John D Wood & Co. announce two new senior appointments

John D Wood & Co. has announced two new senior appointments, with Jane Jenrick becoming head of lettings and Hayley Parnell promoted to property management director.

Jenrick, who has worked in the business for nine years, began her career in lettings 15 years ago and first worked in John D Wood & Co as a branch manager, then regional director for South West London and Surrey, most recently as the regional rirector for central London and now assumes the role across all 24 offices and associated lettings departments.

She said: “When I joined John D Wood & Co. my aspiration was to become head of the lettings business and so I am proud to move into this role. Following the challenges the pandemic has brought, we remain determined with ambitious plans for 2021 and I am excited to be leading such an exceptional team.”

Polly Ogden Duffy, managing director, John D Wood & Co. added: “Jane is a true brand ambassador for John D Wood & Co. Her depth of knowledge and understanding, alongside her willingness to lead when unexpected challenges arise, and continuing to make unwavering contributions to the business make her the perfect candidate for the role, I wish her continued success.”

Meanwhile, Hayley Parnell has been appointed as property management director.

She commented: “I am honoured to now have the opportunity to lead the property management department, I have a team who are capable of achieving such great things.”

Ringley appoints Verka Hammond as chief operations officer

Ringley Group has appointed Verka Hammond as chief operations officer (COO) of Ringley Final Accounts Solutions, a new business division.

Hammond joins from Warwick Estates Property Management, where she was chief financial officer for four years.

In her role at Warwick Estates Property Management, she was responsible for corporate finance and all back-office functions. During her time at the company, turnover increased from £5m to £11m through organic growth and acquisitions.

She was also responsible for eight successful property acquisitions, totalling £4m and reduced the cost of the business by implementing a better cost review, procurement and planning internal systems.

In her new role at Ringley Final Accounts Solutions, which has offices in London and Manchester, she will be responsible for providing strategic advice to Ringley’s clients, and will report to Mary-Anne Bowring, founder and group managing director at Ringley.

Her appointment comes soon after Ringley announced the launch of Ringley Prime and the appointment of Lee Gregori, also formerly of Warwick Estates, as its new chief executive.

Ringley Group also recently appointed Jon Curtis as its new head of building engineering. He has previously presented to government ministers on issues relating to the EWS1 (External Wall System) forms, and will spearhead Ringley’s response to the cladding crisis.

Commenting on Verka’s appointment, Mary-Anne Bowring, group managing director at Ringley, said: “We’re delighted to announce the appointment of Verka as COO of Ringley Final Accounts Solutions, a newly launched business division that builds on our recent growth despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

“Verka will help strengthen our existing client relationships by providing strategic counsel on a range of issues, and bolsters our senior leadership team.”

ERE Property makes major new appointments

ERE Property, based in Leeds, has made new appointments to its management and wider team as it embarks on growth plans for 2021 and beyond.

New recruits include commercial director Claire Lowcock, who has worked in property and lettings for over 14 years and has a wealth of experience in business generation, coaching, training, sales progression, management, branch management and process inspection, and marketing manager Susan Preston, a former journalist, author, content, marketing, PR and communications professional with over 30 years’ experience.

The company has also made new appointments in its sales and lettings teams and is moving to new, larger offices in Leeds city centre in May.

Helen Mercer-Jones, managing director of ERE Property, which has offices in Leeds and Hong Kong, said: “While the last year has been a huge challenge, we have taken the opportunity to reset. Property remains a strong investment opportunity with low interest rates and good exchange rates for overseas investors, and rather than recoil we have pressed ahead with our plans to strengthen our offering, grow our team and expand.”

She added: “We have an exceptionally strong team in place and are well-placed to press ahead with our expansion plans for both sales and lettings. We aim to offer the very best service possible to investors, landlords and tenants.

“We are growing our UK and Hong Kong sales teams, developing our work and relationships with developers, looking to forge new relationships and make acquisitions, developing the lettings side of the business with new staff members, and continue to source the best development deals with the highest yields and the best long-term capital gain prospects, in high growth areas that we have researched to have a shortage of rental properties available on the market, offering the best rental opportunities.”