Vail Williams makes 20 strategic promotions after strongest ever year

Property consultancy Vail Williams has made 20 strategic promotions as business demand continues to grow.

These include six new LLP (limited liability partnership) members, taking the firm’s total headcount to 175, including new partners and associates.

Stephen Hobbs, based in Birmingham, a partner and the firm’s head of valuation, becomes an LLP member. He joined Vail Williams in 2016 and offers property valuation advice for banks, accountants, solicitors, developers and private clients, as well as acting as an expert witness.

Suzanne Holloway, Gatwick regional managing partner also becomes an LLP member. She has 25 years’ private and public sector planning experience and leads regionally on development facilitation and providing advice to both residential and commercial developers and investors.

South Coast-based David Ramsay, Vail Williams’ partner and head of planning, is named an LLP member. He specialises in providing strategic direction for each of the five planning teams across the firm and is also responsible for the day-to-day running of the Solent team, providing planning consultancy advice to clients.

Also named as an LLP member is South Coast regional colleague Joe Walker, who joined Vail Williams in 2018 and is the firm’s head of lease advisory overseeing the firms’ wider service offering. Acting for both occupiers and landlords in lease renewal, rent review and lease restructure negotiations, Joe also provides general lease consultancy advice, is an RICS Accredited Mediator, and is an independent expert on the DRS panel.

Surrey regional managing partner Charlie Nicholson becomes an LLP Member. With Vail Williams for almost 20 years, he specialises in the acquisition and disposal of office, industrial and mixed-use schemes across the Surrey, Thames Valley and Heathrow regions on behalf of both occupiers and landlords.

Thames Valley and Oxford based partner Guy Parkes is also now an LLP Member. With 30 years’ south east property experience, he advises across all sectors including major business parks, landmark properties and office and industrial acquisition and disposal.

The other promotions include three new partners in Jason Morris Kidd (Gatwick, valuation), Mikael Goldsmith (Gatwick, agency) and David Podesta (South Coast, head of development), and four new associates in Hannah Bennett (South Coast, lease advisory), Lucy Clifford Bowles (South Coast building consultancy), Nicki Rought (Surrey, building consultancy) and James Little (Thames Valley, valuation).

In addition, Diana Southwell (South Coast, property asset management) is named a senior surveyor and Brad West (Thames Valley, property asset management) is now surveyor level 3. Achieving surveyor level 2 status are Matt King (Gatwick, valuation), Toby Orpan-Palmer (London, building consultancy), Sophia Piatto (London, planning); Leanne Conroy (South Coast, valuation), and Henry Bourne (Surrey, development / valuation).

The promotions follow Vail Williams’ change in leadership at the beginning of June with Danny George taking on the role of managing partner from Matthew Samuel-Camps, who stepped down after a decade at the helm.

Danny said the 20 end of financial year promotions were particularly well deserved and demonstrated Vail Williams’ unwavering belief in rewarding exceptional hard work as well as developing and retaining its own top talent.

“I congratulate the 20 colleagues who have achieved a promotion. To me this reflects the incredible dedication shown by everyone who is adding value to this driven and successful firm as we embark on a new  and ambitious growth plan

“Our six new LLP members add a vast breadth of experience and unrivalled varied sector specialism to the partnership and I look forward to working closely with everyone as we face the challenges ahead, take the opportunities we’ve identified, and strive to offer an even better service to our valued clients.”

The promotions come as Vail Williams launches a new three-year business plan aimed at further innovation, service excellence and sustainable growth.