Hirst and Puttnam Join Forces Once Again at Maple Grove Developments

Maple Grove, the development arm of Eric Wright Group, has announced the appointment of Nik Puttnam as Senior Development Manager and Richard Willacy as Development Project Manager, in a strategic move to support the division’s ongoing growth under the helm of new managing director, Karen Hirst.

Nik joins the company from Liverpool City Council where he was Divisional Manager for Development & Housing for three and a half years working with the private sector on the City Region’s major schemes. Prior to that, Nik worked alongside Karen at Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company and then at Salford City Council before Karen moved to Maple Grove Developments in 2016.

Richard joins the company from Naismiths and was previously of Booths Supermarkets where he was their Estate Surveyor.  Richard brings 30 years’ experience in the construction industry.

Maple Grove Developments is heavily involved with a number of sites and developments across the country in a variety of sectors from; industrial, mixed use, retail and student accommodation.  A number of these are with partnerships with Local Authorities and other private sector developers.

Speaking about the decision to recruit Nik, Karen commented: “Bringing Nik on board is a significant coup for the company.  Having worked together for eight years, his experience in seeing developments through from inception to delivery is unrivalled.  Working with Andrew Dewhurst, Allan Gundry, Richard Willacy and the wider team, Nik’s remit will be to develop existing partnerships, forge new ones, and bring forward new stand-alone development opportunities.”

Nik continued: “The opportunity to work with Karen at one of the North’s most respected and reliable development companies was one I simply couldn’t turn down. Maple Grove has developed long-term relationships with both the public and private sector and I look forward to working with the team to further grow this arm of the business.”