Property Movers & Shakers September 2022

10 October 2022

PrimeResi brings LonRes the monthly headlines on key property recruitment and business moves from September 2022.

Estate Agencies

Dexters has recruited a high-profile new Chairperson to oversee an “acceleration” of growth. Justin King CBE is best known for serving as CEO of supermarket behemoth Sainsbury’s for a decade until 2014. At Dexters, he’s replacing founder Jeff Doble as Chair, and will work alongside CEO Andy Shepherd to “accelerate [Dexters’] growth from its existing London-wide network of over 70 offices, and further develop its digital capabilities.” Doble remains a Director and a significant shareholder in the business, and will “continue to provide support and guidance to the business.” Read more.

Beauchamp Estates has brought in ex-Foxtons star Stuart Bennett to run its high-profile sales operation in London. Bennett announced he would be leaving Foxtons in February, after 24 years at the estate agency. Read more.

Caroline Foord, is handing over the reins of Knight Frank’s Notting Hill office to Arthur Lintell. Foord has been with Knight Frank for 32 years, and set up the branch on Westbourne Grove 23 years ago. She will officially be leaving her post at the end of March 2023. Lintell started out at the agency as a grad in 2008, and has spent the last 12 years on the Notting Hill team. Read more.

Knight Frank has appointed Sofia Lira Salas as Head of Lettings head at its Hyde Park branch. She made the move to KF in 2019 from the Dulwich branch of SE London agency Pedder. Read more.

Christian Swaab has returned to Knight Frank after ten years, as a Partner in the South West New Homes team and Head of Devon & Cornwall New Homes. He was previously the firm's Director of International Residential Sales in the Middle East. He moves from Savills, where he was Director and Head of Country Sales in Cheltenham for the last eight years. Read more.

Russell Simpson has reshuffled its team, moving Charlie Duffell up to run the “Chelsea Core” department and bringing in Daisy Hill from Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward as Sales Negotiator. Read more.

Cluttons has appointed Gráinne Gilmore as its Director of Research & Insight. Formerly a financial and economics journalist at The Times, Gilmore spent eight years as Head of Research at Knight Frank before moving to analyse sales and rental markets for Zoopla in early 2020. She left the property portal over the Summer, and has now started work at global real estate agency Cluttons, covering both commercial and residential matters. Read more.

Cluttons has also hired a new partner to take the lead on business development and marketing. Paula Viner joins the consultancy having spent 20 years in the industry, including a decade at Cushman & Wakefield, where she was head of UK marketing. Read more.

The directors of Knight Frank’s Harrogate-based residential estate agency have moved to independent ownership, setting themselves up as North Residential. Harlan Pollitt and Daniel Rigg were KF’s office heads in the upmarket Yorkshire spa town, racking up 15 years in the estate agency a-piece. They have now secured independent ownership of the business, declaring “a more autonomous mission to evolve and drive market share.” Read more.

Strutt & Parker has appointed a new head of office in Winchester. Following 15 years with Savills Winchester, Lindsay Johnn will now be leading Strutts’ base in the city, working alongside fellow director Patrick Glynn-Jones and the regional team. Read more.

Savills has made a number of new appointments at its resi base in Cheltenham. The agency has bolstered the team following the departure of Sarah McKinnon and Katy Reynolds, who were recently recruited by Knight Frank. Iain Powis has been brought in from Savills Oxford to head up the resi development sales team. Omer Basharat joins as residential development sales manager from Savills Bristol. Phil Bates has joined as an associate director on the resi sales team. Lettings negotiator Sarah Owens has moved over from the agency’s Cirencester branch. Read more.

Chestertons has installed a new Lettings Manager in Chelsea, promoting Jonathan James from valuer in South Kensington. He takes over from Sam Fard-Manesh, who moves to become Head of Lettings in Mayfair. Read more.

Euan Williams has moved from Savills to broker-model estate agency Harding Green. He was a Director and Head of Lettings for Savills in St John’s Wood, and previously Head of the Maida Vale office. He’s now a Sales & Lettings Consultant at HG, covering St John’s Wood, Regent’s Park and Little Venice alongside St John’s Wood franchisee, Jack Graham-Lindsey and his team of five. Read more.

Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward has appointed Marc Faure as its new Land & New Homes Director, with a brief to “substantially expand the operation” in the capital. Faure started his career with a five-year spell at Foxtons before joining KALMARs as Head of Residential Development. Read more.

Colliers has hired Knight Dragon’s Wing Chan Dean to lead its UK international properties team. The tri-lingual relocation specialist will join the commercial real estate firm’s resi division, based across London and Hong Kong, which markets UK new-build schemes to overseas clients. Read more.

The Guild of Property Professionals has promoted Kris McLean to Managing Director. McLean has been with the nurtur.group-owned firm for nine years. He’s steps up from his previous role as Regional Director in the North, and is now tasked with maximising the Guild’s revenues and growing the network in new UK territories. Read more.

 

Buying Agencies

Middleton Advisors has bolstered its prime London team with two new recruits. Tom Parsons has joined the Chelsea-based division, after spending the last seven years specialising in the SW London sales market at Strutt & Parker; Oliver Sanhaji is also on board as a buying advisor, having made the move from Anderson Rose in Shad Thames. Read more.

 

Legal

Law firm DAC Beachcroft has added a new planning partner to its real estate team. Martha Grekos has been acting as an independent planning consultant and barrister since 2019; she was previously partner and head of planning at Howard Kennedy. Read more.

Cripps has bolstered its resi property offering with a senior hire. High-value resi specialist Chris Keough has joined as a consultant, having spent more than 18 years at RadcliffesLeBrasseur, where he was a partner. Read more.

The government has appointed former Martin's Properties Chair Neil Sachdev as the new Chairman of HM Land Registry. Read more.

 

Design & Construction

RedBook has made two new senior hires, bringing in Zahra Taleifeh as Head of Partners, looking after the consultancy’s curated pool of talent, and Philip Wright as Head of Projects, in charge of running the firm’s 70-odd live projects.  Taleifeh previously worked as a senior architect and interior designer at 1508 London and BWT London. Wright joins after stints at Assael Architecture, Allies and Morrison and Spink. Both are qualified RIBA Chartered Architects. Read more.

Jo Cowen Architects has recruited Laura Cassullo to the newly-created Strategic Director role. Cassullo was Broadway Malyan’s Head of UK for the last six years, leading a 130-strong team of architects, planners and designers on significant resi projects including EcoWorld London’s 910-home Verdo Kew Bridge scheme in West London. Read more.