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

It has been a busy first quarter of the year for property industry job moves.

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

Spicerhaart: An expert in Yorkshire’s property market has returned to Spicerhaart to oversee the region as Estate Agency Director. 
 
Peter Mervill, 46, will be offering help and support to his colleagues to help drive their business forward across the Haybrook brand. 

He had previously worked for Spicerhaart for more than seven years, before moving to Sequence where he held the titles of Area Manager and Area Director. 

Meanwhile, Spicerhaart has also strengthened its senior estate agency team with an internal promotion. 

Benjamin Jobbins has been named estate agency director for the West division covering everywhere from Guildford to Plymouth for the UK’s largest independent estate agent. 

Having joined Spicerhaart in 2021, Benjamin was previously the company’s partnership director but is delighted to have accepted the new position.  

Benjamin, 40, began his property career as soon as he left school aged 16 working as a trainee sales negotiator in Somerset before moving to London where he progressed his career to director level, motivated by the high paced environment and his passion for driving results and achieving his career goals. 

Savills: Savills has appointed Ashley Conaghan as head of client services. 

Ashley has more than 10-years’ experience in the property industry and has managed multiple client services departments during this time.

Ashley has joined Savills from Johns&Co where she specialised in new homes and established the client services department while overseeing its international offices. After starting her career at Hamptons International in 2011, Ashley held front office, sales negotiator and property management roles before specialising in client services.
 
Responsible for driving lead generation and managing inbound enquiries, Ashley will lead the team to ensure exceptional service is developed and delivered to clients.

The agency brand has also appointed Felicity Walker as its new head of office and residential sales in Bishop’s Stortford.

Felicity joins the company as a director having previously spent 20 years working for estate agents in prime central London.

As well as overseeing overall strategy and business growth for the office she is also responsible for leading the residential sales team.
 

Leaders Romans Group: Leaders Romans Group (LRG) has appointed four area sales managers to area sales directors.

Matt Witney, Jon Hawthorne, Scott Caudwell and James Linder have each worked for LRG for more than 10 years. 

Kevin Shaw, national sales managing director of Leaders Romans Group, said: “Following an outstanding performance in Romans’ sales teams since the pandemic and in recognition of their contribution over many years, I am delighted to announce four very well deserved promotions to area sales director.

“Stable teams, a positive and inclusive sales culture and a passion for the business are all key factors in their success.”

Cheffins: Cheffins has announced Sam Harding as head of new homes, as the East Anglia-based professional services and auctioneering firm looks to strengthen its offering for developers throughout the region.

This appointment will allow Cheffins to build on the success of its existing established residential development, planning and new homes sales network throughout East Anglia, and allow the firm to expand on its ability to service both existing and potential clients.

Sam joins Cheffins from nationwide housebuilder Countryside, where for the past eight years he has worked as an associate development director. 

He will head up a revamped New Homes department, working closely with the planning and development teams, offering developers an end-to-end service, including guidance on development potential, as well as buying and selling development sites and traditional sales of new homes. 

Sam takes over the role from Martin Walshe, director, who will remain within with the Residential Sales department.

Richard Freshwater, head of residential sales at Cheffins, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Sam to Cheffins, and in his new role, he will spearhead our New Homes department, ensuring that Cheffins continues to be one of the go-to agents for developers throughout the region. 

“By bringing planning, development and new homes sales more closely together, we are able to offer a one-stop-shop for clients, and Sam, with his extensive experience within the sector, will ensure that Cheffins can give advice from the purchase of land right throughout the development lifecycle to the sales of the final product.  

Martin Walshe has made fantastic in-roads into the new homes market, when he set up the department in 2017, however we now see it as the right time to take the department to the next level.”

Sam said: “I am delighted to be joining Cheffins. The opportunity to build and lead the New Homes department, for such an already well-established business is quite an opportunity. 

“Cheffins represents quality developments ranging from large multi-unit schemes, through to individual, high value one-off builds, working with a series of national housebuilders, as well as smaller boutique firms. The new homes market within the region is continuing to grow, while the pressure on housing delivery is gathering pace, so this is an exciting time for Cheffins to build on its already extensive presence within the sector.”

Chestertons:  London estate agency Chestertons has appointed former Foxtons operations director and Douglas & Gordon Area Director Gary Howorth, as sales director for its Battersea branch.

Gary started his estate agent career at Foxtons, quickly moving up the ranks to manage the Putney branch before becoming operations director. After 14 years with Foxtons, Gary accepted a position as regional sales director at Townends Estate Agents before moving on to become Douglas & Gordon’s area director for South London.

He said: “Having worked in southwest London for most of my professional career, I know Battersea incredibly well and am excited to now be working with one of the area’s most successful and innovative companies.

“With the market changing so rapidly and being affected by such a wide variety of factors, I put a lot of emphasis on developing and training the people in my teams so that they can provide the best service and get the best result for clients. I know this approach is fully supported by Chestertons, which is known for investing in training to help agents reach their true potential.”

Matt Thompson, Chestertons’ head of sales, said: “Our senior members play a crucial part in making sure that all team members are given equal opportunities to develop their skills. Gary’s team spirit and track record of helping agents progress their career are therefore an ideal fit for Chestertons and it’s great to have him on board.”

 
Iamproperty: Proptech firm iamproperty has appointed Neil Hope as Chief Technology Officer.

With a career spanning over 20 years, Neil has vast experience in delivering technology transformation for large, market leading businesses, having previously worked at Parkdean Resorts, Sage and Formica. 

Neil will also take on board responsibility for openview, leading the team to establish openview as a significant player in agency CRM category and bring a market leading CRM solution to estate agents.

Ben Ridgway, iamproperty co-founder said: “We are really pleased to welcome Neil to the iamproperty team. We’re built on innovation and so this is a really important appointment for us. We have big plans and an exciting vision for the future for our people and our Partner Agents, so he joins us at the perfect time. His role will help to support the business as we prepare to enter a new era of product and service innovation and deliver our ecosystem vision and strategy.”

Neil added: “I’ve always been attracted to companies with a strong sense of purpose and a bold vision and iamproperty have both.

“A huge part of that vision is the continued commitment to delivering pioneering, quality, secure and scalable technology and I’m really looking forward to helping to shape that and to deliver on our strategy. The investment that is going into the innovation and technology teams to build on the businesses strong heritage as pioneers is setting us up for a very exciting future, and I’m delighted to be part of that.”

Russell Simpson: Prime London estate agency Russell Simpson has added two experienced individuals to its growing sales and property management teams. 
Shauna Walsh joins the Kensington Prime team from Strutt & Parker, where she covered Notting Hill. The Property Management department has been bolstered by the addition of Regina Zhuk who has eight years of experience in the industry.