Property Jobs Today - the movers, shakers and people in the news

A plethora of property professionals are ending the year with new jobs.

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Savills: Estate agency Savills has appointed Phillippa Dalby-Welsh as head of its country house department, with effect from 1 January 2023. 

Phillippa joined Savills in 2005, working first in the firm’s Fulham office and subsequently becoming joint head of the prime central London residential business in 2017. 

More recently she has been a director in the country house team, covering the markets of South Surrey and Sussex, and joint head of the Savills residential business across the South East.

She takes over from Lindsay Cuthill who has led the country house department since 2012, having previously worked in the London residential business.  After 32 years at Savills, he leaves at the end of the year to pursue his own interests.

“Phillippa is widely known and respected for her commitment both to extremely high levels of client service and to the Savills business as a whole,” said Andrew Perratt, Savills head of country residential. “I look forward to the country house team going from strength to strength under her direction.

“Lindsay has many friends across our business and we thank him and wish him all the very best in his new venture.  I know he and Savills will remain close allies and business partners going forward.”

Griggs Homes: Hertfordshire-based developer Griggs Homes has appointed two new land directors, Matt Green and Ollie Myrants-Wilson.

Matt, 33, has been recruited as land director and Ollie, also 33, as land and planning director.

Matt, previously a chartered surveyor at Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “Griggs is a very strong company locally, with an unrivalled reputation within Hertsmere and the surrounding areas for delivering complex planning permissions and premium homes. We have the opportunity to take the group from being strong locally to expanding both in terms of the geographical area and the size of projects.” 

Ollie, who spent the past three years as land director on the board at Troy Homes and nearly 12 years at housebuilder Linden Homes, said: “Griggs is a growing business and very entrepreneurial, so we are looking at taking more planning risk, and buying and promoting sites without planning permission.

“It’s a challenge - but with greater risk comes greater reward. There is an opportunity in the land market to go about things differently and we want to be a trusted and dynamic partner for landowners, other developers, local authorities and key stakeholders. We have an expert team with an established track record in delivery and we want to bring a positive and refreshing approach to development.”

Chinneck Shaw: Portsmouth and Southsea estate agency Chinneck Shaw has boosted its team with the recruitment of a former senior consultant from a property services multinational.
Harry Renton-Rose joins the firm as associate director, focused on lettings and property management, moving from the London head office of real estate giant Savills.

Aims in the new role include the delivery of expert insight and advice on planning requirements for new ‘build to rent’ developments.

Harry joined Savills with a degree in planning and development from Oxford Brookes University followed by a post-graduate diploma in planning.

Over 10 years, he worked his way up as a planning consultant to reach Associate Director level and was based at the firm’s HQ in Margaret Street in London’s West End.

Among his clients were major housebuilders such as Berkeley Homes and property and asset management companies acting on behalf of investment funds, including global player Jones Lang LaSalle IM.   

Harry worked on strategic mixed-use schemes across London, including the repositioning of office developments for education facilities, student accommodation and data center use. 
He also spent much of his time delivering a 4,000-unit housing masterplan in the East End which included over 1,000 build to rent homes.   

Harry said: “We have an aspiration to add services such as planning advice for those interested in the new build residential and purpose-built rental sector.

“I’m keen to offer advice in some capacity, perhaps to advise our clients on what to expect when engaging with developers and also to represent them as they navigate the planning process themselves. I can speak the language of development, so this is about taking the skills that the business already has and developing them further.”

Russell Simpson: Prime London estate agency Russell Simpson has appointed Valeria Puleo as its new lettings negotiator. 

Valeria began her career in property five years ago whilst living in the US as real estate development assistant for Kohler Management LLC.

She moved to the UK where she began working in the London lettings market, joining SN Estates London in 2020 where she worked for two years before joining Marylebone based Gordon & Co working across the Prime Central London rental market.

She said: “I am thrilled to announce that I have joined the Russell Simpson team. 

“Over the five years I have worked within the property industry, I have gained important experience in several fields including property management, small refurbishment projects and pre-foreclosures acquisitions. Upon moving to the UK three years ago, I decided to focus on Lettings negotiations and have worked in this market ever since. I look forward to working with Ed and the rest of Russell Simpson team during this exciting time for the business.”

Ed Woolgar, head of lettings at Russell Simpson, added: “We are delighted to announce that Valeria is joining the business during this period of exceptional growth. Her track record of agreeing a large volume of deals in her previous role will add to the incredibly experienced team currently in place.”

Propertynest: Franchise estate agency brand Propertynest is expanding into Yateley as experienced agent Mark Holloway joins the growing team.

He has joined the brand setup by Elmbridge agent Doug Parks in the summer of 2020.

Parks said: “Welcoming Mark is about expanding the Propertynest brand from Surrey and now into Hampshire, and it’s the first step towards creating a local network of agents.  For home buyers this means we can cast a wider net to find suitable properties and it helps our vendors sell more quickly too. 

“Mark is up front, honest and will always do his best for clients.  His values plus his extensive experience in both sales and lettings will support our clients for a smoother home move.”

Mark added:  “When Doug and I worked together in the corporate market we learned a lot, but we are both on the same page when it comes to improving standards within the industry.  Joining Propertynest offers me the chance to develop the one-to-one estate agency approach which we value, and which takes the stress out of moving. 

“It will enable me to offer a bespoke service, focusing on a limited number of clients, and with no departments, people know that they are dealing with me from start to finish.  I’m now looking forward to bringing my experience forward to help clients in the Yateley and surrounding areas buy and sell their properties, making the experience as hassle free as possible.”

Propertynest has also welcomed new franchisee Manjit Singh who will now manage the Solihull Propertynest branch in Birmingham.

Landlord of 17 years and University of Central Birmingham master’s degree graduate in IT, Manjit said he has always had a passion for property. He said: “I’ve had various jobs over the years in IT, sales and working as a housing officer.  The property market has always fascinated me. I went on to work for myself as a landlord, purchasing property and renovating to provide housing for the rental market.  

“As a landlord, it is now a natural step for me to move into this field given the experience I have acquired and the fact there is a strong demand for professional estate agents.

“Other estate agents are using old methods to sell. However, the Propertynest team is streets ahead of the competition. They have taken the time to test all the leading IT solutions and apps on the market, using what works best and combining this with their own bespoke system to create efficient workflows which make daily processes as easy as possible. It means I will be able to spend more time offering an even better service to my clients.”