Simon Wright joins Keller Williams UK as non-executive chairman

Keller Williams UK has appointed Simon Wright as non-executive chairman to help steer the business.

Wright is founding general partner at InterValley Ventures, a £50m VC fund backed by substantial institutional investors and he previously ran Virgin Entertainment Worldwide for over 10 years.

He is also a substantial investor in Keller Williams Japan and a board director there.

“My whole career has revolved around entrepreneurs” said Wright. “Working for them, and indeed for one of the best that the world has ever seen, working with them as a Venture Capitalist and working as one too.

“It’s this understanding of the business owner mindset, their ambition, risk appetite, thirst for innovation and the need for a sound P&L that I bring to the table to support Ben [Taylor, UK CEO] as he scales the business.”

“I could not be more excited at the enormous opportunity and in helping ambitious estate agents to grow and to earn significantly.

Matt Barrett to oversee estate agency businesses in Wales and South West England

Spicerhaart has appointed Matt Barrett to oversee and grow its estate agency businesses in Wales and South West England.

Barratt, 42, has 20 years’ experience in the industry, having started his career in Wiltshire, before moves to Leeds and Cardiff.

He rose to branch manager within three years before working his way up to area manager and area director roles with Sequence-brand Allen & Harris, taking responsibility for branches along the M4 corridor from Oxford to Cardiff.

Barratt has joined Spicerhaart as estate agency director, West & Wales, with responsibility for Darlows branches in Wales and Haart branches from Swindon to Plymouth.

He said: “There’s been a raging debate for years about whether the High Street model or online estate agency model is most effective.

“Spicerhaart is taking some of the best elements of the High Street model and integrating them with a more online hybrid model. It’s really exciting the way they are blending superb technology with high-quality personal interaction.

“I’ve seen organisations with great technology and those with excellent customer service, but Spicerhaart genuinely combines both to offer the client the best possible outcome.

“In a relationship-driven environment, the outcome for the client is not only talked about but absolutely adhered to. It really resonates with me that, through one of the most stressful times people can go through in finding a new home, we are ensuring we are as helpful and making it as smooth as possible.”

With Covid-restrictions gradually lifting, he is looking forward to meeting the teams across his area, which stretches from South Wales through Avon and Somerset to Wiltshire and Devon.

“There’s a huge growth opportunity,” he added, “Spicerhaart’s ambition is for growth, where there’s an opportunity, the support and investment is behind us. That also provides unparalleled growth and development opportunities for the team.”

Vail Williams promotes six, appoints four

Vail Williams LLP has made six strategic promotions and four new appointments as the business continues to expand across all sectors.

The end of financial year promotions come as the 170-strong, 50-partner, six-region, firm remains ahead of target in its current growth blueprint.

The latest promotions at the property consultancy– across the Thames Valley, Birmingham, Surrey and South Coast – include four to Associate and two to Surveyor Level 3 grade.

Adam Barnfield and Brian Miklasz (both Birmingham) and Alex Gauntlett and Jon Sharp (both Southampton) have all been named new associates, while Dan Reynaldo (Reading) and Andrew Soane (Woking) are promoted to Surveyor Level 3.

Managing partner, Matthew Samuel-Camps said the promotions reflected outstanding individual contributions to the business during a challenging 12 months and rewarded continued hard work.

He said: “We’ve got a very talented, dedicated and hard-working team across all sectors at Vail Williams and everyone has pulled together tremendously well for the good of the firm during demanding and exacting circumstances.

“The six promoted colleagues are continuing with superb career trajectories, which is adding value to our business and they thoroughly deserve this advancement.

“It’s so pleasing to see how people have developed, particularly over the past 12 to 15 months where everybody has been facing a lot of challenges and I am happy we are able to recognise those contributions.”

Expanding Vail Williams has also appointed three new members of staff.

Lease advisory expert Matt Doe has joined the Reading office as associate from Smith Price RRG, where he spent seven years specialising in lease advisory work for owners and occupiers of retail property across the UK.

Property valuations specialist Tim Hackett, who has been appointed as an associate in the Birmingham office, has more than 15 years’ experience in the city with Scanlans Consultant Surveyors. He is responsible for providing property valuations for retail, office and industrial and residential property.

Nicki Rought has joined the Woking office as a surveyor, from Westbourne Block Management, a niche residential property and private garden square management practice in west London. She previously worked for GBR Phoenix Beard (now Savills) and EA Shaw (now CBRE) in the West End.

Chartered building surveyor Holly Vos joined Vail Williams’ Woking, Surrey, office from independent London practice, Palmer Glew. She provides a range of building surveying and project management services to clients including investors, landlords and occupiers of commercial property.