Venmore’s Colin Onborg prompted to branch manager

Just three months after joining the Venmore Group as assistant branch manager, Colin Onborg has been promoted to branch manager.

The Venmore Group is the north west’s largest group of independent estate agents with three brands across Wirral, Liverpool and Southport including Venmores, Bradshaw Farnham & Lea and Ball & Percival.

Onborg said: “We already have a great team here and my aim is to make sure we are providing excellent customer service to all of our clients daily, whilst becoming the agent of choice for homeowners thinking about moving in the local area.”

Reflecting on Onborg’s promotion, the Venmore Groups recently appointed chief executive officer, Mark Russell, commented: “In a short space of time Colin has displayed his experience and passion for hard work, always putting client care first. Colin possesses the experience and skills required to lead from the front and this natural progression to leading Venmore is one he will excel in.”

Inspired Villages hires Sharon Badelek as CFO and adds to its main board

Inspired Villages Group, the Legal & General-backed later living business, has announced that Sharon Badelek has joined the firm as its chief financial officer, in a newly created position that reflects its next major stage of growth and evolution.

Badelek brings over 20 years’ experience growing customer-centric businesses across the UK retail, leisure and healthcare sectors.

Her previous roles include CFO and CEO of Novus Leisure, which operates at over 40 venues across the UK, Group Finance Director at Vue Entertainment, where she was key in their expansion across the UK and Europe, as well as Group Financial Controller of Virgin Active and CFO of Westpoint Veterinary Group.

This strategic appointment will see Badelek join the main board and underpins Inspired Villages’ growth plan to deliver 50 later living communities over the next five to ten years.

Also being appointed to the Inspired Villages’ Board is its chief operating officer, Tom Lord, who joined the business in September 2018 from the InterContinental Group, where he was the head of global operations, holding over 20 years of experience in the leisure industry.

Both board appointments demonstrate Inspired Villages’ commitment to putting its long-term relationship with residents and customer centric approach at the heart of its investment strategy, as they help drive forward the next stage of Inspired Villages growth programme, reinforcing its dedication to providing a full lifestyle services and a home that is more than just bricks and mortar.

Retirement properties make up just 2% of UK housing stock, despite over-65s already making up 18% of the population in the UK and expected to double by 2041.

Inspired Villages, which was established by Legal & General in 2017, currently operates six later living communities across the UK and is set to add to the portfolio with a further 2,500 homes over the next six years.

Its seventh village, Ledian Gardens in Kent, is set to open in 2021, with construction already underway on an eighth village, Elderswell in Bedfordshire, and works due to start on a further four schemes next year.

Badelek is supported by a team of 18 finance and investment professionals, and will be working closely with Tatiana Smith as group finance manager.

Jamie Bunce, CEO of Inspired Villages, said: “Sharon’s appointment comes at a crucial time for the company. Her business acumen and strong customer-centric approach will be integral to our continued growth. Sharon and Tom’s board appointments will further support the company’s purpose of redefining the later living experience in this country and making a significant contribution to the overall strategic direction of Inspired Villages.”

Phil Bayliss, CEO of Later Living at Legal & General, added: “Covid has shone a light on the clear and pressing need to support our over-65s population, safeguarding them, and reliving the burden on our overwhelmed NHS and social care systems. We all want and deserve to live healthier, better and more independent lives for longer. Sharon’s appointment is a response to Inspired Villages’ fast paced growth and societal need.  Alongside Tom’s, her wealth of experience from growing hospitality and leisure businesses will prove extremely valuable to the company’s strategic direction.”

Ed Davidson joins RO Real Estate

The RO Group has appointed Ed Davidson as RO Real Estate’s new leasing manager.

Davidson, who will primarily be based in the group’s London office, is qualified as a chartered surveyor with Montagu Evans, where he was involved in office, industrial, retail and leisure investment; office agency; development; lease advisory; business rates and valuation.

He was previously employed as a senior surveyor with Strutt & Parker. There he was part of the national markets team, specialising in office agency, developments, and investments with a particular focus on outer London locations as well as the Thames Valley.

Prior to that, Davidson previously worked as leasing manager and then as senior leasing manager with Sorbon Estates, where he established and grew that company’s leasing team for their mixed-use portfolio.

David Kershaw, group real estate director, commented: “Ed is an ‘all-rounder’, and we look forward to benefitting from the variety of skills which he brings to RO Real Estate.  Fundamentally, Ed understands how to drive growth.  His passion and knack for business, combined with his strong experience in the property sector – particularly in leasing – combine in a set of skills which immediately struck us as a perfect fit for our company.

“On a more granular level, Ed has proven capability in the implementation of plans which maximise rental income and occupancy.  His effective, precise and professional manner of communication made an immediate impression, and we look forward to the contribution of these skills to the extension of our excellent relationships with new tenants.”