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

The property jobs market hasn't taken a summer holiday this month.

Here are some of the latest moves that took place during August.

If you want your jobs or appointments news to feature here, email press@estateagenttoday.co.uk.

Harding Green: Euan Williams has become the latest former corporate professional to join self-employed estate agency Harding Green.

Having left Savills as head of lettings, Euan joined Harding Green as sales and lettings consultant for St John’s Wood, Regent’s Park and Little Venice on 21 August. 

With more than sixteen years’ experience in the industry, Euan’s expertise lies in both residential sales and lettings, where he boasts extensive knowledge and acumen of some of the most desirable locations in North, West and Prime Central London.

His career accolades include head of department for lettings at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward in Muswell Hill, managing Chestertons Kentish Town’s lettings department before heading up the Hyde Park lettings department where clients included the Church Commissioners.

This was followed by head of residential lettings and head of office for Savills in Maida Vale, before moving to head of lettings in St John’s Wood where his role included the ongoing management of Dorrington Plc, Crown and Eyre Estates portfolios, and working with worldwide Royals, actors and film directors.

At Harding Green, Euan joins franchisee, Jack Graham-Lindsey and his team of five at the St John’s Wood branch. 

He said: “I am delighted to have joined Harding Green, who I have watched grow over the last few years. 

“The ability to work for yourself and having the flexibility to choose your own hours are both huge attractions for me.

“As a new Dad, I can watch my new born daughter grow up, take her to school, attend her plays, sports days and so on. 

“These life moments are just so precious, and I can’t wait to be a part of that. Whilst having my own portfolio of clients means I can offer sellers and landlords a senior local expert from start to finish, providing an unrivalled service.

“I am also really impressed at the support I receive at Harding Green. The IT system is extraordinary, enabling me to work from my laptop wherever I am, whilst being able to answer specific questions a potential client may have on a market appraisal by using an App. This in itself has already proved invaluable.

“I also have access to a professional photographer, a seriously good website, excellent marketing and PR tools and admin assistance to name a few. Combined with a very attractive commission structure, I am really looking forward to working with Harding Green and playing my part in expanding the brand even further.”

Graham-Lindsey added: “Euan is a great addition to my team, so I am delighted to welcome him on board. Many estate agents with enviable reputations like his are choosing Harding Green over our competitors. 

“It demonstrates that the self-employed broker approach is fast becoming the way forward, especially following the global pandemic where lifestyle, health and being able to spend more quality time with loved ones have become so important. This approach also offers a way of launching your own business without the overheads, whilst retaining up to 80% of the fees generated. Enjoying the benefits myself, I strongly believe this approach is the future of estate agency.”

Able Agent: Following the launch of The Able Agent and ITEC NE industry-first apprenticeship initiative, the two organisations have brought in Catherine Calvert to spearhead the new programme.

In her role as business development and property specialist, Catherine Calvert will be focused on supporting agents to find and retain new talent.

ITEC NE provides City and Guilds Business Administrator (Level 3) training alongside The Able Agent, so that agency apprentices utilise the training modules to complete assignments, making their learning relevant to the property industry. 

Combining it with Level 3 Certificate in Property Advice and Practice, a new agent can be fully qualified within 6–12 months, Able Agent said.

Catherine Calvert joined the industry in 2008 working with the North-East’s largest independent estate agent and has in-depth experience in all aspects of sales, lettings and auctions.

In her previous senior management role, she focused on building strong teams utilising continued training and development including a successful strategy for developing apprentices. The addition of having a training qualification makes her a good all-round fit for the online training provider.

Charlotte Jeffery Campbell, founder and director of the Able Agent, said: “I am delighted that Catherine has joined the ITEC team. Many perceive that developing an apprentice can be more time-consuming than training a new staff member who is not ‘attached’ to a programme, whereas the opposite is true. 

“Catherine’s appointment gives us the capacity and expertise to expand our offering and being able to launch an industry-first apprenticeship initiative is incredibly exciting for us. We’re on a mission to galvanise the industry and break the age-old cycle of high levels of first-year employee attrition and replace it with a steady stream of talent, helping agents attract good staff and move them through a highly successful career.”

Calvert added: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to give back to an industry that has so much to offer young and more experienced adults interested in transferring their skills to the property sector in this challenging recruitment market. In a sector where the majority of staff need to be fee-earning but are not until they are trained, means finding the time to train up new members of staff can be a real challenge, especially in a small office.

“This initiative has been launched to help agencies get new members of staff up to a good industry level whilst they and their team instil their unique points of difference. There are a lot of standard and legislative requirements in the industry that can be learnt ‘away’ from the office (albeit online), freeing up precious time for established fee earners whilst ensuring best practice.

“Apprenticeships are open to people of all age groups and earning brackets. Ideal for school leavers and anyone wanting to transfer into new sectors or return to work following a career break.”

Tracy Wilson, managing director at ITEC NE, added: “It’s wonderful to have Catherine to lead this course offering a wealth of sector based knowledge and experience. The course is already proving to be hugely popular with agents across the sector, and we are excited to see how this evolves over the coming months.”

Bradley Hall: Commercial and residential property firm Bradley Hall has announced a raft of new appointments to support its ongoing growth.

Over the past three months, the company has taken on new starters and has promoted three employees as it continues to invest in the North East.

Operating in the region for 34 years, it describes itself as one of the region’s most active property agencies, having recently topped the EGI North East lettings and occupational sales ranking during the second quarter of 2022.

This increased activity was a result of the company advising on a number of high-profile transactions during the period.

Katie Kinchella is one of the company’s recent senior hires, having joined as Bradley Hall’s Gosforth office manager from Rook Matthews Sayer in July.

She said: “I am thrilled to have been offered the opportunity to head up the Gosforth office of Bradley Hall, one of the most active agencies in the region.

“As demand for property across Newcastle and its surrounding areas continues to rise, demand for homes in leafy suburbs such as Gosforth is only going to continue growing.

“Situated just two and a half miles from Newcastle city centre and five and a half miles from Newcastle International Airport, it is ideally situated for commuters and families looking to achieve the perfect work-life balance.

“Easy access to public transport links also means it is only a short journey from the coast, countryside, and city centre and I’m excited to start working with the team at Bradley Hall to help others realise the potential of this beautiful part of the region.”

Another recruit, Olivia White, has joined Bradley Hall’s graduate programme as a building surveyor after completing a degree in Building Surveying and Surveying Technology at Northumbria University.

She said: “It’s fantastic to have joined a company that offers genuine opportunities to climb the career ladder and prides itself on promoting from within. I’m looking forward to my future here and seeing where it takes me.”

The other appointments and promotions include:
· Darron Barker, Principal Surveyor/ Valuation & Consultancy for the Valuation department, who joins from Connells Survey & Valuation.
· Tamsin Swann, Property Management Surveyor for Property Management, who joins from Buxton Group.
· David Catto, Commercial Agency Surveyor – Newcastle Commercial, who joins from Align property Partners.
· Joseph Cuthbert, Graduate Surveyor for Valuation, who graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Urban Planning and Green Infrastucture.
· Lucy Mouter, Commercial Agency Surveyor for Newcastle Commercial, who joins from Keith Pattinson Estate Agents.
· Paul Thompson, Property Inspector for Property Management.
· Benjamin Riddle, Assistant Surveyor for Property Management.
· Luke Overton, Graduate Building Surveyor for Building Surveying.
· Josh Robinson, Graduate Surveyor, Leeds.
· Chloe Humphrys, Junior Digital Executive, Newcastle.
· Marc Pickering, Graduate Surveyor for Property Management and Durham Commercial, who recently completed a Masters at Northumbria University in Real Estate.
· Sophie Swift, promoted to PR & Marketing Executive in the Marketing department.
· Nigel Goodrum, promoted to Morpeth Office Manager.
· Karolina Volkova, promoted to Property Executive in Gosforth.

Neil Hart, group managing director at Bradley Hall, said: “I’m delighted to welcome all our new starters to the team and I’m pleased to be able to offer promotions to some of our existing employees.

“As a company, we pride ourselves on looking after our own, which is why – when you compare us to our industry peers - we have a much higher-than-average percentage of senior employees who have started in junior roles and risen through the ranks, from myself to our head of marketing, operations director and many others across the business.

“However, this would never have been possible were it not for the continual hard work and dedication of our staff that has enabled us to grow in such an organic, sustainable manner and I would like to thank everyone at the company for their fantastic efforts which have helped lift us to where we are today.

“It’s a hugely exciting time for everyone associated with Bradley Hall and I expect the business to keep growing and keep creating opportunities across the North East as we continue to expand.”

Fine & Country: Premium estate agency brand Fine & Country has its sights set on further expansion within the UK and abroad, promoting Daniel Harrington as its new managing director of global growth.

Harrington joined Fine & Country over seven years ago and has been a driving force behind the brand’s expansion within the UK ever since.

He started with the brand as a regional business development manager (BDM) in 2015, three years later moving up to national BDM, before shifting his focus onto London and International growth and then being appointed as head of growth. 

Many of the licensees who are currently in the network were introduced to the brand by Harrington over the past seven years.

Harrington said: “I have had the opportunity to be a part of the brand’s rapid expansion within the UK, however, I now want to use my expertise and knowledge to replicate that success within other regions over the world. 

“Fine & Country already has an international presence with agents across several European countries, as well as regions such as Thailand, Australia, and South Africa. Our plans for 2023 are to focus on growing the brand significantly in countries where we already have a presence, while targeting 10 new countries that meet our network’s strategic demands and have bourgeoning prime property markets.

“Further global growth of the brand and network will provide our offices with a wider net of possible referrals, along with more choice for buyers looking for international premium properties.”

In addition to Harrington’s new position, the brand has appointed Ashley Harwood as one of its new BDMs.

He will be working alongside Gaven Swan, who is a senior BDM and Nikki Wilson, BDM in Spain.

Harwood is no stranger to the brand, having worked within the Fine & Country network for the past seven years.

He said: “After many successful years of working for a standalone Fine & Country office, I feel this appointment provides the ideal opportunity for me to grow and develop my passion for the brand and model, to motivate, develop and inspire other individuals and their offices to maximise their true potential and business opportunities, prior to focusing my attention on the development and growth of the international property markets.”

Harrington added: “We are excited to have Ashley onboard to assist us with continuing to expand the brand’s reach into new territories further abroad. His understanding of Fine & Country’s unique offering will be an asset to offices and agents alike. 

“Growing our business development team, will give us the talent to be able to push expansion even further and extend our global network with premium property markets.”
 
Barratt David Wilson: Watford-based housebuilder Barratt David Wilson North Thames has recently made two new promotions within the division.

Former sales and marketing director Karly Williams will now take the lead as operations director, whilst Marc Woolfe, previously senior sales manager, will step up as head of sales for the division.

Williams’ expansive 20 year career firmly has its roots within Barratt, having joined the business in a customer service role following similar roles in other industries. 

Within three months Karly was promoted to manager, where she then decided to undertake a business degree and specialise in sales. 

She said: “I absolutely loved my time in sales and marketing – it’s fast paced, and no two days are the same. The property cycle over the past two years has been remarkable, and I have gained valuable experience in a variety of sales environments; from tackling international sales and navigating the prime London market during a less buoyant period, to overcoming site-specific challenges in order to consistently hit and exceed sales targets.

“However, the turning point for me was undertaking Barratt’s bespoke CATALYST training programme in 2019, which helped me think about what was most important to me. For the first time, I began to reconsider my career path and ultimately decided to change course and aim for operations director.”

Woolfe initially joined the company in 2012 on Barratt’s ASPIRE Graduate Scheme, working in the South Midlands division. 

After successfully completing the programme, he was seconded to a Barratt Group project before returning to South Midlands as a sales manager in 2014.

He said: “I love the varied nature of working in sales – each day presents something completely different, whether it’s getting out on site or meeting with senior stakeholders. Primarily I am responsible for ensuring that the department achieves challenging sales targets alongside supporting the Board in achieving the overall key business priorities.

“One of my favourite parts of the jobs is visiting our sites and seeing first-hand the sales teams performing well. As I undertake my new role, I want to continue to drive the department forward and ensure we consistently secure the excellent results that we have achieved over the past few years whilst ensuring we continue to develop our employees.