Jill Anderson leads Whitbread’s expansion across the north of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Since joining in 2022, she has delivered new Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn locations in Edinburgh, strengthened Whitbread’s footprint in Manchester and Belfast, and continues to manage a pipeline of town and city centre developments across the three nations. Beyond her work in property, Jill is an avid traveller and scuba diver, often exploring remote destinations to pursue her passion for nature and adventure.

Cllr Dimitri Batrouni is the Leader of Newport Council, having taken on the role in May 2024. He has served as a Councillor in Newport since May 2022 and has extensive experience in local government, including as opposition Leader at a previous council and as Cabinet Member for Organisational Transformation. As the Welsh Local Government Association’s lead spokesperson for Digital Leadership, Dimitri advocates for innovative solutions in local governance. With a background in IT, he has worked at both the UK and Welsh Parliaments in senior researcher roles and has lectured in politics at the University of Bristol. Dimitri also served as Senior Analyst for the Independent Monitoring Authority at the Ministry of Justice, overseeing Brexit and citizens’ rights. He is an active member of the Cardiff Capital Region Committee, where he leads the Portfolio for Building Capability – Data and Skills, focusing on regional development and digital transformation.

Kelly Boorman is our Head of Construction and responsible for driving the firm’s industry strategy, having worked in the construction industry for 28 years advising large privately owned, private equity-backed and large corporates.

Kelly’s career started in audit, where she quickly progressed to audit manager. She then took on secondments in corporate finance, restructuring, and tax, gaining expertise in advising businesses and stakeholders across all aspects of their business growth and supporting them through challenging times. Having transferred back into audit in her late 20’s, she became an Audit Partner in 2007, looking after large construction clients and has recently joined our consulting team to continue to drive growth in our industry consulting offering.

Kelly also works with our US team and was in the cohort for our Industry Eminence Programme in the US, collaborating on our industry approach, gaining knowledge as a data analyst and obtaining a qualification from MIT in Strategy and Innovation.

"I love that every day is different and that I get to support my clients in so many aspects of their business and personal aspirations."

In 2025, Kelly’s second and youngest child, Callum, left home. Her daughter Chloe became a mother in 2023 to Kelly’s granddaughter, Ada, and she thinks there might even be more grandchildren to follow. Although Kelly enjoys quieter weeks now that her children have moved out, she is rediscovering how to manage life with a toddler on weekends. Kelly also has two dogs, Ruby and Paddy, who keep her active. She enjoys going to the gym and is always up for an adrenaline challenge!

Mike leads the delivery of the growth agenda for CCR, delivering on CCR’s objectives to be Stronger, Fairer and Greener. Prior to this role, Mike led the transition of CCR from a single programme to the South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee with all the requirements to operate as a formally constituted corporate body. Mike’s career has focussed on delivering major infrastructure projects, spending a number of years working in the Houses of Parliament, delivering major interventions to ensure the House of Commons and House of Lords could continue to operate safely and securely. This culminated in his role within the Restoration & Renewal Sponsor Body as the Director for Programme and Assurance. Before his work in Parliament, Mike had a varied career delivering major projects and programmes in Local Government, the Civil Service and the aviation sector. Mike has always endeavoured to work to support underrepresented groups and to champion the work of others in this area. 

Gemma Clissett is Partnerships Director for Lovell in South Wales and West.

Gemma is responsible for driving growth and new business across the region and leads the land and partnerships team to identify and secure new opportunities to facilitate delivery of the region's growth plans.

She is a specialist in establishing and developing relationships with local authorities and housing providers to advance scheme progress and deliver an optimum housing solution. Working for the business for over 15 years Gemma has developed an excellent network of contacts across the region and has been involved in securing large scale and multi phased, partnership schemes.

Steve is the CEO and founder of Kitt – London’s largest provider of managed offices.

With a career forged in the high-stakes worlds of investment banking and strategy consulting, Steve brings a uniquely disciplined approach to the commercial real estate sector. Before founding Kitt, Steve served as both CFO and COO at JustPark, where he led the company’s growth into a leading B2B and B2C car parking platform alongside Kitt co-founder Lucy Minton.

It was during this period of rapid scaling at JustPark that Steve encountered a recurring hurdle: finding office space that actually worked for a growing brand. In 2019, he and Lucy set out to build the solution – a way to create custom, managed spaces in any building. Today, Steve oversees Kitt's 60-person team and 100-building portfolio – partnering with asset owners like Amazon Property, Berkeley Estate Asset Management, and Blue Coast Capital, and designing and operating vibrant, tailored workspaces for ambitious brands like Oatly, Flo and Spendesk.

Bev became Leader of Manchester City Council on 1st December 2021. First elected in 2011 as a Burnage Councillor, she held a range of responsibilities on Manchester City Council including as Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health and Deputy Leader.

Since becoming Leader, she has overseen Manchester’s ambitious plans to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy, increasing investment into neighbourhoods across the city, better outcomes for children and young people, tackling inequalities, building more housing and working to meet Manchester’s net zero ambitions.

Bev is a Vice-Chair of the Local Government Association and Leader of the association’s Labour Group, which represents and supports Labour Groups in England and Wales and the Labour councillors within them. In Greater Manchester she holds a range of responsibilities on behalf of the city as a Vice Chair, including leading on the Economy, Business and Inclusive Growth Portfolio for the Combined Authority. She was formerly Chair of Core Cities UK, the network representing the UK’s largest cities outside London.

Originally from Belfast, she moved to Manchester in 2003 for university. After graduating from the University of Manchester she began her career in Local Government, before working in higher education and then a national trade union leading on social care. She holds postgraduate degrees from Warwick Business School and the University of Manchester. Outside of politics she enjoys sports and being outdoors, music, culture and enjoying all that Manchester has to offer.

In December 2025, Bev was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by King Charles III in the New Year Honours list 2026 for service to local government.

Stacy Eden is our Head of Real Estate and an experienced Audit Partner, providing expert advice to a wide range of clients across both commercial and residential real estate. With significant experience working with real estate companies and partnerships managing assets up to £2bn, Stacy offers specialised guidance in the commercial, transactions and taxation aspects of real estate.

Stacy speaks at a variety of real estate seminars and conferences and writes regularly in the press. He also attends a number of key real estate events, including MIPIM and the UKREiiF. An ICAEW fellow (FCA), Stacy serves on several prominent committees, including the Variety PROPS lunch committee, the British Property Federation’s Technical Accounting committee and the ICAEW’s real estate and construction advisory group.

In addition to his professional achievements, Stacy has served as a Founder and Governor of a free school and supported charities focused on helping vulnerable children.

Stephen is the founding partner of Cavendish Advisors. With over 20 years of experience in the commercial investment market, he has held a variety of advisory roles across all sectors of the property world, both in London and the wider UK submarkets. Originally focused on opportunistic acquisitions and strategic disposals, his role has evolved into a unique, value-driven advisory position. This is centred on maximising client investment performance by utilising his extensive network of expert contacts across every facet of the market.

Jonathan Langdon oversees Whitbread’s acquisition strategy in Central London, one of the company’s most important growth markets. Over his 15 years in the role, he has sourced sites, negotiated major deals and secured planning consent for some of Whitbread’s most significant hotel projects — including the flagship 693 bedroom hub by Premier Inn at 5 Strand. Outside Whitbread, Jonathan is a Liveryman of the Haberdashers’ Company and serves on its Property Committee, contributing to the stewardship of one of the City of London’s historic institutions

Nick advises in relation to all aspects of real estate work, with a particular expertise in operational real estate and complex development projects. He has vast experience in real estate finance and corporate real estate transactions, advising on loan and security structures, joint ventures and share acquisitions. Nick's experience of acting for both developers and lenders has given him a deep insight into the differing requirements of the various parties and allows him to anticipate the issues which may arise.

His broad client base means that he has acted on major city-office developments, sub-urban housing and regeneration projects, data-centres, self-storage facilities and hotels (including advising on hotel management agreements). He also acts on major residential development projects (BTR and PBSA). Nick is skilled at resolving complex title issues (such as rights of light, restrictive covenants and easements) and advising on developments in locations near to transport infrastructure.

Nick leads the firm's BTR sector team. He is recognised as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500 and is ranked in Chambers and Partners (Real Estate: £150 million and above).

Chris Pilgrim is an Equity Principal at global real estate advisor, Avison Young. He holds a senior leadership position across the global capital markets platform and has deep experience in cross-border capital.

Chris has c. 20-years experience specialising in the deployment of capital into major real estate markets and asset classes across the capital stack. He has spent the majority of his career in London and across APAC including a year in Kuala Lumpur & 8 years in Singapore.

Chris is a strategic leader and has focused driving real estate investment banking practices across his teams. Prior to joining Avison Young, Chris was Managing Director for Global Capital Markets at Colliers both in London and Asia Pacific. He was also Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Capital Markets across the region for Colliers.

At Colliers, Chris also sat on the APAC Executive Committee. Additionally, he has a decade of experience at CBRE both in London and International Capital Markets teams and latterly as an Executive Director in Global Capital Markets based in Singapore.

He has strong client and capital relationships with Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada and Middle East based real estate investors. His client base spans sovereign wealth funds, pensions funds, institutions, private equity, developers and private family offices.

Chris has deep experience advising, structuring and transacting across the risk return spectrum. He has a strong track record in marketing £1b+ single asset trades as well as structuring & marketing corporate merger & acquisition activity. He is a leader in deal origination and deal distribution whilst a specialist in client relationship management ensuring he remains at the forefront of new and first-time capital into major markets. Chris has a depth of knowledge within the sphere of equity raising and equity placement.

Chris is focused on connecting global capital with opportunities across regions and asset classes, in major cities, working collaboratively with teams across the world. He has a unique breadth of global experience and has advised on inter-regional real estate investment on both a direct & indirect basis. He is an expert in large scale real estate investments in EMEA & APAC totalling in excess of $10 billion.

Joanne Roney CBE is the Managing Director at Birmingham City Council, leading the UK’s largest local authority, with a population of 1.2 million, through a period of significant transformation and renewed investment ambition. Before her move to Birmingham, Joanne was the first female Chief Executive of Manchester City Council between April 2017 and August 2024.

Joanne drives the Council’s corporate and regeneration agenda, shaping programmes that influence Birmingham’s economic growth, long term financial sustainability, and delivery of major strategic priorities. Her leadership spans multi year budgeting, citywide transformation initiatives, and regional collaboration on skills, employment, environment, and infrastructure.

At MIPIM, Joanne represents a city committed to unlocking inclusive and sustainable growth. Joanne works closely with investors, developers, public sector partners, and national stakeholders to champion Birmingham’s regeneration pipeline and strengthen confidence in the city’s future. Her focus is on partnership driven delivery, ensuring Birmingham remains a leading destination for investment, innovation, and long term prosperity.

Raised in Kirkby in a family of eight children, Steve left school at 16 to pursue a career as a bricklayer, starting out as an apprentice. In later years he went on to work for the Learning and Skills Council. Steve began his political career when he was elected to serve as a councillor in 2002, representing Fazakerley ward on Liverpool City Council and held the ceremonial title of Lord Mayor of Liverpool through the city’s European Capital of Culture year in 2008.

In 2010, Steve was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Liverpool Walton constituency. While in Westminster, he led campaigns for justice for the Hillsborough families; in support of blacklisted workers; for compensation for those suffering from mesothelioma and asbestosis; and to change the law on the use of old tyres on buses and coaches. In 2017, Steve was elected as the first ever Liverpool City Region Mayor, representing 1.6m people across the boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and the Wirral and was subsequently re-elected in 2021.

Since taking office, Steve has created 60,000 jobs, 30,000 apprenticeships and 30,000 homes. He has taken the historic decision to take back control of the region’s buses, launched a new £500m fleet of publicly owned fleet of trains, and led the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic with a £150m COVID Recovery Fund.

In 2024, Steve was elected for a third term as Mayor with 68% of the vote, his highest personal mandate and more than any other elected Mayor in the country. During his third term, Steve has pledged to return to council housebuilding at scale, to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) into the region, to build three new train stations, launch a free pilot of artificial intelligence (AI) in local schools, and has appointed the UK’s first regional Chief AI Officer. He has also revised the region’s net zero target to 2035 – the most ambitious target for a city region in the country.

As CEO of Global Guardians, I’m driven by a simple but powerful belief: everyone deserves a place to thrive. We exist to fuel communities and liberate the people within them. Through our innovative, tech-enabled yet deeply human approach, we secure and optimise vacant properties transforming empty buildings into vibrant, lived-in spaces that serve both people and communities. Our vision is bold: A world where no building is left unloved, no person is without a place to grow, and no community is diminished by empty space. We're not just protecting properties; we're unlocking their potential, giving them new purpose and people new opportunities.