The man who has taken Knight Frank through the good times and the bad times is to retire, and his successor at the world’s most famous estate agency firm has been announced.
Alistair Elliott, 50, is to succeed Nick Thomlinson as senior partner and group chairman of Knight Frank, at the helm of the organisation with a partnership structure that is thought to be unique.
Although himself a commercial agent, Elliott is pledging to increase the firm’s attack on market share in residential markets.
Thomlinson, who grew Knight Frank from a home counties estate agent that smelled of wet Labradors in front of Agas, into a commercial force with lettings, new-builds and much more across the world, is to retire next April.
He began at Knight Frank in 1974, as part of the firm’s graduate scheme.
His successor, Elliott, is also a star of the graduate scheme at Knight Frank, which he joined in 1983.
Elliott, who was made salaried partner in 1989 and proprietary partner in 1995, has been head of the commercial division of Knight Frank since 2006.
Thomlinson’s own career highlights are many. He has been senior partner since 2004. Having started his career in London, he moved to Hong Kong in 1984 to head up Knight Frank’s operations before returning two years later to open the first agency office in London’s Docklands.
In 1995, he set up the firm’s Indian operation in Mumbai, making it one of the first international firms of chartered surveyors to open in India, which now has 800 staff in seven offices. He became head of Global Residential for Knight Frank in 2000.
John Snow will succeed Elliott as head of Knight Frank’s UK commercial division.
Thomlinson said: “I have been privileged to lead one of the world’s great property firms and have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. My tenure has seen the market swing between several extremes and it has certainly never been dull.
“Knight Frank has now expanded to become a truly global business, and is a market leader in both residential and commercial, and I am proud to say firmly independent.
“I strongly believe that Alistair is just the man to take the firm to the next stage of growth. He has been a tremendous representative of Knight Frank since his first day at the firm. I leave the partnership in very capable hands.”
Elliott said: “Having seen so much change over the past 30 years, I am honoured to be given the opportunity to take on the role of senior partner. Whilst the economy will undoubtedly throw up demanding market conditions in the short to medium term, the Knight Frank business is in great shape to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
“I have huge confidence in our teams in the UK and globally and I very much look forward to working with them in developing their plans. Our brand is, to my mind, one of the strongest in the sector, not least because of our supremacy in the residential markets, and I intend to develop this strength aggressively while maintaining its integrity.
“Nick has been an enormous asset for the firm and I do not underestimate the size of the shoes I have to fill. Nick takes great credit for steering the business through the recent downturn.”
Pictured are Alistair Elliott (without glasses) and Nick Thomlinson
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