April 2019 Movers and Shakers with PrimeResi

29 April 2019

Welcome to PrimeResi's monthly round-up of recruitment moves shaking up the residential sector for April 2019. Links to the full story can be found at the end of each section.

Estate Agents

Beauchamp Estates

Beauchamp Estates has appointed well-known industry player Jeremy Gee as its new Managing Director, with a remit to “lead and manage the group’s London business and future expansion plans.” The firm’s founder Gary Hersham will “continue in his preferred role of selling the most expensive houses and flats in Prime Central London and abroad.” Gee started out at Benham & Reeves, becoming a partner by the age of 25, before moving on to join Trevor Abrahmsohn’s Glentree in prime North London for 18 years. He left in 2017 to become a Board Director of volume house builder Fairview New Homes.

Dexters

Dexters has acquired the London and Surrey arm of long-standing estate agency Jackson-Stops, adding 11 locations to Jeff Doble’s firm. Jackson-Stops offices in Pimlico, Mayfair and Wimbledon are all being taken over as part of the deal, but will continue to trade in their current guise; branches outside of the South East have not been included.

Jackson-Stops

In the wake of the takeover, Jackson-Stops has decided to expand its wholly-owned regional presence with a new base in mid-Sussex. The former director of the agency’s Chelsea branch, Toby Whittome, along with former PCL sales and acquisitions manager, Guy Kelsey, have left the capital to launch the new office, which is based in the village of Lindfield. Areas covered by the team will include Haywards Heath, Newick and Barcombe.

Strutt & Parker and Harry Wigram Property

Well-known PCL agent Harry Wigram has set up his own property advisory, after 20 years in the business. The former Strutt & Parker partner has left the corporate world behind to launch Harry Wigram Property, offering sales, rental and acquisition services across the prime postcodes.

Keller Williams

The UK arm of franchise giant Keller Williams has made two senior appointments. Nicky Stevenson, former MD of training and events operator the Property Academy, has been brought on as team director for the flagship London hub in Mayfair. Pritesh Shah has been signed up as the agency’s new Chief Digital Officer.

Harding Green

Harding Green has bolstered its band of brokers with two more signings from top PCL agencies. The “innovative” Kensington-based venture has recruited Hamptons International’s Adrian Bedloe and John D Wood’s Jack Thomas, taking the team headcount up to nine.

Knight Frank

Knight Frank has hired JLL’s Stuart Osborn to lead its new European residential investment team. The dedicated division will be advising on the disposal, acquisition, development and funding of student and resi assets across Europe, as well as placing JV partnerships.

Savills

Savills has launched a new lettings service in Edinburgh; it’s the global property giant’s first resi rentals division in a Scottish city. Edinburgh-born Charles McCosh has been appointed as head of the new team (joining from Rettie), which handles letting and management of flats, townhouses and family homes.

Grantley

Home Counties estate agency Grantley has acquired lettings and management firm Property Services Haslemere Ltd (PSHL). Grantley, which is helmed by directors Stephen Frost and former Jackson-Stops chief David Williams, will run both sales and lettings operations from PHSL’s Haslemere office, as well as from its own Guildford HQ. PSHL’s Managing Director Denise Gardiner is retiring after 25 years with the company.

Read in full - Estate Agent stories

Interiors & Design

N & B Design

Former Savills designer Nadine Barkho and former buying agent Bella Tiarks have launched a new interiors studio, N + B Design, based in South Kensington. Tiarks and Barkho met while working at Savills Interior Services nearly a decade ago. Tiarks has since done a spell as a buying agent with Homes One, but returned to the design world a couple of years ago.

MoreySmith

Design firm MoreySmith has a new director of architecture. Mike Sirivianos has stepped up after joining the firm as an associate director from Farrells in 2016, and will be working alongside existing director Andrew McCann and the company’s founder Linda Morey-Burrows on some “key new projects” in the year ahead.

XBD Collective

Top-end Dubai design and architecture firm XBD Collective has expanded into the UK, setting up a new base on Kensington High Street and securing a raft of high-profile projects. XBD was founded 15 years ago by Norwegian designer Ellen Søhoel and RIBA chartered architect Lee Nellis.

Building Better, Building Beautiful

Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has sacked the Chair of the Government’s Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, Sir Roger Scruton, following some controversial comments made in an interview with New Statesman magazine. A new chair for the Commission will be appointed “in due course”.

Read in full - Interiors & Design stories

Developers, Landowners & Construction

SIZEBREED

Barry Breed is leaving luxury construction firm Sizebreed at the end of June, to work as independent private client consultant. Breed founded the super-prime building specialist with Darren Size ten years ago. He is moving on “to pursue a new career, representing private clients with their construction and property needs.”

The Crown Estate

The Crown Estate has named Lendlease’s Dan Labbad as its new chief exec. The Australian industry veteran, who joined Lendlease back in 1997 and has been in charge of its European operations since 2009, will succeed Dame Alison Nimmo at the end of the year.

Crest Nicholson

Galliford Try boss Peter Truscott is taking over as Chief Executive of housebuilder Crest Nicholson. Outgoing CEO Peter Bergin agreed to step down with immediate at the firm’s AGM at the end of March, after 13 years with the firm. CN’s Head of Major Projects Chris Tinker has stepped in to helm the company until Truscott starts in September.

McLaren

Construction firm McLaren has hired Bouygues’ Darren Gill to run its London division. Gill has spent the last 22 years with Bouygues, holding operational, regional leadership and managing director roles, but will now be heading things up for McLaren as managing director of the London business, with a focus on “establishing new customer relationships and delivering new opportunities”.

This Land

Challenger developer This Land has continued its rapid expansion, bringing on four high-profile non-exec directors. Mishcon de Reya’s Susan Freeman has joined the board along with David Meek (formerly of JP Morgan and Citi), Jeremy Miller (Countryside Properties and Centerview Partners) and Gleeds man Richard Steer.

Read in full - Developers, Landowners & Construction stories

Planning, Legal & Tech

Rural Solutions

Yorkshire-based planning and development firm Rural Solutions has made a significant addition to the team, recruiting Deloitte alumnus Sally Ormiston as its new Head of Advisory. Her new role will see her leading the national RS consultancy team, which is “focussed on enabling rural communities to meet their potential through diversification and the optimisation of rural assets”, from the Skipton HQ. Rural Solutions’s team of eight consultants operates from Yorkshire and a southern office in Oxfordshire.

Bishop & Sewell

Law firm Bishop & Sewell has hired a new partner to handle prime resi matters. Paul Barnes has racked up over 20 years in residential and commercial property law, with a particular specialism in the Prime Central London market, handling cases including leasehold enfranchisement and financing/restructuring. He started his career at Charles Russell LLP in 1998, before joining Ashfords, where he was made partner in 2014. He joined Wilsons in 2016 as a partner in the residential property team, and has now moved on to Bishop & Sewell.

Gradfeed

A new employment platform has launched with ambitions to “make the property industry more accessible, more diverse and to simplify the graduate recruitment process for both students and employers.” Gradfeed has been created by Gerard McVeigh (formerly of Deverell Smith and Surge Recruitment) and Robert Hall (who did a brief stint at Foxtons before moving into recruitment with Surge).

Read in full - Planning, Legal & Tech stories

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