George Tsielepis joins Montagu Evans as partner from Knight Frank
Montagu Evans has appointed residential valuation specialist George Tsielepis as a partner in its residential valuation team, continuing a series of senior hires across the business.
Tsielepis joins from Knight Frank, where he was a partner in the firm’s Residential Investment Valuation division. He has more than 18 years’ experience advising on valuations across the build-to-rent (BTR), private rented sector (PRS), co-living, single-family housing and wider residential development markets.
His work has included advising institutional lenders, funders, brokers and developers, with clients including HSBC, Macquarie, NatWest and Aldar.
Before joining Knight Frank, Tsielepis was Head of Valuation at Anderson, Wilde & Harris, where he helped establish the firm’s cross-sector valuation team.
At Montagu Evans, he will support the growth of the Residential Valuation team, which valued more than £3bn of residential assets over the past 12 months. Led by Oliver Chivers, the team provides valuation advice across the living sector, including development, investment and stock valuations for loan security, acquisitions and financial reporting.
The appointment follows a number of senior hires at Montagu Evans, including Cecilia Fellows from Carter Jonas, Will Lingard from CBRE, and John Weir, who is due to join as Head of Planning in October from the Church Commissioners for England.
Oliver Chivers, residential valuation lead at Montagu Evans, said: “Widely recognised as a subject matter expert, George brings deep expertise across the living sector. He joins at a time of sustained growth within the firm, and in a market where clients need clear commercially astute, sound valuation advice to navigate a highly complex environment.”
Tsielepis added: “Montagu Evans appealed to me for its unrivalled combination of cross-sectoral valuation expertise and a strongly established footprint in the residential market, giving it a compelling proposition in this service area. I look forward to leveraging the firm’s partner-led approach, as well as my existing network, to drive this offering further – with a deep supply-demand imbalance and a complex web of pressures in the residential market presenting ample room for additional growth.”
Savills bolsters its rural team with appointment of Simon Hillier
Savills has appointed Simon Hillier as a director in its Oxford rural team, expanding its expertise in rural portfolio management.
Hillier joins with more than 12 years’ experience in asset management, advising institutional funds and private clients across the east of England. In his previous role, he managed portfolios comprising around 30 development projects at various stages of delivery.
He has experience negotiating option agreements for landowners, structuring promotion agreements, partnerships and conditional contracts, and overseeing portfolio performance, tenancy management, rental matters and health and safety compliance.
In his new role, Hillier will advise institutional clients on strategic asset management, promotion agreements, development partnerships and opportunities to maximise land value.
Nick Pain, head of Savills Oxford Rural, said, “Simon’s experience and skillset align very well with our ambitions for growth and continued strengthening of our offer to clients – we are thrilled to have him as part of our team. We remain committed to providing best in class service and outcomes for our retained client base.”
Hillier added: “Our clients have unique and strategically important property portfolios which must be carefully managed to achieve optimised performance within an ever-changing and challenging environment. I look forward to working closely with the team and our clients to realise the full potential of these estate assets.”
Irwin Mitchell appoints Jane Sinclair to real estate team
Irwin Mitchell has appointed property specialist Jane Sinclair as a legal director in its real estate team, based in the firm’s Brighton office.
Sinclair advises clients on a range of property matters, including the acquisition and disposal of freehold and leasehold property, as well as landlord and tenant work.
She also has experience in property development, with particular expertise in negotiating and granting option and promotion agreements for the residential development of vacant land.
The appointment adds further transactional expertise to Irwin Mitchell’s real estate team as the firm continues to advise clients on property and development matters.
Guy Sackett, partner and national head of Irwin Mitchell’s real estate team, said: “Jane is a very strong addition to our Real Estate team. She brings broad commercial property experience, alongside particular expertise in development work, which will be especially valuable as we continue to build our highly regarded strategic land practice, focusing on both promoters and landowners.”
“Her appointment reflects our continued investment in the team and our commitment to providing clients with commercially-focused advice across the full spectrum of real estate issues.”
Sinclair added: “The firm has a strong reputation in the market and I’m looking forward to working with colleagues across the business to support clients on a wide range of commercial property and development matters.”
