in the region and promote sustainable infrastructure. Together with our members, we will continue to address the challenges facing our built environment and work towards a more sustainable future, Delivering Better Together! Leo Martin, GRAHAM Managing Director Civil Engineering said: “Emer brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, having served in various leadership positions within the ICE NI. Her passion for civil engineering and her dedication to the profession will undoubtedly be invaluable in guiding the institution in the coming year.” The ICE NI is a leading professional body dedicated to advancing civil engineering in the region. For over 150 years, ICE NI has been at the forefront of shaping the built environment, promoting sustainable infrastructure, and fostering innovation. Through its network of members, events, and initiatives, ICE NI plays a vital role in addressing the region’s engineering challenges and ensuring a sustainable future. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Boutique managing agent, Wildheart Residential Management has appointed Chris March as its new Property Director. Chris will be instrumental in supporting the management of a portfolio of around 5,000 residential units. A Chartered Surveyor with over 30 years of experience working in the sector, Chris has held a number of senior positions at a variety of well-known managing agents. With experience across both the leasehold and PRS sectors, he has been responsible for the management of substantial national residential portfolios, including some of the tallest residential towers in the UK. Most recently Chris worked at a residential investment business where he was a client of Wildheart, which will allow him to bring a unique perspective to this new role. Chris is also a Fellow of The Property Institute and acts as an appointed manager for the First-Tier Property Tribunal. Chris comments: “With the unique experience I have from having worked with Wildheart for many years as a client, I am aware of the strengths of the business and the dedication of the team. My new role as Property Director presents me with an exciting opportunity to play a role in the development of the business. In a sector where success can be mistakenly equated with the number of units under management, it is refreshing to be working with a family-owned business that prides itself on blending its national coverage with its ability to provide a personalised service that appreciates individual client needs.” Simon Halls, Managing Director at Wildheart said: “Having known Chris for several years, I was keen to work with him when I learnt that he was looking for a new challenge. Underlining our commitment to continuously enhancing our services, Chris’ knowledge and experience of the leasehold sector will enable us to further develop the services we can offer to both Resident Management Companies and Freeholders.” For further information about Wildheart please visit: https://www.wildheart.co.uk/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Logicor announces the appointment of two new hires to its UK Asset Management team. The appointments mark Logicor’s strong commitment to accelerate its development pipeline across the UK, with continued growth anticipated for the year ahead. Michaela Chidgey will join as Project Manager, where she will be supporting the delivery of Logicor’s development pipeline in the UK, streamlining the business’ collaboration between technical and asset management teams to drive consistency of service delivery and quality across Logicor’s UK portfolio. Logicor currently owns and manages over 32 million sq ft across 176 high-quality distribution locations. Latest developments underway in the UK include Logicor Park Daventry, Derby 507, Bolton 330 and Logicor Park Dartford, delivering over 1.7m sq ft of premium warehouse and logistics space over the next 12 months. Michaela joins from Savills where she was an Associate Director in the Building and Project Consultancy team. Michaela will work with Matthew Storr, Director of Project Management and Sam Towers, Technical Director of Logicor. Michaela previously joined Savills in 2015 and has specialized in project management for both new-build developments and refurbishments, where her primary focus lied within the industrial and logistics sector. She has extensive experience of managing projects throughout the development cycle, from feasibility study and technical due diligence for acquisition, through to managing the design, planning and construction phases. Logicor also recently recruited Rachel Boorer to join its UK Asset Management Team as an Analyst. Rachel previously worked at CBRE as a Surveyor. Like Michaela, Rachel will be based in Logicor’s London HQ, and will work with the whole UK Asset Management team, reporting into Associate, Liam Lewis. Charlie Howard, Logicor’s Managing Director, UK, says: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Michaela and Rachel to our UK Asset Management Team. Michaela has great experience and a fabulous reputation in the delivery of industrial and logistics buildings having worked in the successful Project Management team at Savills for many years. She joins at a very exciting time at Logicor as we continue to grow our development activities in the UK. “Rachel has benefitted from experience in both the Valuation and Industrial and Logistics teams at CBRE and is another brilliant addition to the UK team. I am thrilled to welcome both to the Logicor UK team.” Simon Collett, Executive Director and Head of Professional Services at Savills, comments: “Michaela has been an integral member of our London development project management team and although we are sad to see her go, this move is a natural progression and we wish her every success in her new role. We very much look forward to working with her closely in the future and extending our relationship with Logicor, who remain one of the divisions key clients.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Russ Beresford joins leading retirement BTR operator to help drive aggressive expansion Birchgrove, the UK’s leading provider of rented retirement homes, has appointed a new Development Director to help fuel the company’s growth as it gears up to meet the anticipated surge in demand for rental homes suitable for older people over the next 10 years. Russ Beresford comes to the firm with more than 20 years of experience in the property development industry. Prior to joining Birchgrove, he was Head of Development at co-living provider The Collective and has also held roles at Landsec, Blackstone Property Management, Hammerson and Lend Lease. In addition to co-living, his previous roles span a number of other sub-sectors of the property world, including Central London office development, out-of-town retail and city centre mixed use developments. The appointment of Beresford follows two other appointments from outside the later living sector late last year, with Marcus Hodges joining as Chief Operating Officer and Raphaël Koifman taking up the post of Chief Financial Officer. According to Birchgrove’s CEO, Honor Barratt, all three appointments were strategic moves to bring fresh thinking into the business. “At Birchgrove we’ve always been experts on senior living. However, we recognised that there was a wealth of knowledge we could bring in from outside our particular area that could help us grow the business at the scale needed to meet the huge demographic shifts taking place in our society. “According to CBRE research, the UK already has a 614,000 shortfall in senior living units and that number is only going to get larger if estimates on the number of people renting in retirement are to be believed – a Pensions Policy Institute report published last year predicted that by 2041, 17% of pensioners will be renting privately. “We’re delighted to have secured someone with Russ’s background, who has expertise in many areas that I don’t. We believe he can help us expand at scale, as well as making sure we’re planning our developments so we’re running buildings efficiently for the long term, maximising sellable area and constructing buildings with flexibility as our customers change in the future.” Russ Beresford added: “This post is a development professional’s dream – a well-backed company with huge expansion plans and an emphasis on innovation. I’m looking forward to playing a role in the company’s growth.” Founded in 2017, Birchgrove operates four retirement communities across the South-East, with two of these now at full capacity and operating waiting lists. It has a fifth development set to open before the end of this year, with four additional communities under construction. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
United Trust Bank (UTB) has appointed Ben Jenkinson as Head of Product & Strategy in its Property Development division. Ben has over 20 years’ experience in real estate finance holding senior positions across both public and private sectors and with lenders and agencies including Nationwide, RBS and Homes England. Ben’s expertise extends to product creation, origination, credit, transacting and restructuring. In his new role with UTB, Ben will be working with Head of Property Development Adam Bovingdon and Head of Originations – Property Development, Paul DeCroos. The role will see Ben supporting the Bank as it aims to maintain its strong growth by assisting even more housebuilders and developers across England & Wales in their endeavours to build the many thousands of new homes the UK needs. Continuing its investment in people, and in response to greater demand for development funding seen since the start of the year, the Bank also announced the appointment of Kayleigh Simpson as Manager – Property Development. Kayleigh has worked in real estate and commercial banking for 11 years with lenders including Cynergy Bank and RBS. In her new role she is assisting housebuilders operating across the North West of England with a range of development finance and developer exit solutions. Adam Bovingdon, Head of Property Development – United Trust Bank, commented: “With the economy continuing to improve and demand for development finance growing stronger, we’re keen to provide housebuilders and developers with the products and service they need to seize opportunities and build their businesses. “We have never been busier supporting projects in the North of England and Kayleigh will ensure we maintain our high levels of service to customers whilst continuing to build awareness of UTB amongst housebuilders operating in the North West. “Ben’s extensive experience in creating innovative finance solutions will help us to create a suite of new products as we continue to evolve our proposition and service to meet the changing needs of housebuilders. The future is looking increasingly bright and UTB aims to be at the forefront of specialist development finance lenders as we encourage our customers to look ahead with renewed confidence and ambition.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
City & Country has further strengthened its expert technical team with the appointment of Adam Towers as Technical Director. Adam joins with more than 17 years’ experience, having started as a trainee technical co-ordinator at Telford Homes, before moving to CALA Homes, based out of its Northern Homes Counties. Adam has since worked for Berkeley, working on its Clarendon Road scheme in Alexandra Palace, and Durkan as head of the Technical Department. At City & Country, Adam will be responsible for heading up the technical team within the business, working on flagship schemes, including The 1840 St Georges Gardens in London. He will ensure its new development schemes are viable and technically possible, including delivery of planning permissions and development programme, and managing any obstacles along the way. His role also includes support for adjacent departments, including Land and Design, enabling them to operate smoothly and efficiently. Adam Towers, Technical Director at City & Country, comments: “It’s a great time to join the business, with several new schemes and an ambitious five-year growth plan, it feels like the perfect time to work with a highly motivated team. Not only this, but the product they build is superior quality. The level of detail and design that goes into each development is beyond anything I have seen before, and it excites me how passionate City & Country are about their product.” Wayne Douglas, Managing Director at City & Country, added: “Adam’s appointment is a further investment into our plans to deliver more high-quality homes. Adam brings a wealth of technical experience to the business, as our project pipeline continues to expand across the UK.” City & Country specialises in the restoration and conversion of historic and listed buildings as well as new build, with sites across Essex, West Sussex, Wiltshire, London, Edinburgh, Bristol, and Dorset. The company is on track to deliver its five-year plan doubling turnover to £200m and tripling the number of properties complete each year. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
LOVELL Partnerships has announced the appointment of a new refurbishment partnerships director, helping to progress social housing and retrofit projects across the West Midlands. With more than 20 years of experience in the housing and construction industry, Matt Hickman has worked in a number of senior management roles and brings a wealth of knowledge to Lovell. Committed to boosting social value in communities, Matt is keen to not only help provide safe, warm and energy-efficienct homes, but to also offer training, development and job opportunities for young people or those in long-term unemployment. Matt said: “Joining Lovell is a very exciting career move for me, and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into building relationships with key housing providers and delivering retrofit projects at scale, as well as helping to raise the profile of the fantastic refurbishment side of the business. With more funding coming through from the government this is an opportune time to deliver social housing decarbonisation fund (SHDF) projects throughout the region. “The company culture at Lovell is strong and is something that stood out to me. Inclusion, respect and treating people well are just as important as doing a good job, and providing a positive environment for the team to work in is essential. If our people feel supported then they will deliver the very best for our partners and clients, and that is something Lovell does very well so it’s a pleasure to be part of the team.” Carl Yale, regional refurbishment director at Lovell, said: “Matt is a fantastic addition to our team and has a thorough understanding of and excellent experience in the industry. “Continuing to push forward with our refurbishment and retrofit goals in order to meet the government’s net zero target is extremely important, and we know Matt’s expertise will be invaluable in helping us do this.” Matt’s appointment comes at an exciting time for the team, as Lovell continues to invest in local communities. Working in partnership with Citizen Housing, Coventry College and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Lovell recently delivered the first Multi-Skills Bootcamp, designed to educate adult learners in the Coventry area on a range of employable construction disciplines. The scheme supports the housebuilder’s aim to refurbish over 10,000 homes over a 10-year period, having recently secured a large contract with Citizen Housing to deliver replacement kitchens and bathrooms across Coventry and the wider Midlands. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
UAP Limited, a leading British door hardware supplier, has made two key management appointments to its growing team. Martin Cope joins as National Account Manager, and Adam Dixon as Senior Technical Manager. Martin Cope has vast experience in sales management across 45 years and will be contributing to UAP’s continued development by establishing relationships with builders’ merchants and helping the business forge established routes into the industry. Dixon brings a decade of experience in the fire safety industry, with expertise in compliance and product development. His work has taken him across the country – servicing iconic landmarks including the Elizabeth Tower clock face as well as major projects including Transport for London’s Elizabeth line. On his new role, Martin Cope, National Account Manager at UAP said: “UAP is a fantastic business: from the warehouse to the head office, the people are the best at what they do. Innovation has always been my passion, and UAP are at the bleeding edge of hardware security. Its products, especially the Armasmart range, has incredible potential for the future, and it’s exciting to be a part of a business that has such vast impact.” Adam Dixon, Senior Technical Manager at UAP said: “The fire industry is always developing, and UAP’s pace and energy is one of the driving forces behind this. This move is a new chapter in my career, and I’m looking forward to pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve, working with a talented team, and continuing to innovate and evolve in an industry that never stands still.” David Jennings, Chief Executive Officer at UAP said: “Martin and Adam are joining us at a particularly dynamic time for UAP. Their extensive experience and expertise align perfectly with our commitment to quality, durability, and continuous innovation, and we are eager to continue driving progress, through enhanced product offerings and innovation. With Martin and Adam’s extensive knowledge of their fields, we’ll be even better equipped to carry on this mission.” Established in 1996, UAP Limited has become a leading UK door hardware supplier with products ranging from fire-rated hardware to locking systems and door and window security. The business designs door hardware solutions around customer needs, equipping them to navigate the ever-changing fire and security landscape. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Geberit, a leading manufacturer of sanitary products and piping systems, has appointed Danielle Lillis as its new Product and Marketing Director for the UK. Lillis brings over 20 years of industry experience to the role, having previously held senior positions at major bathroom distributors and manufacturers. Most recently, she served as Sales and Commercial Director at Ideal Bathrooms, where she was responsible for its extensive supplier portfolio, and both the sales and marketing teams. In her new position, Lillis will lead Geberit’s product management and marketing departments, focusing on driving growth in key segments like wall-hung sanitaryware and shower toilets. She aims to leverage Geberit’s reputation for innovation and quality to further strengthen its market position. “I’ve always admired Geberit as a best-in-class manufacturer,” said Lillis. “I’m excited to join such an innovative company and look forward to enhancing our product offerings and marketing strategies to deliver even more value to our customers.” Lillis’s background as both a supplier and customer in the bathroom industry gives her unique insights that will benefit Geberit’s relationships with distributors, installers, and end users. Her commercial acumen and results-driven approach align well with Geberit’s focus on growth and market leadership. “We’re thrilled to welcome Danielle to the Geberit team,” said Mark Larden, Managing Director of Geberit UK. “Her extensive experience and customer-centric perspective will be invaluable as we continue to develop premium products and services for the UK market.” Lillis took up her new role in August 2024. She will be based at Geberit’s UK headquarters in Warwick. For more information visit: www.geberit.co.uk Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
