haart appoints new area director in Essex

Claire Ballantyne is preparing to expand the haart’s presence further across Essex after being appointed area director for lettings in the region.

Ballantyne, who was previously branch partner in Stratford, hopes to grow the number of lettings branches which have ‘elite’ status, based on the number of properties they have on their lettings book.

She said: “I’m very excited to develop Essex further. There are a number of towns where we don’t have lettings branches that I’d like to explore.”

Ballantyne joined haart as a trainee negotiator in 2013 and quickly became a rising star, being promoted to lettings negotiator in 2014, branch manager in 2015, senior branch manager in 2018 and branch partner in 2020.

She cut her teeth in lettings by working at several haart branches in east London, including Romford, Walthamstow, Leytonstone and more recently Stratford. Now, she plans to bring her experience to Essex.

Ballantyne added: “I’ve met some amazing people during my time in East London and can’t wait for the opportunities Essex presents.”

Spicerhaart lettings managing director Satwant Basi added: “From joining us as a grade 1 associate eight years ago, Claire is yet another example of continuous improvement, and making the most of opportunities available to her.

“I have no doubt that our Essex team will continue being a force in Spicerhaart and move to even greater heights under her stewardship.”

Knight Frank names new head of sales in Marylebone office

Knight Frank has appointed Ali Mathews, a partner in the firm, as head of Marylebone sales.

This news follows last month’s announcement that Christian Lock-Necrews – current head of Marylebone sales – will be commencing a new role as head of sales in the firm’s Knightsbridge office, from 1^st April 2022.

A specialist in the prime central London market, Mathews’ property career started in 2013 where she was a senior negotiator in Marsh and Parsons’ Pimlico branch.

In 2016, she joined Knight Frank’s Marylebone office where, for the past five years, she has run and developed the growth of the local offices’ core market sales offering.

In her new role, commencing on 1^st April 2022, Mathews will be responsible for continuing to expand the firm’s presence in Marylebone village and driving Knight Frank’s market share locally. She will also be actively maintaining and building upon the strong relationships that Christian has developed over the last 20 years in the same role.

Mathews commented: “As a longstanding collective team of five, we have so much to offer our clients with a rich understanding of the local market. Marylebone, as an area to live, is in great demand whereby we are experiencing huge levels of activity from new prospective buyers…there couldn’t be a more exciting time for me to step into this new role!”

James Clarke, head of London sales at Knight Frank, said: “Ali’s wealth of experience in Marylebone makes her perfectly positioned to take over the overall running of the offices’ sales department. She has had brilliant success in managing the core sales market and I have every confidence that, with her knowledge of the local area, she is best placed to grow our business in W1.”

Savills welcomes first residential apprentices

Savills has welcomed its first intake of residential apprentices with seven individuals hired by the business to study and work within sales teams throughout London and the country. They join 100 others already at the firm undertaking a range of apprenticeships including building surveying, town planning, IT and finance.

The programme will see the participants complete a Junior Estate Agent (level 2) Apprenticeship in order to acquire the fundamental skills associated with residential property sales such as data registration, valuing and marketing a property, conducting viewings and how to receive and progress an offer. Along with on the job learning, each will receive training from an external provider and will be independently assessed through scenario based tasks, professional discussions and a portfolio of their work.

The residential apprentices will be based in London offices in Westminster, Hackney / Victoria Park, Islington, Canary Wharf and Northwood, as well as the Savills York and Bath offices. Before joining Savills, their former professions included working as a fruit and vegetable market stall trader, beauty therapist, teaching assistant and dog walker.

Meanwhile applications will open this week (National Apprenticeship Week, 7^th – 13^th February) for an autumn intake of residential apprentices. Since launching an apprenticeship programme in 2014, more than 15 divisions across the UK business have one or more apprentice, 55 of whom are based in regional offices with the remainder in the capital.

Liza-Jane Kelly, London residential director at Savills, commented: “We are delighted to be welcoming our first specialist residential apprentices to the business. All bring with them relevant customer-facing experience and excellent foundations upon which to build a successful career in property and all impressed our interview panel with their energy and excellent communication skills.”

Serena Phillips, professional apprenticeship manager at Savills, added: “Over the past eight years the Savills apprenticeship programme has gone from strength to strength and we are delighted that our residential teams will be helping to create the next generation of the real estate’s workforce. Creating a diverse and talented workforce is central to our recruitment and by opening a second intake later in the year, we will be able to welcome and support the career development of more new entrants to the industry.”