Charlotte Botham and Belinda Sinnott join the firm as part of its ongoing expansion across the Thames Valley and South East, with offices in Swindon and Oxford.

With nearly 20 years of experience each, Ms Botham and Ms Sinnott bring expertise in portfolio management and residential development respectively.

Greg Humphreys, partner and head of the real estate team at Gardner Leader, said: “The appointments of Charlotte and Belinda mark an important step in the continued growth of our real estate team.

“Both bring a depth of experience and sector knowledge that will be of real benefit to our clients.

“Their arrival also supports our continued investment in the team, where we are seeing increasing demand for specialist real estate expertise from businesses, developers and investors across the wider South East and beyond.”

Ms Botham joins from Horsey Lightly, where she was head of property.

She advises on acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant matters, secured lending, and property-related corporate transactions.

Her experience includes the £64 million sale of a public house portfolio and advising institutional investors, pension funds, and a global charitable foundation on complex property matters.

Ms Botham said: “Gardner Leader has a strong reputation for delivering high-quality, commercially focused advice.

“It’s exciting to be joining the firm as it cements its position as having one of the leading real estate teams in the south of England.

“I’m looking forward to supporting both new and existing clients and adding my expertise as we continue to strengthen our services.”

Ms Sinnott was previously a legal director at Gateley Legal.

She specialises in residential development and has advised many leading UK housebuilders.

Ms Sinnott has extensive experience with greenfield and brownfield site transactions, including conditional contracts, sub-sale, option, and promotion agreements.

She also advises on overage arrangements, affordable housing disposals, and related matters.

Ms Sinnott said: “I was drawn to Gardner Leader’s strong presence in the commercial property sector, the depth of experience within the team, and its clear commitment to supporting clients across the full lifecycle of their projects.

“The firm’s practical, commercially focused advice and long-term client relationships strongly reflects my own approach, and I’m pleased to bring my experience in residential development to further strengthen the team’s offering to housebuilders, developers and landowners across the region.”

Gardner Leader has expanded into Oxford and Swindon as part of its growth strategy, increasing headcount by more than 50 per cent in five years to over 200 staff.

The firm was recently certified as a B Corp, reflecting its emphasis on balancing commercial success with positive social and environmental impact.

Pelion has published research on international IoT connectivity trends among business users, pointing to rising cross-border device deployments and growing operational strain.

The survey, produced with ABI Research, covered 676 IoT decision-makers at major businesses worldwide, including 255 in the UK. It found that organisations expect the share of internationally connected devices in their fleets to rise from 29 per cent today to 49 per cent by 2030.

That shift marks a move away from domestic deployments in sectors including energy, logistics and manufacturing. Businesses in those industries use connected devices to track assets, monitor equipment, manage supply chains and automate processes across multiple markets.

The findings suggest that the main pressure point in IoT roll-outs has moved beyond basic network access. Companies are now grappling with the practical demands of running connected fleets across different mobile networks, jurisdictions and compliance regimes.

A shortage of skills emerged as the biggest single obstacle to successful deployments. Some 60 per cent of respondents said a lack of internal or external expertise delayed or blocked projects, ahead of budget constraints and connectivity issues.

Operational complexity also ranked above simple coverage gaps as a day-to-day problem. Nearly two-thirds, or 65 per cent, said managing deployments outside their core cellular coverage area was their biggest scaling challenge, while 41 per cent cited coverage limitations.

Security concerns

The survey also highlighted growing concern over security as connected estates become larger and more dispersed. Almost one in four organisations, or 24.6 per cent, said they had suffered an IoT-related security incident in the past year.

Among those incidents, 30 per cent resulted in losses of more than USD $100,000 and 8 per cent led to losses above USD $1 million. The figures suggest that security failures in connected operations can have material financial consequences for affected companies.

The report also tracked a shift towards newer eSIM standards for connected devices. It forecast that SGP.32-compliant profile downloads, described as the first eSIM standard designed specifically for IoT deployments, would account for 45 per cent of deployments by 2030, up from 7.6 per cent today.

That points to a market in which businesses want more flexible ways to provision and manage connectivity across borders. It also aligns with findings showing buyer interest in service models that span several networks under a single management structure.

Buying patterns

More than three-quarters, or 77 per cent, of respondents not currently using a mobile virtual network operator said they would consider one for their next deployment. They cited flexibility, simpler management and access to multiple networks.

In the UK, the findings come as the IoT sector remains closely tied to wider digital industrial policy. The digital technology workforce is estimated at 1.3 million people and generates more than £158 billion in Gross Value Added for the British economy, equivalent to about 6 per cent of current output.

Pelion, which began in Scotland as Stream Technologies in 2000, says it now serves more than 1,000 enterprise clients across a range of industries. The company focuses on IoT mobile connectivity and management services.

Chief Executive Officer Dave Weidner set out the company’s view of the market in comments released with the findings.

“Connectivity itself is no longer the difficult part of enterprise IoT. The challenge comes when enterprise customers take their fleets internationally, grow in scale, and operate across multiple networks, jurisdictions and regulatory environments. Organisations are increasingly looking for partners that can simplify that operational complexity rather than add to it,” Weidner said.

“The potential for an IoT revolution is significant, but only if we can overcome some of the critical infrastructure, security and expertise barriers holding deployment back. If we can overcome some of the short-term challenges, the future of enterprise IoT connectivity will be increasingly borderless, managed and eSIM-enabled, with buyers placing greater emphasis on security architecture, advisory services and unified management platforms when selecting connectivity providers,” he said.

An Oxfordshire Brewers Fayre and a Beefeaters have been put up for sale after Whitbread announced it was going to cut 3,800 jobs at the restaurant chains, amid a restructure in the company.

The proposed redundancies will come as the owner of Premier Inn shuts the two brands, although a spokesperson added that it would try to retain as many staff as possible.

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Included in its strategy Whitbread said it will sell and lease back many of its freehold properties and this week the Brewers Fayre in Oxford Road, Bicester has been listed for £950,000.

Nor is it the only property in the chain to have been put up for sale with others in Bishop Auckland and in Portsmouth listed.

The Oxfordshire eatery’s sale is subject to the transfer of all staff to the new owners on completion and includes two staff flats.

Brewers Fayre in Bicester (Image: Christie Owen & Davies Ltd)

Its listing states: “The property presents an excellent opportunity to acquire a large-format hospitality venue in one of Oxfordshire’s strongest retail and tourism locations.

“The close proximity to Bicester Village provides exposure to significant visitor numbers, while the adjacent Premier Inn delivers an additional source of customer demand throughout the week.”

In addition The Applecart Beefeater at the Oxford South Milton Interchange has been listed for a £600,000 sale this week.

This is also subject to a transfer of employment agreement and includes a flat and bedsit accommodation.

Interior of Bicester Brewers Fayre (Image: Christie Owen & Davies Ltd)

Its listing states: “The Applecart presents an excellent opportunity to acquire a substantial hospitality venue in one of Oxfordshire’s most strategically located commercial positions.

“The combination of strong roadside prominence, excellent transport links, extensive parking and direct access to both business and residential catchments provides multiple income opportunities for an incoming operator.”

Across the country, some Beefeater and Brewers Fayre eateries have already been switched over to Whitbread’s own in-house Thyme brand.

Interior of The Applecart Beefeater at the Oxford South Milton Interchange (Image: Christie Owen & Davies Ltd)

Others are being sold and closed with the cuts set to impact about 12 per cent of Whitbread’s 30,000-strong workforce in the UK and Ireland working in its Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants

A statement was issued on the restructuring earlier this year in which it was announced a number of the restaurants would be converted into additional Premier Inn rooms.

A spokesperson said: “We recognise the impact of this proposal on colleagues who work at the affected sites.

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“As a business which recruits around 15,000 people every year, we expect to be able to retain a significant proportion of those affected and will be looking to redeploy as many of our impacted colleagues as possible.

“However, we do anticipate that the proposed changes, which are subject to consultation, would result in a reduction of around 3,800 roles of a total UK and Ireland workforce of around 30,000.

“We will do all we can to support those colleagues affected.”