Savills bolsters its country house department with three key director appointments
Savills has announced with two key external hires and an internal move into its country house team, enabling the company to expand its service across the UK.
James Toogood has been appointed to lead the South and South West regions. Born in the west country and having worked in the area for nearly 30 years, Toogood is widely regarded as one of the most experienced and highly regarded agents in the area. Toogood joins the firm after 23 years at Knight Frank and is well placed to turbo charge the prime country house business in the South and South West.
Toogood began his career in Bath and most recently headed up Knight Frank’s Bristol office advising clients in the sale of prime residential property both in the city and surrounding countryside.
Toogood will be focusing on the country house market above £2m and working closely with the firm’s network of offices across the region including Clifton, Bath, Salisbury, Wimborne, Exeter and Cornwall, while ensuring high-net-worth buyers from around the globe are aware of properties owned by his clients.
Barclay Macfarlane joins the team as director to cover country house sales across the East Anglia region. Macfarlane is based near Long Melford in Suffolk and joins after 16 years at Strutt & Parker where he built a solid reputation as a trusted advisor guiding numerous vendors on the sale of their residential properties.
Charlie Kannreuther who has been with Savills since 2012 joins the Country Department in his new role after six years running Savills North West region. Kannreuther has 25 years’ experience in the Cheshire property market and has acted in the sale of many best-in-class properties across a range of locations. He has particular expertise in the market for country houses, village and town houses and thrives on smoothing the sales process and building rapport with his buyers.
Savills’ team of country house specialists now numbers 23 and covers the length and breadth of the UK from the South to Scotland. With each team member having a regional countryside specialism and in-depth knowledge of key locations, plus direct access to Savills London and International networks, including the private office, the department is able to provide a unique a 360 degree service to clients.
Savills country department, Phillippa Dalby-Welsh, said: “We are thrilled to step into 2024 by welcoming three industry heavyweights to the team. James, Barclay and Charlie collectively have over 70 years’ experience between them and an outstanding track record of sales. Their appointments fulfils our objective to have a regional prime country house specialist providing a direct, personal link to our London and International network operating in every region of the UK. We look forward to strengthening our business in their respective areas this year with a keen focus on delivering an exceptional personal service to clients.”
Andrew Perratt, head of Savills Residential, added: “We are delighted to welcome James and Barclay to the fold. They are exceptional agents who I know will be instrumental in this team’s evolution under Phillippa’s leadership. I’m also thrilled that Charlie has agreed to take on a crucial role within the country house department. The bolstered team has a very impressive track record, a wealth of experience and they care dearly about their clients.
Hamptons recruits three senior executives and also promoted Grant Bates to head up its private office
Hamptons has announced new senior appointments to support its prime London team.
Experienced agents, Craig Tonkin, Mark Cullen, and Mark Breffit, have joined the firm in key roles, while Grant Bates, previously head of Sales at the company’s Islington branch, has now taken on the role of leading Hamptons’ private office in London.
Tonkin becomes regional sales director for central London, after a career spanning nearly 30 years in residential agency.
He started his career with Countrywide in Cornwall before moving to London and joining Foxtons.
After opening Foxtons’ flagship Wimbledon office, he moved on to head up Marsh & Parsons Kensington, and then to run the agency’s central London operation.
From there Tonkin joined Dexters as a board director, and then to head of Sales at Druce in 2020.
Cullen joins Hamptons as the senior head of Kensington sales. His journey in real estate began in 1987 in Berkshire and Surrey, before moving to London in 1997 with Foxtons, and leading him to a regional director role across a significant number of branches.
Since leaving Foxtons, Cullen has worked independently, sharing his expertise in a consulting role.
Breffit joins the firm as head of sales for Sloane Square.
Mary Beeton, head of residential sales at Hamptons, said: “I am delighted to welcome Craig Tonkin, Mark Cullen and Mark Breffit to the Hamptons team.
“I have known and been aware of all three of them for many years, and each individually brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise with them to fortify Hamptons’ prime central London offering.”
SBK strengthens senior team with new appointment
Sheldon Bosley Knight (SBK), the Midlands-based land and property agency, has further strengthened its senior team with the appointment of Kevin Jackson as associate director.
Jackson, who was most recently with Connells as senior area director, will head up the regional sales division covering offices in Leicestershire, Nuneaton and Coventry.
He brings with him more than 30 years’ experience within the property industry, starting as an office junior for Black Horse Agencies – Frank Innes in 1992.
Since then he has held roles in all areas of the industry including overseeing sales, lettings, financial services and new homes and more recently being responsible for 26 offices.
SBK director and co-owner, Mike Cleary, said: “He [Jackson] is supremely talented, is knowledgeable and driven and I’ve no doubt he will ensure the SBK offices in the north of our patch continue to go from strength to strength.
“With all this experience I am confident he will be an enormous asset to the business.”
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