GSC Grays makes three senior appointments

GSC Grays in Yorkshire has appointed Janine Tompkins as chief operating officer and Sally Bowen joins as financial director, both in newly created roles. Caroline Bowerbank has also joined as human resources manager.

In January this year the estate agency increased staffing and now employs 139 people across nine offices in the North of England.

Managing director Guy Coggrave said: “As part of our ongoing growth and commitment to excellence I am delighted to announce these key appointments to our senior management team.

“Janine, Sally and Caroline bring valuable expertise that strengthens our leadership and enhances the company’s future. Their skills reinforce our management team providing essential support for our expansion and ensuring we continue to deliver outstanding service to our clients. Together, they will help drive business success through strategic planning and staff development.

“Over the past 12 months, GSC Grays has significantly expanded our geographical presence, service offering and workforce to support a growing client portfolio.”

Kelly Brown appointed director of Places for People Scotland

Former Scotland Rugby captain, Kelly Brown, has been appointed director of Places for People Scotland, overseeing thousands of social homes the charity provides across the country.

Kelly, who won 64 caps for his country in a playing career that saw him make over 350 club appearances for Border Reivers, Glasgow Warriors, and Saracens, joined the Places for People Group as a regional director in 2023 after leaving his coaching role with Saracens.

He will now replace Katie Smart as director of Places for People Scotland (PfPS) which is one of Scotland’s leading charitable housing associations owning and managing over 9,000 homes across the country, predominantly social rent. Smart is taking up a new role of director of customer excellence at Places for People Group.

Brown said: “Homelessness is at a record high in Scotland with 17,424 households being either homeless or at risk. In Scotland alone, there are 253,000 people waiting for a social home, with 90,000 of those being children. Scottish Government and 13 of Scotland’s councils have all declared a housing emergency – and the time for action is now.

“A good-quality, stable and safe home is what everyone deserves and for a child it’s so important for the start you’re able to make in life. I’m honoured to be taking up this role in which I will work hard to ensure our 9,000 homes across Scotland, mainly for social rent, provide our Customers with a place to thrive.

“PfPS continues to play a big role in building more of the desperately needed homes across Scotland, with 2,500 expected over the next five years. Beyond bricks and mortar, however, there are also so many challenges social housing Customers face every day such as financial issues, health and wellbeing, access to employment and training and so much more.

“As well as building the quality affordable homes Scotland desperately needs, to tackle the housing crisis we also must ensure those at the centre of it have the additional support they need and that’s a big part of what we do at PfPS. We look beyond the homes we manage and put people at the centre of what we do.

“The feeling I got representing my country is something I never thought I’d replicate, but working to tackle the housing crisis gives me the same drive and determination as I had then. As well as working hard to provide the right homes, in the right places, I will be a strong voice to fight for social housing Customers across Scotland.”

Greg Reed, Group Chief Executive Officer at PfP, said: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to Katie for the great job she has done over the last two years in our Communities across Scotland.

“I’m delighted to be welcoming Kelly into this really important role, focussing on ensuring our Customers in Scotland have the home they deserve. Kelly embodies our ethos of doing the right thing always and his passion and drive to make a difference across our Communities make him a huge asset and the perfect fit to lead our work in Scotland.”

RICS recruits acting president

RICS has named Nick Maclean as acting president amid a regulatory review into current president Justin Sullivan’s involvement as an expert witness in a High Court case last month.

The new president of RICS has stepped aside just two months into the job following his involvement in a legal battle over a £32m moth-infested mansion.

Justin Sullivan has referred himself to the RICS’ Standards and Regulation Board and requested an independent regulatory review into the High Court judgment handed down last month.

Nick Maclean, RICS president elect and CBRE’s former chair of the Middle East and North Africa, has temporarily become acting president of the organisation while the investigation into Sullivan is conducted.

Sullivan’s referral comes after he served as an expert witness for the seller of a mansion in Notting Hill which was found by its buyers, Iya Patarkatsishvili and Yevhen Hunyak, to be infested by what one insect specialist had described as a moth infestation of “extreme proportions”.

A High Court judge ruled last month that the buyers were entitled to a full refund as the seller William Woodward-Fisher, had failed to disclose the infestation. Mr Woodward-Fisher has since been handed a £36.5m final court bill.

Sullivan was criticised by the judge, Mr Justice Fancourt, for providing “flawed” evidence and for being ”unwilling to make sensible concessions”.

The judge said: “I was unimpressed by Mr Sullivan’s grasp of the matters in issue, which to a considerable degree, I consider, was work that had been done for him by his team, and with the detail of which he was insufficiently familiar.

“I was unimpressed by his exercise of judgement, which seemed to me to be flawed in many instances, and by his approach to answering questions that were put to him.”

A formal investigation in line with RICS regulatory framework will be opened if “sufficient evidence suggests further action is required”, the RICS said.

A spokesperson for the RICS explained: “Nick Maclean has, temporarily, become acting president of RICS. This follows the involvement of Justin Sullivan as an expert witness in High Court proceedings in the case of Iya Patarkatsishvili & Anor v William Woodward-Fisher, about which he has referred the matter to the Standards and Regulation Board’s regulatory team.”

A spokesperson for Sullivan added: “There is a misunderstanding and an over-reaction. Mr Sullivan is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and is instructed in litigation as an expert witness. There is no finding of professional misconduct against Mr Sullivan. He has referred himself to RICS as a matter of routine. That process is confidential. Mr Sullivan has nothing further to say at present.”

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