People: Wright Hassall; Lord Combustion Services; My WorkWear

A Midlands law firm has strengthened its farming and rural credentials with the appointment of a specialist agricultural property partner.

Neal Patterson has joined Leamington Spa-based Wright Hassall from Knights, bringing with him more than 15 years of experience in rural property.

He specialises in non-contentious property matters for agricultural clients, dealing in the acquisition and disposal of farms, bare land, and estates.

Patterson joins a team of four in the Farms and Rural Estates team at Wright Hassall, which has an agricultural heritage spanning 177 years.

He said: “Wright Hassall is such a well-recognised firm and the agricultural team is very well respected in the sector for its knowledge, experience and quality of service.

“I’m really looking forward to building on that and helping farmers and landowners grow their businesses and enable rural communities to thrive. As someone who has grown up in a farming environment, it’s a real passion of mine”.

Alex Robinson, head of agriculture said: “Neal brings a breadth of knowledge and interest in the agricultural, farming and rural business sector and will be a tremendous asset to our team and our clients.

“One of the most important attributes which Neal brings is his passion for getting out there onto the farms to talk to the clients to help deliver the best advice and service, and that really fits into our ethos here at Wright Hassall.”

Matthew Smith

Commercial heating and ventilation specialist Lord Combustion Services has appointed a new contracts manager.

Matthew Smith has been promoted from contracts engineer to the new role for the Oldbury-based firm, which has served customers across the West Midlands since 1982.

In his new role, Smith will be responsible for building repeat business from clients, working on new projects and tenders and supporting staff on site.

From its base in Dudley Road East, Oldbury, the Lord team of nearly 50 staff serves more than 1000 customers across the West Midlands including NHS sites, schools and Edgbaston cricket ground.

Smith originally joined Lord on an apprenticeship, as part of which he completed an NVQ & HND in building services engineering. He was promoted to contracts engineer in 2021 and is currently studying for a master’s degree in building services engineering.

Director Emma Tibbetts said: “Matthew has made a positive impact throughout his time with the company so we are delighted to promote him to his new role to build on his progress to date.

“As a company we are always keen to promote colleagues from within, where possible so it is pleasing for everyone who has worked with Matthew to see him step up to the next level.”

Julie Sale, Tara Payne-Mcloughlin and Becky Homersley

Supplier of embroidered and printed clothing MyWorkwear, has welcomed three senior hires to its team.

The firm welcomed Julie Sale as business development manager, Becky Homersley as marketing manager and Tara Payne-Mcloughlin as account manager to continue its growth.

Sale joined the team with more than 20 years of sales experience in the entertainment and learning and development industries. In her role as BDM, she will be meeting with potential customers across the country to discuss their workwear needs and help to bring them on board.

Homersley heads up the marketing team with more than a decade of experience in marketing and PR across the telecoms and IT industries. Her role will further improve the reach of the brand through online and offline marketing activities to influence both new and existing customers.

Payne-Mcloughlin will be working with existing customers to offer them a personalised service and ensure ordering their workwear is as simple as possible. She joins the team after 20 years in the cosmetics industry in a range of roles from account management to sales.

Co-managing director of MyWorkwear, James Worthington said: “We’re thrilled to have Julie, Becky and Tara join the MyWorkwear team. Their wealth of experience and enthusiasm will take our sales and marketing efforts to new heights enabling us to help even more businesses with their workwear needs.”

The new appointments follow two exciting internal promotions as Gayle Parker embarks on a new Senior Leadership Team role as Commercial Director and Lauren Chandler takes on the role of Sales Office Manager.