AN EXPANDING South Lakeland firm says its location played a major part in attracting three high calibre recruits to join the business.

Leading educational publisher CGP of Broughton-in-Furness has added a trio of new commissioning editors to its growing development team.

Lyn Roberts and Gillian Lindsey have joined as commissioning editors for school texts, while Pippa Mayfield has joined as a commissioning editor for English language teaching.

All three cited the firm's success and its location on the edge of the Lake District National Park as major factors in their choice of career move.

Lyn joined the company from John Wiley and Sons, where she was a commissioning editor for chemistry; Gillian came on board following an 18-month spell at academic publishing company Routledge's New York offices; and Pippa was formerly senior English language teaching editor with Oxford University Press.

CGP managing director Graham Servant welcomed the calibre of the firm's latest recruits, saying: "To be successful in publishing, you don't need to be in London. Pippa, Gillian and Lyn are three highly successful editors with established careers.

"That they ended up here is testament to the continuing success of CGP and our commitment to quality staff, who in turn can produce quality products."

Nearly one-third of the top 100 best-selling UK school books sold in 2003-04 were CGP titles, making the company a market leader in its sector.

CGP also achieved record growth in 2004 for the eighth consecutive year.

l Louise Chadwick has been appointed as a new retail market analyst to build on CGP's range profile and develop its retail brand. She will also oversee the launch of CGP's new retail titles to high street giants such as WH Smith, Waterstones and Ottakars, as well as distributors and independent bookshops. "My aim is to help every retailer to maximise the return on their educational shelf space by stocking the key CGP titles to grow their sales," she said.

Legal eagle joins firm EMPLOYMENT law specialist Gail Escolme has joined Kendal-based law firm HWK and is seeking to expand its employment department by offering new services to clients, including a free e-mail update. Gail began studying for a law degree when working as a stenographer at Preston Crown Court. She left in 1999 to join a large firm of solicitors in Preston, where she qualified and specialised in employment law. Gail, who lives with her husband and three teenage children at Warton, said she was thrilled to be joining HWK. Anyone interested in receiving the email update service should contact her at gail.escolme@hwklaw.co.uk .