EiA Real Estate, the London-based adviser launched by two leading West End office agents last July, has added two heavyweight senior recruits to beef up its offer in hospitality and lease advisory, CoStar News can reveal.
Maxim Vane Percy, a former partner in Montagu Evans' West End leasing team, and Alex Kirk, a former associate, set up EiA Real Estate last year, focusing particularly on prime assets in London's Mayfair and St James’s. Key instructions are Ashby Capital's The Kensington Building, Berkeley Estate Asset Management’s (BEAM) One Curzon Street, Berkeley Square House and 50 Berkeley Street, 50 Stratton Street, 33 Cavendish Square, 20 Berkeley Square and CBRE IM’s 10 Whitfield Street.
The duo initially worked together in GVA’s central London office leasing team where they advised BEAM, the London-based asset and development manager that manages a significant number of UK real estate assets, including much of Berkeley Square. The duo subsequently appointed Joe Ellis as a surveyor.
EiA has now recruited Gavin Brent and Mathew Jackson, two experienced and well-known practitioners in the fields of hospitality and lease advisory respectively.
Brent joins from Avison Young where he was a principal and managing director of its UK leisure business. Brent was managing director at Humberts Leisure, when it was bought by GVA in 2011 and worked with the leisure and hotel team to build the leisure offer at the business. It was subsequently bought by Avison Young in 2019.
He is a leading expert in professional services across the leisure industry having advised clients including pub company, Stonegate and Columbia Threadneedle, and having recently completed transactions with both David Lloyd Leisure and Pure Gyms. He has recently been appointed by one of the country’s leading golf and country club operators, The Club Company, to assist with its expansion programme. Brent is a key figure in the specialist areas of football/sports stadiums and visitor attractions.
Jackson joins from Montagu Evans where he was a partner for 11 years in lease advisory, with major clients including Landsec, British Land and BEAM. Prior to that Jackson was a director at JLL. He is an expert in rent reviews, lease renewals, lease restructures and transaction support.
Vane Percy said: "We have all worked together before. There is also really great crossover in terms of the business they bring, what they can add to our offer, and the shared culture. It is not about being bigger but about getting great people."
Brent said: "We know and respect each other and each brings specialist skills that enable EiA to give more focused and dedicated client care."
Jackson added that the company is bringing together experts that are "very strong in their fields" to provide a more complete package of services.
Vane Percy said EiA is hugely involved in and passionate about the design and look and feel of the buildings on which it advises. "Our ambition has been to enlist expert advisers on lease advisory and on the hotel and leisure side who are specialists and leaders in their respective areas."