People: Gerald Eve; Avison Young; Always Engineering

Gerald Eve has announced the appointment of Hayley Miles as Development Partner in the Planning and Development team based in the Birmingham office.

With over 22 years’ experience in the real estate industry, including roles at AspinallVerdi and JLL, Miles brings a wealth of experience to her new position.

She has worked on many major projects which include the Birmingham Leveling Up Zones, the redevelopment of High Street Digbeth and masterplans for towns such as Chelmsley Wood and Wednesbury.

During his 12 years in the public sector, Miles played a role in initiatives such as the One Public Estate program and worked with clients such as HSBC, Galliers Homes and IM Properties.

Julia Chowings, partner at Gerald Eve and head of the Birmingham office, said: “The addition of Hayley to our business, shortly after the appointment of Charles Spicer as national head of industry and logistics, demonstrates our commitment to attracting the best talent and strengthening the national planning and development team. Her extensive experience and proven track record in both the public and private sectors will further enhance our capabilities and strengthen our commitment to delivering innovative solutions for our clients in the Midlands.”

Hayley Miles, partner at Gerald Eve, said:“I have been delighted to see the growth of Gerald Eve since the firm joined Newmark. I am now excited to join the business and contribute to its continued success. The Midlands presents exciting growth opportunities and I look forward to leveraging my experience to drive impactful initiatives that meet the evolving needs of our customers and communities.”

Real estate firm Avison Young has announced the promotion of Joe Williams to the position of director in its Birmingham office.

His promotion comes two years after joining the company.

With over a decade of experience in the Midlands market, specializing in land and development agency, consultancy and valuation work, Williams is part of the local transaction team, providing a market leading service to public and private sector clients in the residential sector.

Joe Williams

In his new role as director, he will support Avison Young’s Birmingham office to continue to deliver first-class client service, while growing the team and working closely with colleagues to drive the achievement of the firm’s strategic objectives.

David Martin, Regional Managing Director for Birmingham at Avison Young UK, said: “Joe’s promotion to Director is a clear testament to his hard work. His years of field and development experience have made him an asset to the team and he has been instrumental in delivering great results for our clients. I look forward to working closely with Joe in his new role – and bringing new talent to the team to enable the continued growth of the business.”

Williams said: “I’ve had a fantastic few years with Avison Young in Birmingham and I’m really excited to step into this new role and continue our great work. There is a lot of optimism in the Midlands market at the moment and, in partnership with my colleagues, I will focus on delivering an unrivaled service for our customers as we move into the second half of the year.”

Dean Falconer has joined Birmingham-based Alwayse Engineering as the company’s new head of global partnerships.

Having started his career as an apprentice at Rolls-Royce before qualifying as a mechanical engineer, Falconer also brings with him 17 years of sales experience at companies such as Gould Alloys (part of the AMA Metals Group), Trelleborg Sealing Solutions and Integrated Polymer Solutions.

Dean Falconer

He joins the company in a series of senior hires that includes Claire Umney as managing director and James Turner as head of UK and Ireland sales, following Lifco AB’s acquisition of the Birmingham-based engineering company in 2023.

Falconer said: “After my first week at Alwayse, I can already see so much potential. We have fantastic products, a growth mindset and a great team culture. Everyone is pulling in the same direction to achieve a common goal. For me, the mission is to grow sales with our global partners by finding new applications and revenue streams to explore, as well as increasing market share in existing markets.”

Claire Umney, managing director of Alwayse Engineering, said: “Dean has the ideal combination of first-hand engineering combined with technical sales experience which enables him to understand the challenges many of our potential customers face. We have very ambitious plans to grow our international customer base and Dean’s appointment is a key component of our business development strategy.”

Click here to sign up to receive our latest South West business news…