Former Winkworth directors join Moveli
Moveli has announced the addition of West London agents Carl Burgess and Narendra Gandhi, who join the platform as a team.
The move follows a period of sustained growth for Moveli, with over 20 experienced agents joining the network so far this year, representing more than 30% broker growth year-to-date, as the company continues to attract senior professionals seeking an alternative to the traditional agency model.
Burgess and Gandhi bring over 60 years’ combined experience across Shepherd’s Bush, Hammersmith, Chiswick, Ealing and Acton. Both held senior leadership roles at Winkworth, including managing director and owner/prtner positions.
Moveli co-founder, Ben Littlewood, said: “We’re seeing a clear trend of highly experienced agents choosing to move away from the traditional high street and franchise models. Carl and Narendra are a great example of that – both highly respected in their markets, and now joining Moveli together as a team.”
Knight Frank strengthens super-prime lettings division
Knight Frank has restructured its super-prime lettings operation in Prime Central London, with Nick Beckett appointed co-head of the team alongside Tom Smith.
The pair have worked together since 2019 and will now formally share leadership responsibilities across the division. Under the new structure, Smith will continue overseeing the operational and strategic side of the business, including work with development clients and institutional landlords, while Beckett will focus on advising private clients and leading transactional activity across prime central London.
The changes come as demand at the top end of the lettings market continues to outperform the wider sector. Knight Frank said that while overall tenancy volumes declined by 2% in the year to February, the number of tenancies agreed at more than £5,000 per week increased by 8%.
The agency said demand is being driven largely by internationally mobile high-net-worth tenants seeking flexibility rather than long-term ownership commitments.
Knight Frank also pointed to rising taxes and regulatory changes as factors influencing behaviour among ultra-high-net-worth individuals, with more choosing to rent prime properties in global cities rather than purchase homes they may only occupy intermittently.
According to the firm, rents at the top end of the market have increased significantly over the past five years in cities including London, New York and Singapore.
Beckett said: “Having spent 12 years at Knight Frank, it’s been a privilege to grow within a firm that champions excellence, collaboration, and long term client relationships.
“Winning the Spear’s 500 Property Broker of the Year award was a standout moment in my career, and I’m grateful to my private clients whose trust has allowed me to consistently be one of the leading fee earners within the residential division. Their loyalty, returning to me time and again for their property needs, continues to be the driving force behind everything I do.”
Smith added: “Nick’s promotion recognises his exceptional track record with private clients and his consistent ability to deliver at the very top end of the PCL market.
“Execution at this level has grown increasingly complex, with significantly greater emphasis on AML, compliance and risk management alongside the need for deep private‑client expertise and operational oversight. By evolving our senior structure and clearly separating focus, while maintaining aligned leadership, we are exceptionally well placed to manage that complexity responsibly as the market continues to shift.
“The combination of operational depth and best‑in‑class client execution is what sets our super prime offering apart.”
BTG Eddisons Property Auctions appoints auctioneer Lucy Crapper
BTG Eddisons Property Auctions has appointed auctioneer Lucy Crapper to its national team following the merger of several auction businesses earlier this year.
The combined operation – bringing together Pugh, Mark Jenkinson, SDL Property Auctions and Network Auctions – now handles around 400 property and land lots each month and is the UK’s second largest property auctioneer by volume.
Crapper joins the business with nearly 20 years’ experience in the auction sector, having previously worked at Blundells and Countrywide UK, where she led auction sales activity across northern England.
She will oversee auctions involving residential and commercial properties, land and development opportunities across BTG Eddisons Property Auctions’ national operation.
Crapper has longstanding ties to the auction industry, having grown up around the business through her father, the late Sheffield auctioneer and surveyor Patrick Crapper.
“I owe much of my passion for auctions and my rostrum skills to my father, who taught me not just the mechanics of auctions, but how everything really works in the auction room,” said Crapper. “There are still relatively few female property auctioneers in the UK, so I’m very proud to be one of them.”
She added: “Being an auctioneer is a very traditional role and in many ways the fundamentals haven’t changed for hundreds of years. Even when Covid forced a move online, the core appeal of auctions remained the same: property transactions completed quickly, transparently and with certainty.
“The shift to digital formats has made auctions accessible to a wider audience, opening up the market to more buyers and sellers.”
