BPF chief executive on Budget hopes; Blackstone hires former Sunak adviser; Hammerson names Ireland boss

British Property Federation chief executive Melanie Leech has said the government must address issues around development viability in its upcoming Budget so the property industry can help it unlock economic growth and deliver more homes.

Appearing as the first guest on Top CREdentials, a new monthly podcast from CoStar News, where we sit down with top names from UK commercial real estate, Leech argued that the government is "almost completely failing to grab" the prizes offered by developers.

She said: "Viability is pretty much non-existent across parts of the country, everyone will have seen the data, the statistics around housebuilding in London, which has just collapsed, and across the country there are stalled projects, but we know there is capital, we know there is capital that wants to come, wants to invest."

Also in the episode, which is available on streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, Leech discusses the benefits of the BPF's upcoming merger with the Association of Real Estate Funds and the Investment Property Forum; and her predictions for the Building Safety Regulator.

Blackstone has hired Franck Petitgas, a former business adviser to the British prime minister and a Morgan Stanley veteran, to bolster its European leadership team. Petitgas will join the global real estate powerhouse in January as a senior managing director and vice-chairman, Europe. He spent 30 years at Morgan Stanley, where he was a member of the firm’s operating committee and co-head of global investment banking, before serving as head of Morgan Stanley International. He retired from there in early 2023 and went on to be appointed by the-then United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as his chief business adviser. He was appointed to the House of Lords last year.

Hammerson has appointed former JLL stalwart Claire Macken to lead the business in Ireland. Macken, who was most recently head of commercial value and risk advisory at JLL UK and Ireland, will join next month as country director, Ireland. She worked for JLL for more than a decade, joining from Cushman & Wakefield, formerly DTZ, where she was part of the investment transactions team, specialising in shopping centres. Macken will lead operations across the Hammerson's Ireland portfolio, including schemes such as Dundrum Town Centre, Swords Pavilions and the Ilac Centre. She has 25 years' real estate experience in total and takes on the role vacated by Connor Owens.

CBRE has made Angela Lowe, Mike Baugh and Neil Kirkham heads of office in Edinburgh, Leeds and Liverpool respectively. The trio, who start their roles at the beginning of next year, will help drive the firm's "continued growth", according to John Ogden, managing director, UK regional markets. Angela Lowe leads the office agency team in Scotland and becomes head of Edinburgh, succeeding Mark Little. Mike Baugh will assume the role of head of Leeds, succeeding Richard Bamford, and will continue to lead the industrial and logistics, North division. Neil Kirkham will become head of the firm's Liverpool office, having worked at the business for more than 13 years.

Regional property investment and development business Howard Group has hired Andy Creighton as group property director. Creighton, who is also appointed to the board of directors and joins the executive team, will be responsible for overseeing the group's property activities, including its investment, development and asset management functions. Most recently Creighton was head of investment management for Cromwell Property Group, a quoted Australian real estate investment group, and was also a director of property at Henderson Global Investors, before joining Aberdeen where he was head of UK real estate and subsequently head of investment management for Europe.

French real estate developer and contractor Groupe Legendre has promoted Thomas Vandecasteele to deputy chief executive manager and member of its executive committee, Comex. Vandecasteele is managing director of Legendre UK, its British arm, and leads the group’s operations in London, Jersey and Geneva. He joined the business in 2018. In his new role, Legendre said Vandecasteele will "help shape and deliver [its] strategic roadmap" across its construction and real estate activities and drive its international growth strategy. Vandecasteele has more than two decades' experience in construction and began his career in France with Bouygues.

Real estate specialist Pantera Advisory Group has launched a specialist division serving the insolvency and lending markets, hiring Kevin Counihan as managing director. Pantera Valuation Services, which will operate out of London and new 4,000-square-foot offices in Harrogate, will be led by Counihan alongside Pantera Advisory Group founder and chief executive, Tom Snook. Counihan joins from global valuation firm SIA in London, where he spent a decade as head of restructuring valuation services. He brings more than 20 years’ experience advising insolvency practitioners, lenders and corporates on asset valuation and recovery.