Estate Agencies

Blue Book Agency, the specialist historic home estate agency set up by former Savills stalwart Lindsay Cuthill, has added another heavyweight prime resi name to its teamsheet. Theo James-Wright joins as a Director to handle country houses sales across the southern Home Counties. James-Wright spent the last two years as a Partner with Knight Frank’s buying agency, The Buying Solution, having previously been an Associate Director at Savills.Read here.

Hamptons has brought in Kourosh Tamjidi to lead its sales operation in Kensington, London. He was previously as Director at Sotheby’s. Read here.

Daniel Daggers’ luxury property firm DDRE Global has revealed another batch of high-profile new recruits. Simon Barnes has been operating across the capital’s top postcodes for the last 35 years, having previously founded his own independent firm H. Barnes & Co. DDRE has also signed William Dear, formerly of Druce, and Katie Neale, who has spent the last decade as a buying agent. Read here.

HNW property consultancy INHOUS has installed a new Head of London Sales & Searches: Hamish Bruce takes on the position having joined as Director of Private Clients in 2023 (moving from Black Brick). Read here.

James Bearryman has stepped up to lead CBRE’s New Homes department, having been with the consultancy for the last 11 years. Read here.

RBKC estate agency Russell Simpson has opened a third office, providing lettings and sales services in Mayfair and Marylebone. Hermione Russell and Ed Woolgar are in charge, both established names at the firm. Read here.

Russell Simpson has also recruited Bethany Brown to its lettings team in Chelsea. Brown previously worked as a Senior Lettings agent with Savills in Mayfair, and before that with Mountgrange Heritage in Notting Hill. Read here.

Savills has boosted its Private Office line-up with a sports, media & entertainment specialist. Hugh Maconochie, who has been at Savills for nearly 14 years, will continue in his existing role in the firm’s Country House department. Read here.

Savills has also strengthened its resi sales and lettings teams in Cheshire with two senior appointments. Tom Burke has stepped up as head of residential sales in Knutsford, and Cameron Luckas is the new head of Cheshire lettings. Read here.

Winkworth franchisee Russell White has opened a second office in Putney, located on Lower Richmond Road. White also runs the Winkworth Southfields operation. Read here.

Home Counties lettings agency APW Property (which is part of John D Wood & Co.’s “brand family”) has installed Alexandra Crocker as Area Manager in Cobham and Weybridge. Crocker has been with the wider JDW business for the last seven years, most recently as Senior Head of Lettings in Cobham and Wimbledon. Read here.

TPFG-owned estate agency brand Fine & Country has launched a new operation in Cambridge, run by husband-and-wife team Lee and Jane Taylor. Read here.

Strutt & Parker has hired Harry Kennedy from Savills, as an Associate Director in its national Estates & Farm Agency Department, which specialises in the sale and purchase of high-value farms and estates. Kennedy is based out of the Chelsea office. Read here.

Strutt & Parker has also ramped up its specialist offering for its wealthiest clients. A “refreshed” Private Client Department promises “a level of support unmatched by competitors, all through one point of contact”. Keir Waddell is leading the operation, based out of the firm’s Sloane Street office. Read here.

Freelance property business Moveli has boosted its broker headcount to 50 after signing up more experienced agents. Oliver Goodfellow has racked up 27 years in the industry, working for London agencies including Carter Jonas, Druce, CBRE and Robert Irving Burns. Goodfellow is now covering the Lymington & New Forest patch under the Moveli banner. Read here.

Two former Mr & Mrs Clarke brokers have also made the move to rival upper-end brokerage Moveli. Kara Flynn and Edd Holt are both based in Warwickshire, and were both partners at Mr & Mrs Clarke – the “discerningly different” agency that was acquired by Belvoir Plc in 2022. Read here.

Mayfair-based property agency Park Lord has added a seasoned prime London specialist to its team. Anne Caro joins as a consultant, having previously spent 25-year at Behr & Butchoff, and over eight years at Laurence Leigh Residential, both high-end firms based in St John’s Wood. Read here.

The investment management arm of acquisitive estate agency group Lomond – which recently bought well-known London firm Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward – has hired a new Managing Director. Former JLL Director Brent Stojanovic takes the newly-created role at Lomond Investment Management, to oversee a portfolio of more than 4,000 homes across the UK. Read here.

Estate agency platform eXp UK has signed three-time Olympic medalist Victoria Pendleton brand ambassador. The cycling champion will attend eXp events and produce social media content. In addition, she has agreed to help the firm’s member agents with “mindset training to ensure they have the winning mentality required to succeed within their respective markets.” Read here.

Spain Sotheby’s International Realty has signed up one of the biggest names in European estate agency as its new Executive Chairman. Sven Odia, formerly CEO and President of Engel & Völkers, has joined the luxury-focused firm as a partner after nearly three decades in the industry. Read here.

Buying Agencies & Private Offices 

Long-standing London property agent Matt Leitch has launched a new independent buying agency. Leitch previously worked for Currell, Dexters, Savills and CBRE. His new venture, called OQO London, specialises in property searches and acquisitions. OQO will also offer investment advice and development consultancy to clients across London and the Home Counties. Read here.

Ben Sloane, a former co-founder of boutique agency House Collective, has partnered with ex-KPMG and PwC executive Richard Morris to launch a new property private office: The 38 Group. Clients are promised national and international reach, and a single point of contact to handle “all things property related for any stage or need”. Read here.

Boutique property agency OB Private has made another addition to its Mayfair sales team. Talya Reuben joins as a sales advisor, working with Head of Private Office, Harvey Cyzer. OM Private says its new recruit – who’s family background is in real estate – brings a “fresh perspective, a driven mindset, and a commitment to delivering results”. Read here.

Trade Bodies

Nick Maclean has been named Acting President of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, temporarily taking over from Justin Sullivan. Sullivan referred himself to the Standards & Regulation Board over his role as an expert witness in a high-profile court case involving a “moth-infested” mansion in Notting Hill. Maclean is a CBRE veteran and former Chair of the RICS Governing Council. Read here.

Developers, Planning & Consultancy

Property developer/investor Native Land has recruited a new Senior Acquisitions Executive, as it seeks to expand its portfolio. Alex Crampton Smith was previously Senior Investment Manager at commercial real estate firm Edge, and before that spent five years on CBRE’s Central London Investment team. Read here.

Planning and development consultancy Lichfields has announced 10 promotions, including James Cox, Emma Gomersal, Sarah Moorhouse, Melissa Wilson and Myles Wild-Smith – who have all stepped up to Director level. Read here.

National real estate consultancy Naismiths has bolstered its team in London, adding a new Senior Surveyor to its project monitoring team in the capital. Prime residential specialist Rebecca Cronk joins the firm from Egan Lucocq, where she was a quantity surveyor. She previously worked as a monitoring surveyor at Warhurst Bourne. Read here.