Harding Green appoints Ian Gascoigne as non-executive director
Harding Green, the self-employed broker model, has appointed recent FTSE 100 director, Ian Gascoigne, as non-executive director and board member with immediate effect.
With an executive and board-level career in financial services spanning over 30 years, Gascoigne is a special advisor and the former MD at St James’s Place Wealth Management – a British investment management firm which has over 20 offices in the UK and a network of 4,700 self-employed financial advisors.
Having started as a founding employee in 1991, Gascoigne was one of the key individuals who turned the disrupter company into the FTSE 100 £5bn company it is today.
In his new role at Harding Green, Gascoigne will be supporting founder and CEO, Nick Carter, in helping the business grow, which includes guiding on the progress and execution of strategic direction, monitoring the implementation of its future business plans, improving their offering to agents and hitting the firm’s ambitious targets in the next three-four years. The business also hopes to expand through phased expansion throughout the country with its Franchising ‘Teams’ offering, which it launched eighteen months ago.
Carter said: “He [Gascoigne] brings a wealth of executive experience building a hugely successful business supporting self-employed advisers. I have always admired St James’s Place Wealth Management. They are the masters of the self-employed ‘Broker’ style model, and out of all the industries in the UK, I feel they are the most successful business for self-employed individuals.
“There are many synergies between what I have developed at Harding Green, so I wanted somebody with a physical background in building and scaling this type of business as they have.
“Ian will be instrumental in our future direction and assisting me in growing the business. We are incredibly fortunate to have Ian on board, and I look forward to learning from him over the next few years.”
Gascoigne added: “I thrive on working with a start-up disrupter business, and it was clear from the offset that Nick was building something with a positive work culture of great quality and focused on client and agent satisfaction. Harding Green has a very similar business model to what I built in my previous role, which really appeals to me.
“The estate agency industry is going through some exciting changes, and I look forward to supporting Nick in his ambitions for the growing business.”
Tom Kirk named Preston Baker’s new CEO
Yorkshire estate agency Preston Baker has made a major new appointment in Tom Kirk, it’s new CEO, and he is intent on expanding the company and its self-employed associate model nationally.
Kirk, who previously worked for Purplebricks, The Agency UK, and Boomin, joins Preston Baker at a time when it has recently transitioned from an employed agency to a fully self-employed model, with a growing team of self-employed associates.
“I am intensely passionate and committed to providing home movers with the highest standard of estate agency service and this is best achieved with the low volume, high service, personal approach, supported by market-leading technology, that Preston Baker delivers with its new self-employed Associate model,” said Kirk.
“Preston Baker is a well-established brand with a fabulous reputation and I am looking to enhance and develop this further,” he added.
Welcoming Kirk, Preston Baker Group CEO, Ian Preston, said: “Tom brings a wealth of agency experience with him that we know will be invaluable in taking Preston Baker Estate Agency to the next level and driving our expansion plans.”
Senior appointment at Furnell Residential
Furnell Residential, a family-owned estate agency, has strengthened its team with a senior appointment.
Steve Riley, who has 20 years’ experience in the property industry, has worked for a number of high street estate agencies and will be based at the firm’s new office in Bardsey, near Wetherby.
The company, which launched in 2018, covers North Leeds, Wetherby, York, Harrogate and surrounding areas.
Riley said: “I have long been an admirer of Furnell and am delighted to be joining them at such an exciting time.
“There is no doubt that Furnell has established an exceptional reputation for the quality of service it provides to both sellers and buyers which is reflected in the number of boards you see within its area of operation.
“Nowadays the ‘one size fits all’ approach offered by the bigger firms simply does not work and the customer expectation is much more about the type of tailored solution offered by Furnell.”
Ben Furnell, managing director of Furnell Residential, commented: “Steve is a highly experienced property professional and an excellent addition to our seven-strong team.
“We are keen to expand our geographical footprint and Steve will be pivotal in helping us achieve this.”
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