Property consultancy Vail Williams' managing partner, Matthew Samuel-Camps, is stepping down after a decade at the helm.
Danny George has taken on the role as managing partner with effect from 1 June 2025.
Samuel-Camps joined Vail Williams as a graduate in 1988 and rose up the ranks to became managing partner in 2015. He now becomes chair.
During his tenure, he led the business through a period of sustained geographical expansion which saw him oversee the firm’s entry into several markets including Oxford in 2024 and Bournemouth in 2021.
Through his delivery of three consecutive business plans, Samuel-Camps has overseen the doubling of Vail Williams’ turnover which is expected to exceed £21 million for the first time this year, while developing new service lines which have helped expand the team by 50% to 175 people.
At the firm’s recent annual conference, he said: “Vail Williams has gone from being a business with great potential to a confident, high-performing consultancy with purpose and pride.
“The foundations we have built have turned ambition into major achievements – both for our clients and our people – including accreditation as an Investors in People Gold business.
“When I became managing partner, I had a personal goal to achieve a sustainable turnover of at least £20 million within 10 years, but not just any old way – the right way – to ensure we could create a compelling, values-driven business to be proud of.
“As I step down, I do so having achieved that goal and so much more, thanks to the unwavering support of our clients and our people. For that, I am both incredibly grateful and proud.”
The firm operates from nine offices and is on course to exceed its long-term financial and strategic goals, it said.
Samuel-Camps added: “Our business is in the right place for a fresh perspective – for someone who brings new energy and who, like me, has their sights firmly on the future. I couldn’t be more delighted that the person taking over is Danny George.”
George, a partner and member of the executive board, joined Vail Williams as an associate in 2016 when the firm acquired business rates specialists Bisset Moffatt Hill and became partner in 2018 before being made lead partner for the firm’s business rates practice in 2019.
By 2020, he was made regional managing partner for the Gatwick region and led on a significant corporate values project, before being promoted to the Executive Board in 2023.
George said: “It’s a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Matthew, whose leadership has transformed Vail Williams over the past decade. I’m excited to build on that legacy and lead a firm that continues to put people and purpose at the heart of everything it does.”
Vail Williams is also launching a new three-year business plan aimed at further innovation, service excellence and sustainable growth.
George added: “We have achieved our goals for the business over the past 10 years, in spite of some challenging times, and this gives us the perfect platform to continue our growth trajectory.
“The real success of Vail Williams has been in the development of our culture and identity as a trusted adviser. This is what I intend to build on in my role as managing partner, making smart, strategic decisions with purpose, which will further enhance our services to clients.”
George added: "Our clients can expect business as usual, but as we look ahead, we do so with a firm eye on exceptional client service delivered by a team which is committed to remaining people-centric, innovative, and collaborative.”
“Of course, the world is evolving, complex global affairs, economic challenges, changes in the way businesses work, digitisation and the yet to be fully understood implications of AI all present potential challenges to businesses like ours – but with challenge also comes opportunity, and I’m incredibly excited about what is to come.”
Vail Williams is one of the largest independent providers of commercial and residential property advice in the UK.
It provides property advice for landlords, occupiers, investors, developers and landowners in the public and private sector, across the UK.
It employs 175 people, of which more than 50 are partners, based across its 12 offices in the Midlands and south of England in Birmingham, Crawley, Brighton, Woking, Heathrow, Leeds, London, Portsmouth, Reading, Oxford, Southampton and Bournemouth.