British Land leader talks London offices on Top CREdentials
Kelly Cleveland, British Land's head of real estate and investment, says the business is "walking the walk" after relocating to Regent's Place, one of its own London office campuses, earlier this year.
Speaking to CoStar News' Top CREdentials podcast a few weeks after unpacking at 20 Triton Street she explains the company's conviction in the campus model and how it is creating modern workspaces for occupiers at other sites like Broadgate, Canada Water and Paddington Central.
Cleveland, who joined British Land from Grosvenor in 2011 after moving to the UK from New Zealand in the noughties, also talks about the impact of AI firms' thirst for workspace on the London office market, having signed Claude developer Anthropic to 158,000 square feet at Regent's Place earlier this year.
Cleveland also explains the REIT's decision to grow its retail park's portfolio from £1 billion to £3 billion in recent years, in addition to discussing her role on the board of Real Real Estate Balance, and the imminent arrival of her new boss Jo McNamara, with Simon Carter due to step down from his role as CEO.
Paul Williams leaves Derwent after working final day
Paul Williams has left Derwent London after a circa 40-year stint with the London-based developer. The former chief executive worked his final day last week, describing the role as a "huge privilege" in a LinkedIn post. Derwent announced in January that Williams would retire as CEO and director once his successor was appointed. Former Assura boss Jonathan Murphy is taking up the mantle.
Williams' time at Derwent started shortly after the firm was founded in 1984. He was made executive director in 1998 and became chief executive in 2019. He said on LinkedIn: "I know I am leaving the business in strong hands and wish Jonathan well for the future."
Leading West End office adviser joins boutique EIA Real Estate
Simon Knights, one of the London West End’s most prominent office advisers, has joined boutique real estate advisory firm EiA Real Estate. The company, based in Mayfair, said he will provide strategic, bespoke counsel to a select portfolio of private real estate clients after a 43-year career leading the West End office teams at Strutt & Parker and BNP Paribas Real Estate. Knights will work alongside founders Maxim Vane Percy and Alex Kirk. He said in a statement: "Joining Maxim and the team at EiA allows me to ignore the corporate script and focus entirely on what I love: providing adventurous, uncompromised real estate advice to private clients.
Knight Frank names Chris Davis permanent CFO
Global property consultancy Knight Frank has appointed Chris Davis as its permanent group chief financial officer. The firm said Davis, who also joins its group executive board, has more than 24 years of international leadership experience, including multiple CFO appointments, board roles and a decade as an equity partner. He previously served as Knight Frank’s interim group CFO and group executive board member. Before this, he was CFO at Marlet Property Group and G.Network, in addition to serving as chief restructuring officer and board director at Hilding Anders. He was also equity partner at both AlixPartners and THM Partners.
Former PwC global real estate chief takes up reins at Mountpark
Affinius Capital and Mountpark have hired Craig Hughes as chief executive of Mountpark, Affinius’ wholly owned pan-European logistics development firm. Hughes was global real estate leader at PwC, after leading its UK real estate and global sovereign wealth fund real estate practices. He will have responsibility for Mountpark’s leadership and business execution across its key European logistics markets.
It added that Justin Hildebrandt, who returned to lead Mountpark in 2024, will remain closely involved as partner and head of Europe at Affinius, overseeing the firm’s broader European strategy and providing strategic oversight to Mountpark.
Oxford Science Park appoints managing director
Life sciences property expert James Evans has swapped one major UK university city for another by taking up the managing director role at the The Oxford Science Park, majority owned by Magdalen College. Evans joins from Longfellow Real Estate Partners, where he was a senior director leading the company's operational activities in the UK, which included overseeing portfolio management, asset management, leasing and property management. Bosses at The Oxford Science Park said he would lead its next phase by overseeing investment across the campus while ensuring it continues to provide an outstanding environment for the science and technology companies based there.
The Social Hub appoints chief operating officer
International hospitality leader Megan Kennedy has joined The Social Hub from London-based members' club The Conduit, taking up the chief operating officer role as it targets European expansion. The Amsterdam-based hospitality group said Kennedy has more than 20 years' international experience across hospitality and lifestyle businesses, with a track record of scaling complex multi-site operations while maintaining a strong focus on people, culture and customer experience. She oversaw large-scale operations across the Americas for hospitality brand Selina. Kennedy is based in Barcelona and is working across the group's European portfolio.