Black Country estate agents Paul Dubberley are investing in their brightest young talent.

The firm, which has branches in Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Great Bridge, Willenhall, Walsall and Bilston, have enrolled six of their staff, all under 25, on to a specialist estate agency training program.

The two year course in the Sale of Residential Property and Residential Property Letting & Management leads to a nationally recognised qualification and technical certificate, allowing the staff to become a member of the Association of Residential Letting Agents and/or the National Association of Estate Agents.

Lee Morton, managing partner, said: “Since our formation 21 years ago we have built an enviable reputation for providing excellent service based on our core values of integrity, honesty, professionalism and innovation.

“That reputation matters to us very much and we are determined to maintain and hopefully exceed it.

“As part of that process it is crucial that our young people are given the education, experience and knowledge they need to develop their careers. This is why we have set them this challenge.

“As a multi-discipline practice, it is essential that all of our staff have the training and skills required to be able to provide our customers with the level of service expected of an award winning agent.”

Last year saw the firm celebrate both its 20th anniversary and scoop the Best Small Midlands category in the Estate Agency of the Year Awards run by Estate Agency Events in association with The Sunday Times and The Times, and sponsored by Zoopla.

Each week last year Paul Dubberley brought an average 21 properties to market, arranged 219 viewings, took 34 offers and moved 11 people into their new homes.

West Midlands law firm FBC Manby Bowdler LLP has established a specialist Charities Team to focus the work of its specialist lawyers already advising a growing number of charities across the region.

Stuart Rea, Head of the Charities Team and Partner in FBC Manby Bowdler’s Corporate Department, says that he expects the introduction of Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) status, a new legal form for charities, to boost the firm’s workload considerably.

He says: “We have been advising charities and their trustees on all aspects of the law for many years, from charity law to property, employment and intellectual property law, but with the on-going changes to the legal framework for charities, this is really taking off.”

According to Mr Rea, the new Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) status offers additional legal protection for both charities and their trustees, cuts down on red tape and paperwork for charities, and makes it easier to recruit trustees.

Veteran surveyor David Neale is to hang up his theodolite after more than 50 years in the property business.

The commercial property management specialist has sold his company, Birmingham-based David Neale Surveyors Ltd, to colleague Neil Tunks.

It is the third time David has sold a business: his firm was acquired by Vail Williams in 2006 and he first sold to Hillier Parker (now CBRE) in 1994, when he was appointed a partner and his practice was used as a launch pad for the firm’s newly established Birmingham office.

David began his career as a trainee at Grimley & Son (now GVA) in 1960. Birmingham-born, he has worked in both his home city and in London for Cheshire Gibson and Elliot Son & Boynton, as well as Hillier Parker and Vail Williams.

The 70-year-old attempted retirement twice before, but now says he is planning to spend his dotage on the golf course and the beaches in Spain, where he has a holiday home.

He said: “I have spent more than half a century in property. In that time, I have seen massive changes to the way surveyors are trained, the introduction of a raft of legislation and the implementation of IT. I have worked through three recessions, the worst of which is undoubtedly the one we are still in now.”

David Neale Surveyors, based in George Street, was set up with a handful of clients in 2009 after David left Vail Williams.

He said: “I fully intended to retire in 2009, but was asked to manage a handful of ‘legacy’ clients. The thing snowballed and before I knew it I was back in business! In the last couple of years Neil Tunks has been my right-hand man and I was determined to give him first option of taking on the business.”

Neil joined the firm two years ago as associate director. He previously worked for DTZ and the Aviva fund.

At David Neale Surveyors he handles property portfolios for Birmingham Cathedral, Birmingham Dogs Home, Great Malvern Holdings, Jubilee Estates and the Queen Anne Trust.

The firm was recently appointed to manage Chester Cathedral’s property holdings and has recruited Sam Tarjomani, ex-Hindwoods Chartered Surveyors, to support expansion plans.

Neil Tunks said: “When David said he was planning to retire I was keen to take over the reins. It is a great opportunity to acquire an established business, which I know inside out, but with potential to grow.

“We have established a niche for clients who want the kind of personal service they can’t buy at the big corporates – the kind of service David is synonymous with and which I fully intend to be a hallmark of the business going forward.

“In addition, I have ambitious plans to add new service lines to the asset management business, including agency, rating and landlord and tenant.”

The firm will continue to operate from George Street under the name David Neale Surveyors.

Trebor Developments have kept up its strong recent run of securing new development projects with the announcement of an agreement with Father Hudson’s Society to develop a new HQ office for the charity, as part of a major redevelopment of its Coleshill site.

Working in partnership with long-standing clients Bellway Homes and McCarthy & Stone, Trebor has submitted a planning application for a new 10,000 sq ft office building, together with 74 new homes and a 39 apartment retirement scheme.

Father Hudson’sSociety will relocate its operationswithin the Coventry Road site into the new bespoke office premises that have been designed by Trebor to accommodate its 50-strong team together with space for partnerorganisations and a new chapel area.

Tim Bradford, Chief Executive of Father Hudson’s said, “We’re delighted to announce our partnership with Trebor Developments to deliver our new office project. We’ve been really impressed with their approach in understanding our requirements and designing a very attractive scheme.”

“Our Trustees and staff alike are very excited by the development and it will make a huge difference to Father Hudson’s as a charity. We want to stay at the site but the current layout of our buildings is really inefficient, the offices cost huge amounts of money to run and we have redundant buildings that cannot be brought back in to use economically.”

“From our consultations, we have a very clear view from local residents and community representatives that the old buildings should be replaced with new high quality development – something we’re now delighted to have submitted for planning approval.”

Mark Wright, Partner of Trebor Developments, said “We are well experienced in working with occupiers to understand their specific needs and to create attractive, flexible and value-for-money developments and we have established something of a specialism at working with Trusts and Charities.”

“There have been many abortive and unsuccessful attempts to bring forward a solution for Father Hudson’s over recent years but we feel that our joined-up approach between the Charity and the development team, combined with the experts we have recruited to help solve the challenges, sets this scheme apart.”

The scheme has recently been submitted for planning approval and it is anticipated that work on the office project will be underway this Autumn.

The Birmingham office of property consultancy Bruton Knowles has added to its team with the appointment of a graduate surveyor.

May Dudley joined Bruton Knowles in April as part of the firm’s professional team.

May’s new role involves supporting David Pugh, partner and head of the professional team, with valuation and rent reviews for a number of clients including LTSB and Wolverhampton City Council. She will also be taking seats in the firm’s development and rating teams later in the year.

Currently working towards achieving her APC qualification, May graduated from Birmingham City University in 2009 with a degree in BSc (Hons) Property and Construction. She also holds a Masters degree in Rural Estate and Land Management from Harper Adams University College, Newport.

Following work experience placements at firms including DTZ, Landmark and Towler Shaw Roberts, May previously worked within the Property Support Team at Punch Taverns supporting surveyors dealing with rent reviews and investment valuations on the company’s property portfolio.

May said: “I’m looking forward to putting the skills I’ve learnt through my work experience placements into practice and hope to forge a successful career at Bruton Knowles and within the region’s property market.”

Ian Pitt, head of Bruton Knowles’ Birmingham office, added: “We are happy to welcome May onboard and are confident she will become an invaluable asset to the Birmingham team.”

A property specialist at Birmingham-based CPBigwood has been promoted to partner.

Karen Combellack, a manager in the Residential Service Charge Department, steps up from associate.

The firm manages approximately 20,000 flats and apartments across the country acting for investors, resident management companies, right to manage companies and plcs as well as developers and house builders.

Ms Combellack, a mother of two who started out as a secretary, joined Curry & Partners nine years ago – the firm merged with Bigwood in 2011 – from Pennycuick Collins.

She said: “I am thrilled – it is a great honour. Residential property management is a terrific career and has given me opportunities to progress up the ladder. CPBigwood is expanding fast and I am committed to helping the firm to continue this growth.”

Ms Combellack started out as secretary to the managing director of a firm of managing agents.

She left to raise her family and returning much later she decided to retrain in property management through a distance learning course created by Asset Skills, the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM), the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

That inspired her to continue training, and it has paid off.

Her work has involved the day-to-day management of a team of senior property managers, reporting directly to her on the management of their individual property portfolios.

Colleague and partner Brett Williams said: “Karen has continued to progress in her career due to her dedication and work with clients, customers and staff alike to ensure that our department constantly strives to provide a top class service for the buildings that we manage. I congratulate her and welcome her to the partnership. She is a tremendous asset.”

Further details of planning regulations have been unveiled which aim to benefit struggling farmers by allowing easier conversion of redundant farm buildings.

The government has announced legislation will come into force on Thursday, May 30 that will allow land owners to change the use of buildings from commercial use to residential use, and from agricultural use to commercial use much more easily.

Agricultural property experts at rural planning specialists Fisher German, which has offices in Worcester and Bromsgrove believes the announcement by The Department for Communities and Local Government will provide farmers with an opportunity to make the most of their assets during a difficult period for agriculture.

The new rules will allow farmers to maximise the potential of redundant or under-used agricultural buildings between 150sqm and 500sqm by converting them for use as offices and potentially retail outlets, leisure facilities or even restaurants.

The new regulations will only cover the change in the use of buildings while any external alterations or development such as a new access from the highway will still require planning permission.

Alan Hardwick, of Fisher German, said: “Government changes coming into force on May 30 will provide significant opportunity for farmers.

“The legislation will extend permitted development rights for redundant agricultural buildings up to 500sqm to be converted to new business uses for a period of up to two years under a prior notification procedure.

“This opportunity will allow farmers and landowners to carry out diversification opportunities on unused buildings on their holdings, boosting income and supporting the rural economy.

“Further changes for business and storage uses are also identified which provide further opportunities for diversification.”

Building conversions over 500sqm will still need to be accompanied by a stringent prior-approval process. This will cover issues such as transport and highways, development in areas of flood risk, land contamination and safety hazard zones.

While the new proposals do not allow conversion from agricultural use straight to residential use, there could be scope for this by converting a building to office use, and then into residential use at a later date.

The new rights will initially be for a limited period of two years. This will be reviewed towards the end of that period and they may then be enforced indefinitely.

Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire is now part of a new network of science and technology parks being launched that will be the largest of its kind in the UK.

Stoneleigh Park is among a nationwide portfolio of six science and technology parks assembled by LaSalle Investment Management to start operating as a single entity – linked by shared specialist services and access to nationwide facilities.

The formation of BEST Network (the Business Environments for Science and Technology Network) as the largest privately-owned portfolio of science and technology parks in the UK creates cross-network clusters for the UK in some of the UK’s highest growth sectors and priorities of the Government’s industrial strategy, such as energy, IT and agri-science. Together the parks achieve a critical mass likely to be a powerful draw for international occupiers in the science and technology sectors.

Spanning the UK from Edinburgh to the South Coast, BEST Network combines well-established clusters for high tech businesses at Edinburgh Technopole, Hexagon Tower in Manchester, Kent Science Park, Langstone Technology Park in Havant and Wilton Centre in Teesside.

Stoneleigh Park is an established hub for the agricultural and equine sectors, where a ten-year, £50 million investment programme is under way to create agri-science facilities.

The site, which has approximately 965,000 sq ft of commercial space, was acquired in December 2010 and currently accommodates over 60 businesses which employ in excess of 1,100 people.

The six parks accommodate around 250 tenant companies and 7,500 employees. Major occupiers use a range of spaces from wet labs and pilot-scale manufacturing facilities to greenhouses and data centres.

BEST Network has been assembled by LaSalle as a long-term investment since the acquisition of Kent Science Park in 2002. The majority of parks originated as single-occupier facilities for companies such as ICI, IBM and Shell. The network is in growth mode, with all six parks experiencing rising employee numbers and potential for further acquisitions.

European director at LaSalle, Andrew Bull, comments, “Few businesses work well in isolation. They need support, flexibility and investment from a landlord. Inspiration is vital too and that comes from sharing ideas with other like-minded businesses. Make sure those factors are in place and we’ll be able to turn the great ideas coming out of the UK into great businesses.”

Operating as one entity offers real benefits for tenant businesses and those who wish to engage and work with them:
· Efficient specialist services and business support shared between locations.
· An excellent network of business and conference facilities for use by all tenant businesses.
· Communications networks for Government, universities and sector bodies to engage across multiple locations.
· Mechanisms for matching public funding with private investment across multiple sites.
· Achieving a critical mass for presenting the best of the UK’s specialist accommodation to a global market.

An Army charity has taken over a prominent site in West Bromwich – with the help of property agents Bond Wolfe.

Forces Support has moved into Unit 1, 34/36 Carters Green, formerly occupied by a branch of the United Carpets group.

Forces Support seeks to aid relatives of those lost in recent conflicts, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan, by helping around the home or restoring a much loved garden.

A spokesman said: “We want to thank all who have given their lives, by ensuring that their families have the practical support and assistance they need.

“We provide general maintenance – the work the lost family member would have done. Or the jobs that have built up while a family grieves. These small matters can seem insignificant but can become larger problems and a stark reminder, resulting in extra stress.”

Charity staff and volunteers carry out the work.

James Mattin, managing partner, said: “This is a wonderful cause – Forces Support are very much to be admired.

“We were very pleased to be able to help out and fix them up with this outlet. This is a quality unit with car parking – and fits with what the current market is demanding. The deal demonstrates the increase in High Street activity which is taking place.”

Forces Support have taken the 4,882 sq ft premises on a ten year lease.

Connex Education has acquired 2,600 sq ft at Topland Group’s Cobalt Square in Edgbaston.

The education sector recruiter has taken a 13th floor suite on a five-year lease at £7.50 per sq ft.

Colliers International and Savills are joint agents on the Topland scheme.

Alex Tross, associate director in the office agency team at Colliers, said: “This is the first office letting in Edgbaston in 2013. Competition to attract occupiers is keen, so Topland’s investment in a new reception and common areas will hopefully prove a draw.”

Mark Ashmore, commercial manager for Connex Education, said: “We are delighted to have found a new location for our team in Birmingham and look forward to a new era at Cobalt Square. The new office is ideally suited to our needs and to our continued growth.”

Suites from 1,500 – 4,400 sq ft are available at the scheme, which is close to Five Ways Island.