Nurture Group welcome Sir Charles Bowman and Janet Copper Obe to the family

We are delighted to welcome Sir Charles Bowman and Janet Cooper OBE to the family. Sir Charles and Janet join the board of the Nurture Landscapes Group as non-executive directors, bringing with them a wealth of business experience and expertise.

Lawyer, entrepreneur and lifetime champion of equality and human rights, Janet Cooper OBE joins the board, adding her expertise in staff engagement and opportunity. Janet was awarded an OBE in 2016 for services to equality, women’s empowerment, and employee share ownership. 

Deputy Chair and Trustee of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Vice Chair of the University of Roehampton Janet practiced law at the highest level for 20 years, having been partner and global practice head at international law firm Linklaters, before co-founding a multi award-winning law firm, Tapestry in 2011.

Janet has been on the board of UN Women in the UK and Gender Action for Peace and Security. She is a Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Governance Institute, formerly ICSA, and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Speaking of her new role, Janet said: “I am really looking forward to adding my experience to an already very high calibre leadership team. Nurture’s rapid expansion over 14 years is a testament to teamwork, bringing as it has the enthusiasm and shared ambitions of its original and acquired businesses into a common vision. It’s a showcase business that I’m proud to be a part of.”

Sir Charles Bowman also joins the board having been senior partner of PwC, the world’s second-largest professional services network. He also served as the 690^th Lord Mayor of the City of London, during which his mayoral theme was to promote the ‘business of trust’, with its focus on helping to create a sustainable legacy of better business trusted by society.

In a career spanning 38 years, Sir Charles has also, amongst others, taken up various governance roles at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, served as a member of the government’s Board of Trade, in addition to roles an ambassador for the Samaritans and as a governor of a primary school in Hackney. He was knighted in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to trust in business, international trade and the City of London.

“The Nurture Landscapes Group story of rapid growth into a £100+ million UK-wide green services business is enviable. The business is a role model, combining strong commercial strategy, good leadership and investment in clients and people,” said Sir Charles of his recent appointment.

“Its model of providing a single source of high-quality service for clients – the majority of which is delivered directly – across a range of integrated green and landscaping services is an exemplar. I am proud to be able to play a part in helping the founders further their vision.”

The two new appointments along with that of new CEO, Gareth Kirkwood OBE, former British Airways director of operations and latterly, AA managing director, will help the team strategise and focus on business growth, operations and development to take the Group, now consisting of three leading brands, Nurture Landscapes, Gavin Jones and Rokill, to the next level. 

Starting out purely as a horticultural and landscape maintenance buisness, Peter Fane, Founder and Executive Chairman, came to realise that client’s business needs had evolved over time and that many clients now required additional complementary services, such as winter gritting and pest control. With this is mind, through both strategic acquisition and organic growth, the Group can now successfully provide clients with a quality ‘one stop’ comprehensive service partner. 

Peter remains an integral part of the day to day business as Executive Chairman, focusing his time on acquisition.

Peter commented: “I’m honoured to have Janet and Sir Charles join the board at Nurture Landscapes Group. Both are hugely successful and their enthusiasm for what we are looking to achieve and the expertise they will bring to the organisation will be invaluable in enabling us to reach our collaborative goal to become the UK’s leading integrated green services partner of choice for clients however big or small.”