31 October 2021
PrimeResi brings LonRes the monthly headlines on key property recruitment and business moves from October 2021.Estate Agents & Buying Agents
Prime London estate agency Bective – formerly Bective Leslie Marsh – has relaunched its six branches under the management of Dexters alumni Thomas Dainty and Craig Tonkin, and ownership of European real estate giant Ghelamco. The agency has declared “a strong mission to dominate the capital’s sales and letting market”.
Harry Dawes, who was until recently in charge of Knight Frank’s Knightsbridge branch, has launched his own boutique operation offering sale and acquisition services across prime London. His eponymous firm will be based on Eaton Gate in Belgravia, and claims an “extensive client base from owner occupiers to private banks and offshore family trusts”.
Leaders Romans Group has made its sixth acquisition of the year so far, picking up 15-branch London estate agency Portico. 154 Portico employees will join LRG, which is one of Britain’s biggest property service companies, formed by the merger of three established agencies – Leaders, Romans and Boyer – in 2016.
Boutique South-West London estate agency Rampton Baseley has bought four-branch Palace Gate Lettings. RB was set up by Patrick Rampton and Joel Baseley in 2008, and now operates three branches covering Wandsworth, Battersea, Clapham and Balham. PGL was founded in 1993 by Managing Director Charlie Weller, and covers a similar area to Rampton Baseley, with offices in Clapham, Battersea, Balham and Earlsfield.
Hamptons has significantly boosted its resi development offering with some big new hires and a regional roll-out under the watch of Head of Residential Sales Mary Beeton. Tom Hawkins has returned as Director of Residential Development for Central London after five years at Knight Frank, where he was partner and director for New Homes. Other appointments in the division include: James Dalton (Head of Residential Development Reading & surrounding areas); Martyn Swinson (Head of Residential Development Bristol & Bath); Mark O’Kane (Head of Residential development Enfield); and Warren Lambert (Head of Residential Development Hertford); a new resi development head for Winchester & Salisbury is yet to be appointed.
London and country advisory firm Hutton Bubear has added two new names to its teamsheet. Former JLL director Alex Finch brings 16 years of resi development consultancy, sales and marketing experience, while Amanda Thorp has joined the acquisitions team from Savills in Surrey to focus on country property searches across Surrey, Sussex and Kent.
Savills has hired Daniel Taylor, formerly director and head of resi sales at Chestertons’ Kensington & Holland Park branch, as head of sales role in Westbourne Grove, covering the Notting Hill patch.
Savills has also strengthened its Mayfair team with a new hire from Strutt & Parker; Fehd Alsaidi was a senior associate director at S&P's Chelsea office.
And the agency has recruited another former Strutt & Parker agent to lead new homes sales across the Buckinghamshire and South Hertfordshire patch; Andy Toogood is now an associate director at Savills.
In lettings, Savills has installed new lettings heads at a number of its branches in prime London. Esmeralda Koletsi has joined as head of lettings across both the Fulham & Bishops Park offices; Miles Barnett takes on the role in Primrose Hill, and Sally Livermore in Canary Wharf.
Former Savills man Gavin Kennedy has joined broker-model estate agency Harding Green, covering sales and lettings in the Shoreditch area.
Knight Frank has expanded its super-prime lettings team, moving Georgie Humphries from the Notting Hill office to focus on top-end rentals, and build the agency’s brand and market share in the sector across London.
Knight Frank has also opened a new branch in Shropshire, led by former Strutt & Parker director Kevin Boulton.
And the 125-year-old agency has taken on its largest ever cohort of graduates. A total of 59 have joined the firm’s 2021 programme, a 78% increase on last year.
Acquisitive estate agency firm Lomond Group has made a trio of top-level appointments, bringing in new operating, marketing and HR chiefs. Former Knight Frank equity partner Lucy Jones has joined as Chief Operating Officer; Kirsty Franks has taken up the role of Group Marketing Director, and Clare Wakeford has become its Group Human Resources Director. These are all newly-created Board-level positions, and come as Leeds-based Lomond Group “accelerates its growth strategy across the UK”.
The Agency UK – a broker-model online estate agency set up this year by three former Purplebrickers – has stepped-up its expansion drive, adding 12 more agents to its network. Founded in 2021 by former Purplebricks trio Andy Vass, Mark Bruce and Steph Walker, TAUK operates a network of self-employed partners across southern England, with some expansion to more northern parts.
Surrey-based land agency Aston Mead has opened a new office to cover the South Western counties. The new Exeter outpost is being overseen by AM partner Adam Hesse; it covers Wiltshire, Dorset, Gloucester, Bristol, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.
Hertfordshire-based independent land agency Walter Cooper has officially landed, launching with a big party at Somerset House in London. The firm was set up by former Countrywide Director Simon Cox during lockdown in 2020, with former Redrow and Bellway man Ollie Dyson becoming the first recruit, joining at the start of 2021 as Chief Operating Officer.
Beauchamp Estates has hired a new sale negotiator for its New Homes team. Sarah Heracleous joins from Chelsea-based agency Jo Webster Property, where she started out in a dual office manager and lettings negotiator role, before moving into sales.
Fine & Country has opened two new branches: one in Southend-on-Sea in Essex (run by Ed Casson and brothers Matt and Neil Baldock), and one in Exeter in Devon (run by Jonathan Gilbert-Steers).
Read in full - all Estate Agent & Buying Agent stories Prime London estate agency Bective relaunches under new management
Knight Frank star Dawes launches boutique agency
London estate agency Portico acquired by Leaders Romans Group
Rampton Baseley acquires Palace Gate Lettings
Hamptons ramps up new homes offering with high-level hires & regional ‘hubs’
Hutton Bubear bolsters team with hires from JLL & Savills
Savills brings in new Notting Hill sales boss from Chestertons
Savills Mayfair hires PCL specialist from Strutt & Parker
Savills recruits resi development sales head for Bucks & South Herts
Savills hires trio of new lettings heads in London
Broker-model agency attracts Savills’ Kennedy in Shoreditch
Knight Frank bolsters super-prime lettings team amid ‘record’ year
Knight Frank opens new branch in Shropshire
Knight Frank takes on record number of grads
Lomond Group makes trio of top-level hires, including a former Knight Frank Partner as COO
Purplebricks alumni’s ‘virtual’ Agency adds a dozen new self-employed brokers
Aston Mead expands with West Country outpost
Former Countrywide agent launches indie land agency
Beauchamp builds New Homes team
Fine & Country expands in Essex
New Devon outpost for Fine & Country
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has appointed a new interim leadership team with a remit “to drive the further modernisation of the Institution.” Three established faces are now in charge of the beleaguered property industry organisation for “up to 12 months”: CBRE’s Nicholas Maclean is interim Chair of Governing Council; Richard Collins is interim CEO; Savills’ Isobel O’Regan is interim Chair of the Management Board.
And RICS’ new Presidential team has started work two months early, following an exodus of the top brass. A new team has now taken the reins, led by President Clement Lau. Ann Gray is in as president-elect for 2021-2, with Tina Paillet as senior vice-president.
Law firm Kingsley Napley has recruited a new Partner for its Real Estate & Construction team. Property litigator Claire Lamkin has moved from Blake Morgan, where she spent the last six years.
Read in full - all Trade Bodies & Legal stories RICS names interim leadership team
New RICS Presidential team steps up early
Kingsley Napley boosts real estate team
Developers & Design
Canadian private family investment firm Hennick & Company has acquired a “significant interest” in London-based superstar architecture practice Foster + Partners, becoming the largest shareholder in Britain’s biggest architecture studio.
Berkeley Group has confirmed that longstanding director Sean Ellis will be leaving the firm next year, after 17 years with the company, to “pursue other interests”.
The London arm of big-league Slovakian developer JTRE has hired a former Knight Frank partner as its new sales and marketing director. Nigel Fleming previously spent over eight years at Knight Frank, working across some high-profile resi developments in the capital including One Blackfriars, One Tower Bridge, Lincoln Square, Castle Lane and Abell & Cleland.
Luxury architecture and interior design firm Lees Associates has promoted three of its team, as the London-based company marks 40 years in business. James Hall has stepped up from Associate to Associate Director level; Miruna Stroe and Vishal Blaichande are now Associates.
Property developer Galliard Homes has appointed a new Head of Strategic Partnerships, to lead operations in the South West of England. George Baffoe-Djan spent the first five years of his career with Galliard, starting out as a Graduate Trainee. He then did stints with other firms including Mace, Barratt and Bellway, before returning to the fold in Land Acquisition & Development Management in 2011. Now he’s been promoted to a top job in the West Country.
Planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore has promoted five of its Directors up to Partner level, and made 14 other promotions, including creating four new Directors. Lucy Wood is now a Partner at the London office; Greg Dickson has stepped up to become a Partner at the Manchester office; Colin Lavety is the new Partner in Scotland; Stuart Natkus has been promoted to Partner at the Leeds office; Barry Williams is now a Partner in Bristol and Cardiff.
Nick Leslau, Chairman and Chief Executive of Prestbury Group of companies, picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s PROPS Awards, in aid of Variety. Greystar Real Estate Partners was named Residential Developer of the Year; Miheer Mehta of Sterling Rose Homes took home the Entrepreneur of the Year Award; Savills was appointed Residential Agent of the Year, and Development of the Year went to Stanhope for the former BBC TV centre development in White City.
Read in full - Developers & Design stories Canadian family buys major stake in Foster + Partners
Berkeley director Ellis steps down
Ex-Knight Frank partner joins JTRE London board
Lees Associates promotes three
Galliard picks new partnership head to build West Country presence
Barton Willmore promotes five to Partner level
PROPS Awards 2021: The winners
Finance, Tech & Property Management
Newly-formed high-value bridging lender Tenn Capital has secured a chunky £300 million funding facility via a joint venture with American investment giant Elliott Advisors. Guernsey-based Tenn was set up earlier this year by CEO Matt Watson – formerly Managing Director of Sancus, Amberton Asset Management, and Brooks Macdonald in Guernsey. Nigel Le Quesne, boss of London-listed professional services firm JTC Group, is company Chairman, and Islay Robinson and Hugh Wade-Jones of super-prime mortgage broker Enness Group have been installed as Non-Exec Directors.
Fortwell Capital’s CEO, Dan Smith, has left the property development finance firm. He will be replaced by the company’s current Managing Director, Arthur Jennings.
Ballymore Asset Management, the asset management arm of Irish property developer Ballymore, has appointed Tony Hymers as Managing Director and Ross MacCaskill as Finance Director. Hymers joins from Mayfair-based property management firm Burlington Estates, which he co-founded in 2012. McCaskill moves from European real estate private equity advisor Ekistics, where he was Chief Operating Officer.
The former CEO of Reapit and CTO of Connells Group, Gary Barker, has joined flatshare property management platform COHO as a Non Exec Director. COHO was set up by CEO Vann Vogstad in 2019 as an “all-in-one HMO and property management platform”. The idea is to open the shared living space up for property investors and estate agents.
Prime property management firm Masterfix has recruited an ex-Strutt & Parker and Savills client services specialist to spearhead its plans for expansion. Rory Field has joined as head of business development.
Peer-to-peer property finance platform CrowdProperty has made another senior hire, adding Steve Morgan from horsey private bank Weatherbys to its Executive Team.
Toscafund-backed property company epropservices – which owns Fine & Country and The Guild of Property Professionals – has bought Property Technology Ltd, which operates estate agency marketing platform LeadPro.
Read all Finance, Tech & Property Management stories Tenn Capital bags £300m funding facility for ‘aggressive scaling’
Fortwell chief steps down
Ballymore recruits new Asset Management chiefs
Former Reapit chief Barker joins HMO property management platform
Ex-Strutts client services head joins property management firm
Another senior hire for CrowdProperty
Another proptech acquisition for eprop
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