low angle shot of futuristic glass and steel office towers in London financial district, London, Great Britain
Who We Are
Our economic consultants have a vast array of experience in our two core areas of work. Get to know us!

the Volterra team

Our economic consultants apply cutting edge economic, behavioural and scientific analysis to forge a new perspective on business and public issues. Our experts have a vast array of combined experience and areas of expertise.

Our PARTNERS AND associates

Ellie Evans

Senior Partner

Ellie is the Senior Partner at Volterra, specialising in the economic impact of development proposals, and manages many of the company’s projects on economic impact, regeneration, transport and development. She delivers high quality projects to clients across the public and private sector.

With nearly twenty years experience at Volterra delivering high quality projects to clients across the public and private sector, Ellie has expertise in developing methods of estimating economic impact where complex issues exist with regards to deadweight, displacement and additionality. 

Ellie has significant experience in estimating the economic impact across all types of property development including residential, leisure, office and mixed use schemes. 

Project management of recent high profile schemes include the luxury hotel London Peninsula, Battersea Power Station and the Nova scheme at London Victoria. Ellie has also led studies across the country estimating the economic and regeneration impact of proposed transport investments, including studies on HS2 and Crossrail. 

Paul Ormerod

Partner

Paul is a founding partner of Volterra and has many years of experience in business consultancy. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the computer science department at University College London.

He was a founder of the Henley Centre for Forecasting which was sold by the management to WPP Group plc in the 1990s.  

Since 2020, Paul has been non-executive chair of the Rochdale Development Agency and in 2022 was appointed by Andy Burnham as non-exec chair of Atom Valley Greater Manchester Mayoral Development Zone, a major development in the poorer northern and eastern boroughs of the city region.

Paul is a best-selling and award winning author. He has authored four books, published in many languages.

Paul originally read Economics at Cambridge University, then took the MPhil in economics and econometrics at Oxford University. In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences.

Alex O'Byrne

Partner

Alex O’Byrne, Partner at Volterra, is an experienced economic consultant specialising in economic, health and social impact, economic strategy, project appraisal and socio-economic planning matters.

Alex leads Volterra’s work in the property development sector. He specialises in assessing economic and health impact and developing social value strategies for a wide range of property developments. He has specific expertise in responding to policies on affordable workspace and employment and skills. Alex has worked on some of the most high profile developments in the UK, including Battersea Power Station, Olympia London, Royal Street, MSG Sphere and Westfield. 

Alex is also experienced at socio-economic and health assessments of major infrastructure. He has led economic appraisal of major transport schemes and a range of Development Consent Order (DCOs) for renewable energy.

Alex specialises in working with project teams to ensure developments respond to local need and maximise community benefit.

Luke Thurley

ASSOCIATE

Luke, Associate at Volterra, is experienced in economic impact modelling, economic strategies and economic forecasting. He is well versed in understanding the links between policy interventions and the economic environment, with specific skills in econometric modelling, socio-economic assessments and economic masterplanning.

Luke’s work focuses primarily on supporting public sector clients to produce business cases and economic strategies, as well as providing socio-economic analysis on proposed nationally significant infrastructure project. His recent projects include leading on developing an Economic Strategy and Skills & Employment Strategy for the city of Peterborough. He has also recently worked on Development Consent Order (DCO) projects related to freight and renewable energy.

Luke has led several high profile business cases. He recently authored the strategic and economic case for investment in Oxford’s West End. He also led most of Volterra’s contributions to our successful LUF round 2 bids.

Luke developed the methodologies behind many of Volterra’s most recent innovations in transport economics, including for monetising the economic impacts of shared e-scooters and increased rail freight through the Channel Tunnel. In his other work, Luke has recently given evidence at public inquiry in support of proposed housing development.

Elizabeth Bamford

Associate

Elizabeth is interested in social impact with a particular focus on employment and skills.

She has authored multiple social value statements for clients which focus on qualitative as well as quantitative measures of social impact. She is currently completing her Level 1 Associate social impact qualification.

Elizabeth recently set up the social value strategy at Volterra and manages the employment and skills element of Volterra’s internal social value programme.

Engagement is a key part of much of Elizabeth’s work. She has experience leading programmes of stakeholder engagement for complex employment and skills strategies and has experience in primary research with service users to identify social and equality impacts of programmes and proposed projects.

Outside social impact, Elizabeth has extensive experience on retail and leisure schemes, authoring multiple leisure impact assessments and economic impact assessments for visitor economy clients.

Andy McNaught

ASSOCIATE

Andy has a range of experience in transport economics, business case development, and socio-economic assessment. He takes particular interest in projects where transport and development meet, leading Volterra’s recent work on the socio-economic and health appraisal of the proposed over-station development, and station improvements, to Liverpool Street Station.

He has been heavily involved in many of Volterra’s recent innovations in transport economics, developing bespoke methodologies for the economic appraisal of shared e-scooters and rail freight, and is currently leading Volterra’s work on the proposed West London Orbital service. He presented at the 2022 Transport Practitioners’ Meeting on “Valuing Travel Time Savings in the Context of Achieving Net Zero”.

Andy has also led the socio-economic assessment of multiple major development projects such as Euston Tower, Royal Street, 1 Victoria Street, and 980 Great West Road.

expert advisor

Bridget Rosewell

Bridget is one of the founders of  Volterra. She is a Commissioner for the National Infrastructure Commission, appointed at its inception in October 2015. As one of the UK’s most influential economists, she has an extensive track record in advising public and private sector clients on key strategic issues.

Paul Buchanan

Paul is a transport economist with some 30 years experience in the planning, economic and financial appraisal of a wide range of public and private sector transport investments.

Paul has specific expertise in the development of the economic case for public transport projects and is an expert on road pricing. 

THE TEAM

Peter Reddy

senior consultant

Peter is an economist with experience working across the private and public sectors. He has supported a number of government departments and public bodies to develop economic strategy, and works frequently with private organisations to make the case for development and infrastructure.

Peter provided the economic case to secure approximately £80 million of investment in town centres through both the Future High Streets Fund and Levelling Up Fund, and has experience applying guidance to develop appraisal for regeneration, development and transport projects.

He has led assessment of socio-economic and health impact of a range of different interventions, including the economic impacts of public realm interventions for Healthy Streets projects in London, the health impact of cumulative construction work in Tower Hamlets, and the case for the HS2 Eastern Leg.

Peter is a member of the Royal Economic Society with interests in welfare analysis and programme evaluation.

ADAM SANDS

senior consultant

Adam is a senior consultant at Volterra, and has a keen interest in making the socio-economic case for culture and leisure development.

Adam has provided socioeconomic support and analysis for several complex schemes, often incorporating formal value for money analysis and the consideration for wider impacts relevant to local context. In the culture and leisure space this has included Leadenhall Market and 85 Gracechurch Street, Marlow Film Studios, ExCeL London and other major arenas capable of attracting millions of visitors each year.

Adam is experienced in socio-economic evaluation, assessing the impact of interventions after a period of operation. To date, Adam has led Volterra’s work on evaluating the socio-economic impact of projects funded by the European Regional Development Fund. This includes the University of Bath’s CAMERA Innovation Programme that provided small businesses and start-ups in the creative and health sectors with access to motion capture technology to help drive innovation.

Sofia Kaur

Senior consultant

Sofia is a senior consultant at Volterra and has a range of experience evaluating the socio-economic impacts across a range  development and regeneration projects.

Sofia has worked on a range of large-scale residential schemes, often providing support throughout the masterplanning process to help clients understand the type of provision of residential and non-residential uses in response to local need. This includes population modelling to understand the timing and phasing of such delivery to best support the local community.

Sofia has recently led Volterra’s work on a number of PBSA schemes across London given the growing demand for such forms of accommodation and it’s increasing presence in policy.

Sofia is currently working on one of Volterra’s DCO projects within renewable energy – assessing the socio-economic and health impacts of the NSIP.

marie Williams

senior social impact consultant

Marie is a Level 1 Social Value Associate Practitioner, with a background in research and engagement. After obtaining an MSc in Anthropology and Development Studies at LSE, she worked for a mixture of research and consulting firms, before coming to Volterra.

Marie’s career so far has required her to apply her anthropological expertise to engage with harder-to-reach groups for private, public and third sector clients. She has been instrumental in developing engagement toolkits, which have been used for a wide range of audiences and purposes.

Marie has a keen interest in using research-led stakeholder and community engagement as a tool to better understand social complexities and to unearth innovative stakeholder-led solutions to address a variety of societal needs. 

Notable engagement projects include identifying and exploring Transport Related Social Exclusion (TRSE) for Transport for the North, developing an Inclusive Service Plan to expand North Yorkshire County Council’s accessible vehicle provision, and engaging with schools and residents to assess and justify the expansion of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)’s School Streets programme.

JOE HARMAN

consultant

Joe is a consultant at Volterra and has experience working closely with both public and private sector clients. Recently Joe has been heavily involved in Volterra’s transport and NSIP work. He has undertaken analysis and drafted written submissions to aid the Planning Inspectorate with a particular emphasis on road, rail and shipping freight. As part of this Joe has experience in producing Green Book compliant Value for Money assessments.

Currently, Joe is developing a bespoke model as part of research into how increased social housing delivery may be achieved.

Beyond this he has produced a range of deliverables including affordable workspace strategies, economic and regeneration statements, employment and skills strategies, equalities statements and socio-economic chapters.

Joe has worked on a variety of developments across the UK including co-living, hotel, large office, life science, logistics and PBSA schemes.

Miraj Mistry

consultant

Miraj has been a consultant at Volterra for over two years. He has experience providing economic support for a wide variety of developments across the country, some examples include lab and office developments, housing, hotels, shopping centres, residential developments, and data centres. Miraj has shown particular interest in developing strategies that aim to overcome identified local employment and skills issues.

Miraj has also gained experience in evaluating the economic impacts of major schemes. The first of these being the socio-economic impact assessment on e-scooter trials in UK cities. He is currently working on the national evaluation of free bike schemes across Birmingham, areas of Essex and Southall. Within these Miraj has applied Green Book guidance to assess the viability of the schemes in terms of Value for Money.

Outside of work Miraj’s economics interest lie with the London Doughnut Economics Coalition, a group whose aim is to inspire change makers in London to adopt a better, fairer and regenerative approach to the economy.

charlie crosbie

consultant

Charlie is a consultant at Volterra and has experience across a wide range of deliverables including economic and regeneration statements, employment and skills strategies, socio-economic chapters.

Recently, Charlie has been heavily involved in public sector work and is assisting in developing an economic strategy for Peterborough City Council. This work has involved identifying specific economic interventions that are feasible and will contribute to the city’s economic aspirations.

Charlie has also worked on major developments within London, such as helping develop the socio-economic case for the proposed Liverpool Street Station. This was a comprehensive piece of work which covered the socio-economic impacts of commercial space, hotel provision, and operational improvements to the station.

Charlie has also assisted in producing the economic impacts of a major events space. This work included estimating visitor numbers and their expenditure and employment generation.   

Beyond this, Charlie has worked on a range of life sciences developments across the Golden Triangle.

Karishma panchani

consultant

Karishma has extensive experience in undertaking socio-economic analyses. Specifically, she has produced socio-economic chapters, economic impact assessments and community needs assessments across various developments.

She has been a part of several projects which have a social cause. On our ongoing project providing a National Evaluation of Free Bikes Schemes, she handled and analysed extensive data to understand scheme treatment areas. Further, she has been engaging with scheme participants to gather vital information that will feed into the evaluation.  On a separate project, she is lending support to develop a financial model for housing delivery aimed at alleviating the housing crisis in the UK. This required her to review literature on housing and estimate crucial variables in the model. 

Karishma has also applied her expertise to residential developments both in and outside of London. In the past, she assessed social infrastructure provision in the villages of West Oxfordshire. For this, she analysed housing, health provision, education and community infrastructure. Following this, she made tailored recommendations, with the view of helping each village thrive in a sustainable and prosperous network.

In addition to these, she has produced economic analyses on life sciences developments across all three key locations in the Golden Triangle. She takes a keen interest in economic topics such as poverty and regional inequalities, and enjoys working with data. She is currently working towards helping Volterra manage its environmental impact.

nicholas hutchinson

consultant

Nick brings a wealth of experience   in diverse projects, specialising in delivering  economic statements, health impact assessments (HIA), equality impact assessments (EqIA), and needs assessments. He provides significant contributions to various development projects across the UK, where he has played a pivotal role in conducting comprehensive analyses for redevelopment initiatives. These assessments are essential for determining and evaluating their potential impact on surrounding communities, aiding decision-makers in the planning process.

With a keen interest in renewable energy projects, Nick is actively involved in the Development Consent Order (DCO) application process for a solar farm project  . He is also shaping the project’s employment and skills strategy with the goal of establishing a lasting legacy in the area. This ensures that the project not only promotes sustainable energy solutions but also fosters economic growth and community development.

In addition to his work in renewable energy, Nick possesses experience in conducting complex evaluations and crafting business cases across various sectors. Currently, he is collaborating with Active Luton   to assess the impact of their wide range of sports facilities, utilising his analytical skills to highlight the socio-economic benefits of the organization. 

Furthermore, Nick is actively involved in advocating for inclusive design practices by developers, championing the need for buildings that consider the diverse needs of all individuals and contribute positively to the built environment.

 

andrew cuttle

consultant

Andrew is a consultant at Volterra with a background in transport appraisal, business case development and rail regulation.

During his time at Volterra, he has gained experience across a range of different deliverables including economic and regeneration statements, social value statements, and needs cases.

He recently supported on the regeneration statement for the Kingsway Exchange, a network of wartime-era tunnels beneath central London that has the potential to be turned into a major new tourist attraction in the capital.

Andrew is currently working with the Department for Transport to develop new evaluation guidance for schemes developed within the DfT’s Local Authority Major Scheme Programme.

roberto vedova

consultant

Roberto is a consultant at Volterra, with a background in Finance and Economic Development. He has prior experience in financial analysis in the private sector and has also worked as an economic consultant for public sector clients in England and Wales. Roberto is particularly interested transport, urban infrastructure, and how public and private investment can maximise community benefits.

Roberto has experience in supporting the business case for public investment proposals following HM Treasury official guidance. He has developed the economic case and cost-benefit analysis for local authority investment funds including debt, equity and grant financing for businesses productivity and energy efficiency schemes. He has also undertaken quantitative and qualitative analysis to support research on a range of themes including local employment and skills, green jobs, and EDI.

Since joining Volterra, Roberto has worked on a variety of projects across the UK, including a major office redevelopment, co-living and student accommodation schemes, and supporting the economic case for public investment in rail and electric vehicle manufacturing.

thomas ure

graduate consultant

Tom is a graduate consultant at Volterra. Since joining, he has worked on a wide range of projects evaluating the economic and social impact of major developments.

In one such project, he analysed the socio-economic impact of a large property portfolio, developing bespoke methodologies to analyse the accessibility and affordability of properties.

More generally, he has worked on the economic and health impacts of major office developments, analysing the headline economic impacts as well as the ways in which the development fits in with its local community.

Nicola Pallai

office manager

Nikki is the Office Manager at Volterra. She has over 25 years of professional experience in managing administrative and operational positions for various organisations. Nikki’s strong organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to multitask have been instrumental in ensuring the smooth running of the office operations.

Aside from ensuring that everything runs smoothly in the office which she undertakes whilst supporting the rest of the team. Her ability to work collaboratively with team members has also helped to foster positive working relationships within the workplace.

Taking pride in maintaining a clean, safe, and professional working environment, Nikki is always looking for ways to improve office processes and procedures.

Nicola Pallai

Office manager

Nikki is the Office Manager at Volterra. She has over 25 years of professional experience in managing administrative and operational positions for various organisations. Nikki’s strong organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to multitask have been instrumental in ensuring the smooth running of the office operations.

Aside from ensuring that everything runs smoothly in the office which she undertakes whilst supporting the rest of the team. Her ability to work collaboratively with team members has also helped to foster positive working relationships within the workplace.

Taking pride in maintaining a clean, safe, and professional working environment, Nikki is always looking for ways to improve office processes and procedures.

Bridget Rosewell

Founder

e: eevans@volterra.co.uk
t: +44 020 8878 6333

Bridget is one of the founders of  Volterra. She is a Commissioner for the National Infrastructure Commission, appointed at its inception in October 2015. As one of the UK’s most influential economists, she has an extensive track record in advising public and private sector clients on key strategic issues.

Bridget has direct experience of corporate decision making as well as advisory and modelling projects.

She is currently a non-executive director at Network Rail, where she chairs the Audit and Risk Committee, and Atom Bank, where she chairs the Audit Committee. She has previously sat on the Boards of Ulster Bank, where she chaired the Risk Committee, the Britannia Building Society and the Department of Work and Pensions, chairing the Audit Committee in both cases. These roles have given her insight into how decisions are made in practice and the kind of modelling which will support decision making effectively across a range of industries. Her advisory work has involved working at board level on a range of issues, from the introduction of Emissions Trading to major investment appraisal of new plans, to regulatory issues

Bridget works with Indepen in translating insights into corporate and regulatory behaviour into effective change, as well as developing modelling strategies which support this understanding of how real decisions are made.

Other specialist expertise includes economic development, transport and agglomeration economics, development evaluation, infrastructure, forecasting, industry dynamics and competition as well as policy analysis related to these areas.

Bridget was the Chief Economist and Chief Economic Adviser to the Greater London Authority between 2002 and 12. She has previously founded and developed three successful consultancies. She has also given evidence as an expert witness in a number of major competition cases as well as at several planning Inquiries.

Bridget’s first degree was taken in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1974, followed by the MPhil in Economics in 1976, both at the University of Oxford.

Bridget was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours list for services to the economy.

Bridget’s latest book ‘Reinventing London’ is available from the London Publishing Partnership Bridget asks how London’s economy might be developed after the financial crisis, and explores how future success will depend on several factors working together and include a substantial investment in infrastructure. Read more about the book and here.

Paul Buchanan

Partner

Paul Buchanan, is a transport economist with some 30 years experience in the planning, economic and financial appraisal of a wide range of public and private sector transport investments.

Paul has specific expertise in the development of the economic case for public transport projects; he has developed the approach to valuing Wider Economic Benefits (WEBs) for Crossrail (2001-2004), subsequently incorporated into UK appraisal guidance.

With extensive Australian experience having worked on HSR, Melbourne Metro, Adelaide LRT, Adelaide development forecasting and Cross River Rail in Brisbane, and most recently with TfNSW on Parramatta LRT and Burwood LRT.

Paul sits on the High Speed 2 Economic Advisory Panel (since 2012) and the Crossrail 2 Expert Panel (since 2014).

Paul has a broad background in transport policy advice and the application of pricing and legislative tools to achieve particular financial and policy objectives; he has solid understanding of the information requirements of investors and financial institutions with respect to investments in transport projects.

Economic appraisals of many important transport projects have been led by Paul, including: Crossrail and the Jubilee Line Extension in London, metros in Melbourne, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Bogota and Shanghai and light rail schemes in London, Adelaide, Edinburgh, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Budapest. Paul also has extensive highways experience from Penang Second Crossing to the Queen Elizabeth Bridge.

A review of Transport for London’s Business Case Development Manual in 2014 was also led by Paul. He has experience both of applying appraisal guidance across a wide ranges of countries and of developing and changing existing guidance – the two most notable instances being the development of WEBs and the valuation of public realm investments.

Paul is a well-respected lecturer to students and fellow professionals, and holds a First Class Degree with Honors in Economics from University of Exeter.