Property Jobs Today - key hires and latest moves in and across our industry....

Welcome to this week’s Property Jobs Today, our regular look at key moves inside our industry.

Next week there’s no PJT as it’s a Bank Holiday - but please keep us informed so we can provide a full update the following week. Email us at press@estateagenttoday.co.uk and we’ll bring your staffing news to the industry.

We start off this week with news that Countrywide has recruited Gavin Human as regional director for Tucker Gardner, one of Cambridge’s best known local estate agents. 

With over 30 years’ of estate agency experience, most recently with Fine & Country,  Gavin’s appointment is the latest move by the firm as it re-focuses activity on its core sales and lettings sectors. 

“We must be proud of our history and our place in the local high street. I want each office to become an integral part of the local community and a beacon of success in the Countrywide family, offering our clients value for money across all sectors of the property market” explains Gavin.

Paul Creffield, Countrywide’s group operations director, adds: ”Gavin’s appointment reinforces our commitment of ensuring we have Industry experts leading our teams and our businesses.”

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Meanwhile in Oxford, Countrywide has announced that Paul Rushworth is taking over as managing director at the hugely successful Finders Keepers lettings agency, taking over from the popular Dan Channer.

“Having worked here for over 25 years it is no secret that I live and breathe the company and its culture," says Paul. 

"Dan has done an excellent job over the years, he has built and maintained a positive internal culture that delivers award winning customer service. This is a solid foundation I will look to build upon in the future.

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Up to Yorkshire now where another experienced property professional has been appointed to manage the Guiseley office of the county’s Dacre, Son & Hartley.

Michael Leighton joined the firm in 2014 to manage the Keighley office after spending more than 10 years working for other Yorkshire agents. In 2017 the office won gold at the British Property Awards and voted the best estate agency in the town by All Agents.  

Now Michael’s new role sees him heading up a five-strong team across sales and lettings.

Patrick McCutcheon, head of residential sales at the 21-office agency, says: “Michael is a well-respected member of our team and enjoyed a successful track-record in our Keighley office, so we’re delighted to offer him this opportunity to manage the office at Guiseley.  It’s a busy branch, at the centre of a thriving market, and there’s no doubt Michael will continue building on its success and take it to the next level.”

Build To Rent is a burgeoning sector now, and making key hires too.

For example, Allsop has appointed Kelly Smith and Matt Smith to its BTR letting and management team.

Kelly has joined as head of build to rent operations, coming from Pinnacle Places, where  she was involved in developing operating platforms for both Pinnacle Places and Greenwich Peninsula. Kelly was also pivotal in delivering schemes in Birmingham and Glasgow.

Matt is now Allsop’s head of mobilisation, has joined from liv where he was responsible for both asset management and mobilisation. 

Lesley Roberts, executive development director at Allsop, says: “Their appointments build on a string of recent successes and come at a really exciting time for the department and the sector. More than ever, build to rent is playing a crucial role in the provision of quality homes and our continued investment in skills, experience and systems ensures that we are equipped to provide the expertise, support and services our customers need.”

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Finally this week let’s swing over to JLL where Ben Tolhurst joins to become lead director of the firm’s UK property and asset management division.

Ben joins JLL from Capita. He has previously held a number of managing director roles, leading complex businesses and implementing major digital transformation and customer engagement programmes across a range of sectors including utilities, retail and telecommunications.

He has also previously worked for Serco and BT as well as undertaking client-side consulting and advisory work for Andersen (now Accenture).

At JLL, Ben will head the team looking after over 3,500 properties and collecting over £4.5 billion for fund managers and other global investors.

Ben sets out his stall for the new post by saying: “There are currently huge opportunities to re-define the property and asset management market through a focus on customer engagement, disruptive technologies and new ways of working and I am delighted to be in a position to lead this business through its next stage of development.”

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So that's it for now - until next time...