Property Movers & Shakers June 2024

10 July 2024

 

Estate Agencies and Resources

United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty, which was acquired by George Azar last year, has recruited branded residences specialist Hamish Batchen as a director. Batchen previously worked with the London residential development sales team at Savills, handling super-prime branded resi projects Twenty Grosvenor Square (Four Seasons) and The Whiteley (Six Senses). His 15-year career has also included a period overseeing property management at a UHNW private family office in London. Read here.

UK SIR has also hired a well-known Florida agent to tap into the “wealth corridor” between the UK and US. Now based in Holland Park, Liza Lamar is MD of the EMEA region for Florida-based One Sotheby’s, and as a Business Development Consultant for United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty. Read here.

Following the sale of its Networks division (Fine & Country and The Guild of Property Property Professionals) to The Property Franchise Group, nurtur.group’s finance chief, Clive Beattie, is leaving the business. Beattie joined Nurtur in January 2023, having previously been CFO then interim CEO of property portal OnTheMarket. Read here.

Hamptons has set up a new division to meet demand from overseas tenants seeking rental properties in the UK. Jack Lau is in charge of the seven-strong International Lettings team, having joined Hamptons from LiFE Residential in May. Read here.

Hamptons has also created a new position on its Residential Lettings board, appointing Karen Standing as Head of BTR and Corporate PRS. The agency says the move “signals significant growth and investment” in its Build-to-Rent division, “following a period of accelerated growth and extensive geographic expansion.” Read here.

Industry veteran John Ennis has joined the board of property data platform and network LonRes as a non-exec director. Ennis began his property career with a 23-year spell at Foxtons, rising to become Managing Director. He moved to Chestertons Global in 2022, taking on the CEO role, and led the successful sale of the firm in October 2023. Earlier this year, he joined major agency group Lomond as Chief Revenue Officer. Ennis is also a board member of CLEA (Central London Estate Agents). Read here.

Knight Frank has announced a significant promotion in its London resi sales division: Chelsea Whelan has stepped up to become Regional Partner for North, City & East London. She joined the agency eight years ago as a negotiator in the Mayfair office, rising to lead the Islington and King’s Cross sales team in 2022. Her most recent promotion also sees her join KF’s London Sales board. Read here.

Knight Frank has also appointed a new lettings head at its branch in Wimbledon. Olivia Firmin has taken on the position, having previously headed up the lettings division at the agency’s Fulham office. Read here.

Savills has boosted its team in Rickmansworth with a new associate director appointment. Rozanne Edwards has joined the agency from Strutt & Parker, where she operated in the St Alban’s city and Hertfordshire country markets. Read here.

Savills has also strengthened its specialist ski division in France, bringing in Lucie Allemand as an Associate in Annecy in the French Alps. Read here.

Winkworth Plc has added two new names to its Board of Non-Executive Directors: Tom Fyson (Managing Director of Blackdown Partners) and fellow M&A expert Jonathan Adams (founder of Butterwalk Advisory LLP) join as members of the Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee respectively. Winkworth has also announced that John Nicol, who has been a Non-Exec since 2014, will step down in September to pursue his charitable interests. Read here.

Also at Winkworth, Charlie Mitchell, who ran the brand’s Tooting operation for six years, has taken over the Herne Hill and Streatham office franchises from Mark Wiehe, who has retired after nearly 30 years with Winkworth. Read here.

“Off high street” estate agency house.Partnership has added a well-known agent to its top table in Elmbridge, recruiting former Knight Frank partner James Harvey as Regional Partner. Read here.

John D Wood & Co. has expanded its network into Southeast London and Kent, opening new branches in Herne Hill and Beckenham. In Herne Hill, Sarah Dirilen is Head of Sales, having joined the firm in 2021; Elizabeth Whitehead has been hired to lead the lettings team. The Beckenham outpost is led by Branch Manager Lisa Knight, Sales Manager Denise Fellows, and Lettings Manager Bradley Gilchrist. Read here.

The Group Chief Executive of Connells Group’s estate agency division, David Plumtree, has left the company after 35 years. Ian Fry has stepped up from National Managing Director (Estate Agency) to fill the vacated role, becoming Group Chief Executive (Estate Agency). Read here.

Chestertons has promoted Watson Briggs to New Homes Director, in charge of the firm’s New Homes division. He joined the agency as Director for West London Residential Developments two years ago, having previously worked at Berkeley Group’s upper-end housing brand St George. Read here.

Strutt & Parker has appointed Annabel Blackett to cover the prime and super-prime sales in Scotland and England’s northern counties. She joined S&P’s London-based National Country House Department from Knight Frank in 2022, and has now relocated to Scotland (where she grew up). Read here.

Buying Agents

Prime property agency Middleton Advisors has added an Olympic gold medallist to its line-up in the country. Great Britain sailing star Eilidh McIntyre MBE - who won Gold at the 2020 Olympics - has joined the boutique firm’s executive buying team to cover the prime markets of Hampshire and West Sussex. Read here.

Buying agency Heaton & Partners has brought in Pete Williams as Property Manager and Land Agent, as part of an ongoing expansion of the rural estates and farming-focused division. Williams was previously in the British Army for 11 years, leaving as a Major in 2018. Read here.

Boutique property buying, selling and development consultancy Hutton Bubear has hired Sophie Lewis as an advisor, focusing on the  Wiltshire and West Berkshire markets. She previously worked in Prime Central London, at firms Russell Simpson. Read here.

 

Design and Planning

Chris Williamson has been elected as the next President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He will become RIBA President-Elect from September 2024, and start his two-year term as President, succeeding Muyiwa Oki, 12 months later. Read here.

Interior design studio Angel O’Donnell has added a number of top-end specialists to its team. The latest recruits are: Tatiana Pietrangelei (Senior Interior Designer); Prima Patel (Interior Designer); Ali Hassno (Interior Designer); Niamh O’Sullivan (Stylist); Billy Casey (Operations Manager), and Urosh Teodorovich (Studio Account Director). Read here.

 

Finance and Legal

Short-term property lender Century Capital has recruited a new Head of Lending and named a new Managing Director. Kynan Benjamin has been brought in as Head of Lending, having previously worked at at Lendinvest, Glenhawk, and most recently as Director of Credit at Reim Capital. He replaces Luke Navin in the role, who has stepped up to become Century’s Managing Director after seven years with the company. Read here.

Property finance provider GB Bank is making a move on London, opening a new office on Brook Street in Mayfair as it sets out ambitions to become “a key player in the thriving London and South East property sector.” The “strategic expansion” follows an £85mn investment from new backer Hera Holdings and existing shareholder, the Teesside Pension Fund. Hera is owned by Sameer Gehlaut, who founded Indian conglomerate Indiabulls and super-prime property developer Clivedale London. Read here.

Super-prime mortgage broker Enness Global has created a new “Head of Scotland” role to cater for growing demand for high-value property finance north of the border. Edinburgh-based Tamara Crowson joins the firm, having spent 25 years in the private banking arena, with roles at Virgin Money and Clydesdale Bank. Read here.

 

Developers

Battersea Power Station Development Company has installed a new Chief Executive Officer, recruiting former Galliard Homes CEO Donagh “Don” O’Sullivan to the top job. Read here.

Luxury property developer Domvs London has strengthened its senior team as it gears up for an “ambitious” phase of growth. George Edwards has joined as Head of Project Management, following a six-year stint at high-end resi contractor Knight Harwood. George Edwards has joined the firm as Head of Project Management, and Maddie Berkeley has been promoted to Operations Manager. Read here.

Sir George Iacobescu has retired from Canary Wharf Group after 36 years. He is succeeded by Sir Nigel Wilson as Non-Executive Chairman. Read here.

Major property developer and contractor Innovo, which is working on more than 130 projects across 15 countries, has launched a new Real Estate Development Team in London, recruiting two industry heavyweights to run the show. John Forrester (formerly Group CEO and Global President of Cushman & Wakefield, and Special Advisor to Argent) and Brendon Moss (formerly of Auriens Group and Qatari Diar) have been brought in as Chair and Managing Director of Innovo Real Estate Development respectively. Read here.

UAE developer Muraba has recruited a top agent from Savills to sell its new luxury resi project in Dubai. Alexia Coupland has joined the boutique firm as a consultant after 17 years with Savills, where she worked on high-profile super-prime developments including Lancelot Place, One Hyde Park – and most recently The Whiteley in Bayswater. Read here.