Savills IM CEO steps aside after seven years

Savills Investment Management is preparing for a change in leadership after chief executive, Alex Jeffrey, announced he will step back from day-to-day management at the end of June.

Jeffrey, who has led the business for the past seven years, will remain with the company as a senior adviser, supporting the transition and continuing to provide strategic guidance.

As part of the succession plan, Michael Neal will take over as interim chief executive from 1 July while the firm considers its long-term leadership arrangements.

Neal, who joined Savills IM in January 2025 as global chief investment officer, will retain his chief investment officer responsibilities alongside the interim chief executive role. Prior to joining the business, he served as chief investment officer and head of funds management at Nuveen and has more than 30 years of experience in global real estate investment.

“Alex has made a significant contribution to Savills IM over the past seven years, strengthening the business and expanding its global institutional investor relationships,” Savills CEO Simon Shaw.

“On behalf of the board and everyone at Savills, I would like to thank him for his leadership and we are pleased that he will continue to support the business as senior advisor supporting the transition to Michael Neal who, with his impressive track record, is best placed to continue the evolution of the business,” he added.

Women in Estate Agency expands board with new appointments

Women in Estate Agency (WiEA) has appointed three new board members and confirmed two interim appointments on a permanent basis as part of a planned refresh of its leadership team.

Neil Cobbold, Matt Baldock and Katy Billany have joined the board following a formal appointment process in which candidates were identified by existing board members and approved by a full board vote.

The organisation has also confirmed Danielle Nash and Kelly Gardner as permanent board members after both initially joined in interim roles last year. Nash was appointed to support the delivery of WiEA’s annual conference, while Gardner joined during the absence of co-founder Liana Loporto-Browne.

Loporto-Browne has now returned to the board after taking a year away to focus on her business. Meanwhile, Iain McKenzie and Ben Madden are stepping down from their board positions after completing their terms.

Separately, Amy Shields will move into a WiEA Champion role from September, focusing on supporting members and developing local community engagement initiatives.

The changes come as WiEA continues to expand its activities, including its training programme, partnership network, podcast and annual conference.

Cluttons hires head of senior living

Cluttons has expanded its specialist property offering with the launch of a dedicated healthcare and senior living division, appointing industry veteran Iain Lock to lead the new team.

Lock joins the firm as a partner from Avison Young, where he spent more than a decade leading its healthcare business. He will work alongside Amanda Roddy, who joined Cluttons earlier this year, as the firm looks to strengthen its presence in the growing healthcare and senior living sectors.

The new division will provide consultancy and transactional services across independent healthcare, primary care and senior living assets, including valuation, agency, lease advisory, development and investment consultancy. The move forms part of Cluttons’ wider growth strategy across its infrastructure, commercial and residential business lines.

John Gravett, CEO at Cluttons, said: “As we expand into the healthcare and senior living sector, we have appointed some of the best people to carry this team forward, with more announcements to follow in the coming months. Iain will play a pivotal role in bringing specialist knowledge, identifying opportunities to collaborate across the wider business, and driving the team’s continued growth.”

Lock added: “Cluttons gives me an exceptional platform to build something genuinely new and market-leading, with a hand-picked team of some of the strongest advisors in the sector Cluttons is ambitious, it has the right culture, and complementary services already within the business, all of which creates real opportunities to offer clients transparent, comprehensive and expert services targeted to their needs. ”

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