Berwin Leighton Paisner has continued the rebuilding of its finance department following a number of high-profile exits with the appointment of two new group heads.

Naveen Vijh has been named as the firm's new real estate finance (REF) chief after his predecessor Laurence Rogers led a three-partner move to DLA Piper last month. Mark Richards, meanwhile, will take charge of the projects and infrastructure group after previous head Adam Dann was appointed as the finance team's new managing partner.

Rogers had also been in contention for the head of finance role, with his move understood to be prompted by him missing out on the job.

The finance team at BLP has been hit by a string of departures in the last year, not least that of former departmental chief Matthew Kellett, who shocked the practice by announcing his resignation last October.

Kellett's exit led to a recently completed review of the practice, led by former Clifford Chance managing partner Tony Williams, now at consultancy firm Jomati. Williams made a number of recommendations for the practice to BLP's senior management team, with the firm insisting that it is working through their implementation.

Besides Kellett, other significant departures from the finance team since last summer include Ben Larkin and Michael Weir who have both joined Jones Day, and Richard Todd and Trevor Wood, who defected to Mayer Brown last October.

The new appointments are the first made by Dann since he took over the finance head brief. He commented: "Each of BLP's REF and projects teams are renowned for being among the best in their class in the UK. We are lucky to carry this reputation of excellence internationally too."

Speaking of the new appointees, Dann added: "Naveen brings not only his comprehensive experience and technical expertise but a real understanding of the market and the changing needs of clients in a rapidly evolving business environment."

"Mark has worked across a number of industry finance-led initiatives and brings to the post a wealth of expertise which the entire Finance team will benefit from."