CHAMBERLINK
LICHFIELD & TAMWORTH CHAMBER PATRON
IN BRIEF
A Staffordshire venue for conferences, meetings and exhibitions has undergone a £50,000 refurbishment. Hawkesyard Estate, which includes
Hawkesyard Hall on the Armitage Park Estate in Lichfield, has reopened after being closed for four weeks. The refurbishment includes the addition of an Orangery and the installation of a reclaimed bar. Meeting rooms for business use are fitted with audio visual facilities, wireless broadband and air conditioning. The Hawkesyard estate ground includes an 18-hole championship golf course. Winter wedding packages are available from
January, February and March 2012/13. Included in next year’s package is the option of reindeers and sleigh to transport guests to the Great Hall after the wedding ceremony.
A Lichfield based research and training company is set to expand after winning a host of new contracts. The company is Mind the Gap, of Little
Barrow Walk, Lichfield, and among its contract wins is various training courses for the European Central Bank, including ‘effective approaches to managing conflict’. Several international clients have hired the
company to provide stress management related courses, which includes ‘safe, accessible and highly practical yoga based work on breathing, as well as tools and techniques in support of long term sickness issues and safe return to work.’ The company has also carried out a nine
week voluntary work project in India, and is hoping that this will lead to a scheme where women from that country and also Africa would meet and share expertise and skills. Mind the Gap director Scott Jones said
having had such success, he was now aiming to grow the business.
Tamworth-based law firm Pickerings has won a top award from the Law Society, the body which represents solicitors in England and Wales. The award is made to to solicitor firms that meet the highest management and customer care standards. Simon King, Pickerings chief executive, said:
“I am very proud of the team, who have worked extremely hard to achieve this award. “We see this as an important step in
guaranteeing the quality of the work that we undertake and we hope that it will give clients every confidence that their legal work is being expertly carried out.”
24 CHAMBERLINK NOVEMBER 2011
Shopping for business (left to right): Paul Roberts, David Williams, Jill Briggs and Paul Harris
Retail team ready to help L
ichfield law firm Keelys has launched a specialist legal service to Midlands’ retailers. The service is aimed at helping those buying and selling retail premises, and matters such as insolvency and restructuring. The Keelys team is being led by Paul Harris, the firm’s newly appointed head of insolvency and
four of the UK's top 74 largest cities and towns were able to stem the tide of high street stores closing. The Midlands and the North have been hit hard and are experiencing some of the highest vacancy rates across the UK. “Against this backdrop there has never been a better time to launch a service to retailers who can receive expert help and advice to help them survive in this harsh climate.”
Phil to be a driving force at LMI
A leadership management provider based in Sutton Coldfield has appointed a new associate director. Phil Fellows has joined LMI-UK as part of the
company’s continuing expansion in the region. As part of the global LMI organisation which was established in 1966, the company delivers training and development programmes for directors, managers and individuals. Phil, who previously held senior leadership positions in the leisure industry, said he hoped to use his experience to help clients improve business performance. Regional director Mark Tonks said the
company was looking to expand in the Black Country and Staffordshire. He said: “Despite the economic situation, we
‘There has never been a better time to launch a service to retailers who can receive expert help and advice’
restructuring. Other members of the team include corporate head David Williams, employment expert, Paul Roberts and commercial property associate Jill Briggs. The retail team has already landed a client with 156 retail outlets across the UK and is looking to
acquire more. Keelys is advising the company on acquiring business and stock from the administrators of insolvent businesses, in addition to undertaking the legal work in purchasing new outlets. Paul Harris said: “This is a particularly difficult time for retailers with a recent survey showing that only
New appointment: Phil Fellows
have grown the team in the Midlands from just myself in 2009, to a team of six located across the region. I am hopeful that this will increase to a team of 10 by spring 2012.”
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