Land, consent management and stakeholder engagement practice Ardent has appointed Helen Boyle as head of strategic growth for utilities after securing instructions with National Gas, National Grid and Thames Water

The firm, which has offices in both the UK and Ireland, said it had made the appointment to expand its work in the utilities sector after a strong period of growth.

Boyle has worked in utilities for more than a decade, holding roles with Cadent, Electricity North West and SSE Energy Solutions.

Her role will be identifying opportunities to grow in the 'movement' of electricity, gas, water, carbon and hydrogen.

“The company is already making great strides in this area and has landed significant instructions on major projects. My role is to build on what is already here and take it to a new level," said Boyle.

“I will bring a strategic approach to how we grow this area of the business at a point where there is more money than ever going into infrastructure. Ardent and our teams can have a big part to play in that.

“We need more wires; we need more pipes in the ground. It goes beyond water and electricity, there are hydrogen projects and carbon capture that need this level of infrastructure investment for the UK to transition to net zero, and that requires the services of Ardent.

“I’ve built up several years of experience within the utilities sector and I am now looking forward to using that knowledge on the agency-side with Ardent, at what is such an exciting time.”

Arden now has more than 200 staff and expects its headcount to grow to 250 in the near future.

Jon Stott, group managing director of Ardent, said: “We can see so much potential for growth across the business, but we can only achieve that if we work as hard as we possibly can to keep and hire the best people to help us realise our ambitions.

“Helen has an excellent track record and breadth of knowledge that will help us to build on the already significant progress we’ve made within our utilities division.

“There is so much investment being earmarked for infrastructure and we want to be part of that. As a business, we’re proud to play an important role in such key projects for the country, and Helen will help us to grow that further.”

Photo: Helen Boyle. (Pic: Supplied)