Chris Gill was named managing director of Kajima Europe's partnerships business in September as part of a succession strategy at the real asset investor, developer and manager with £10 billion of assets under management.
He joined as projects and investment director in January 2020, but Gill's promotion sees him take charge of Kajima Partnerships with a clear goal of accelerating growth across its core sectors of renewables, regeneration and social infrastructure.

Kajima's desire to push further into town centre regeneration projects is exemplified by its recent success in being named by Sutton Council as its preferred development partner, along with Genr8 Developments, for the next phase of works to make over the St Nicholas Shopping Centre, invovling a civic hub, homes and retail and leisure accommodation.

Gill described the nuances of regenerating town centres and public-private partnership in an interview with CoStar News. He said: "You see all the time new tenders coming out for regeneration schemes across the UK and that's because there are town centres up and down the UK, particularly post-COVID, which require investment and regeneration, and those projects are not easy. They're not easy for the private sector, they're not easy for public sector, but they're projects that are needed for the communities who live and work in those areas."

You can read the full interview with Kajima Partnerships' new managing director here.

Royal London Asset Management Property has made Will Edwards portfolio fund manager for the £6 billion Royal London Property Pension Fund. RLAM said Edwards has more than 20 years’ experience in developing and executing investment strategies across the UK property sector and joins from Legal & General Asset Management, where he was head of emerging strategies and a senior fund manager. It added that he will focus on "delivering the optimal fund strategy, maximising the performance of each property, further embedding responsible investment principles, and sourcing acquisitions to complement the existing portfolio and capitalise on favourable market conditions".

Avison Young UK has appointed Helen Collins as principal, national head of affordable housing and managing director for the Midlands region. Collins brings 30 years of experience in senior consultancy and delivery. She was UK board director and head of affordable housing consultancy at Savills. Avison Young said she will "lead the [its] affordable housing team, driving growth in services for key stakeholders, leveraging the firm's expertise in development, regeneration and residential investment". Collins will also oversee its Midlands multi-disciplinary operations as managing director.

CBRE has strengthened its Scotland industrial and logistics team with the appointment of Bryce Stewart, who joins as a senior director in its Edinburgh office. Stewart brings more than 30 years’ experience operating in the country and has held senior roles at Colliers International as head of the Scottish industrial team, and was more recently partner at Montagu Evans. The group described him as having a "proven track record as a leading adviser on high-profile, complex development sites and large-scale industrial properties". Craig Semple, CBRE's industrial and logistics team in Scotland lead, said: "Bryce is extremely well connected, and those relationships will create wider opportunities for CBRE."

Bluebook, the central London office agency, has promoted Whitney Bowrin to partner. With 12 years of experience in the property industry, Bowrin specialises in advising landlords on lease advisory and agency matters prominently in the West End office market.

Bowrin joins five other partners in the 10-strong fee earning team, the largest Bluebook has been since it was set up in 2013. Nick Powell, lease advisory partner, said in a statement: "Whitney's promotion is a testament to her unwavering hard work and dedication to the business and reinforces our commitment to recognising exceptional talent... [she] has become an invaluable member of the Bluebook team.”

Brookfield Properties UK has appointed Matt Hern as its next head of operations, succeeding Steven Cheshire, who will retire next year. Hern has worked for the company for 11 years across multiple properties in London including Principal Place, London Wall Place, 99 Bishopsgate and Aldgate Tower. He will oversee the engineering, technical, and property management of its London office portfolio spanning 5 million square feet, while continuing to lead its efforts to reduce the amount of carbon used. Dan Scanlon, president, Brookfield Properties UK, said Hern's "extensive and varied experience at Brookfield Properties positions him well" for the company's next chapter.