Cairn Group appoints new joint managing directors in restructure
Cairn Group, which operates in Scotland’s central belt, has undergone a significant management restructure.
The changes see Paul Shields, who has been finance director at Cairn for 17 years, and long-serving sales and investment director Jennifer McGonigle appointed as joint managing directors. Additionally, Fiona Herbin has been promoted from associate director to letting director, having been with the company since 2007.
Shields said: “I’m delighted to assume the role of joint managing director alongside Jennifer to navigate the future growth of the firm within a dynamic legislative landscape that has changed radically over the last decade, presenting both challenges and opportunities.”
As sales and investment director, McGonigle has been responsible for sourcing and selling investment opportunities for UK and overseas clients with a particular focus on HMO (house of multiple occupancy) investments and portfolio management, managing the estate agency divisions in Edinburgh and Glasgow and adding value to properties for landlords through developments and refurbishments.
She commented: “Having relished the roller coaster of trends and changes in the property market at Cairn through the last 13 years, I look forward to deploying the experience and knowledge gained in both sales and letting as joint managing director alongside Paul to the benefit of the firm.”
Herbin has been promoted through the ranks from branch manager to associate director where she oversaw all letting valuations for the Glasgow branch.
She remarked: “I’m delighted to have been given the responsibility to assist our existing landlords grow their portfolios at a time when legislative changes and the introduction of Private Residential Tenancy impact on letting agencies and landlords, ultimately in our clients’ best interests.”
Of the management restructure, David Rowand, chairman of Cairn Group, added: “Congratulations to Paul, Jennifer and Fiona, whose promotions are richly deserved. All three have been instrumental in the growth and development of the firm to date over an extended period of time.
“The consistency and excellence of service they have given our expanding client base over many years has been the foundation upon which Cairn has been built.”
Cairn’s management restructure follows a period of expansion via acquisition over recent years which has seen the firm acquire JJM Properties in Glasgow, Grange Letting in Edinburgh, Stephen McIntyre Letting in Portobello, Glasgow-based Rannoch Property, Clyde PM, the factoring arm of estate agent Clyde Property, and the Scottish arm of Glasgow-based Nationspaces Developments.
Fisher German re-elects managing partner
Fisher German has re-elected its managing partner for a third term after he oversaw its growth to a record size.
Andrew Bridge was unanimously voted to stay on as managing partner at Fisher German by his fellow partners until at least April 2028, having first been elected in 2019.
His re-election follows Fisher German’s merger with the former Matthews & Goodman in 2022, and the opening of a major new office in Birmingham in late 2023, which has made Fisher German a firm of 800 employees.
Bridge said: “It’s a huge honour that Fisher German’s many partners saw fit to elect me again for a third term. It’s a real vote of confidence in the direction the firm is going in.
“As a firm, we not only want to help our clients with one issue but to enable them to maximise the value they get from us by assisting them in all sorts of property matters.
“We now have an incredible breadth of expert knowledge across our company, from investment; lease advisory, and valuations, through to planning; sustainable energy; infrastructure consultancy; and more.
“Our clients are already reaping the benefits of this cross-section of expertise, and I am confident we can continue to grow our influence and win more instructions as I enter into my third term as managing partner.”
ARL announces committee members
The Association for Rental Living (ARL) – formerly UKAA – has confirmed its focus on the Build to Rent (BTR) single-family housing sector with the announcement of influential sector figures to lead its work in representing institutionally-backed single family housing.
Following the announcement of David Reid, Managing Director of Legal & General’s Suburban Build-to-Rent business, as chair of the ARL Single Family Housing committee in February, the organisation now introduces the full committee:
Duncan Sutherland, Public Affairs Director, Sigma Capital
Jennifer Murray, Director, Product, Equity and Partnerships, Homes England
Jamie Younger, Fund Director, Thriving Investments
Lesley Roberts, Managing Director, Monogram Living
Jonathon Ivory, Chief Investment Officer, Packaged Living
Alan Penfold, Managing Director, Apache Capital/Present Made
Andrew Hutchinson, CEO, Citra Living/Lloyds Banking Group
Will Montague, CEO, Leaf Living
Rebecca Taylor, Managing Director – Multifamily, Long Harbour
Oscar Kingsbury, Executive Director, PGIM Real Estate
Shamez Alibhai, Head of Community Housing, Managing Director, Man GPM
Anna Hwang, Director of Assets and Strategy, Placefirst
Cedric Bucher, CEO, Hearthstone Investments
James Hallett, Principal, Ares Management
Rupert Driver, Executive Director, CBRE
Debra Yudolph, CEO, SAY Consulting
Marc Thompson, Regeneration and Growth Director, Vistry Group
Helen Randerson, Partnerships Director, Gleeson
John Coles, Head of Acquisitions, Gatehouse Investment Management
Theo Plowman, Assistant Director (Real Estate), BPF
Brendan Geraghty, CEO, Association for Rental Living (ARL)
Brendan Geraghty, CEO, ARL, said: “This announcement of influential committee members reinforces the position of the ARL as the membership association for the institutionally backed UK Build to Rent sector. We recognise and fully embrace the importance of single-family housing and look forward to working with David and the committee to represent the interests of those investing in, developing and operating purpose-built, single-family rental homes.”
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