'Mr Leeds' reflects on 40-year career; MetSpace hires acquisitions lead; URW names chief investment officer

After retiring from his role at JLL this summer, Jeff Pearey sat down with CoStar News to discuss his 40 years in property and how the UK's regional office markets have changed over that period.

Pearey, who spent two decades with JLL leading its UK regional office agency team as a senior director, discusses his career journey, from driving his red Vauxhall Chevette to his first job in Cambridge, to returning to run JLL's Leeds office.

He also explains how cities like Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield have evolved their infrastructure and amenity over the decades to attract blue-chip tenants. "I think if someone arrived in a time capsule, they would probably find it quite hard to accept that Leeds has changed so dramatically," he says.

Pearey, who is "enjoying a bit of me time" after leaving JLL, also describes what his next role might look like and why he thinks regional rents will continue to rise over the next five years. "It has got to happen and it will happen and increasingly the large to medium size corporates will pay a reasonable rent to be in modern buildings".

You can listen to the episode below or on Spotify and Apple.

The Supervisory Board of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has appointed Kathleen Verelst as chief investment officer. Verelst, who will also become a member of the management board, will succeed Vincent Rouget, who will replace Jean-Marie Tritant as CEO and chairman of the board. Verelst draws on more than 30 years' experience in international real estate, gained at an Morgan Stanley and law firms Shearman & Sterling and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Verelst will be responsible for implementing the group’s disciplined capital allocation framework as presented in the “A Platform for Growth” 2025-2028 business plan, URW said.

Managed office provider MetSpace has recruited Daniel Yershon to the role of acquisitions manager this month. MetSpace said Yershon's role involves identifying and securing prospective locations across prime central London, "as well as building and nurturing key relationships with landlords and partners". The recruit began his career in residential property at Barnard Marcus before moving into commercial real estate in 2019. He has since worked with several leading flexible office operators, including Business Cube and BE Offices. He joined the Langham Estate in 2022, where he developed expertise in the traditional leasing market, the group said.

Knight Frank has chosen Rory Penn to succeed William Beardmore-Gray as the firm’s senior partner and group chair in April 2027 following a formal election process. Penn, who is Knight Frank’s head of London residential sales, chair of its global private office and a member of the UK board, will join the firm’s group executive board in April 2026, beginning a year-long transition period ahead of taking up the role. He joined the firm in 2018 after it bought VanHan, the business he co-founded with Thomas van Straubenzee. Beardmore-Gray will retire from the partnership in March 2027 after 36 years with the firm.

Colliers’ national offices team has hired Molly Cook to its team in Birmingham as an associate director, rejoining the firm from Bruntwood. The consultancy said Cook brings extensive experience in office agency and a strong track record of advising occupiers and landlords on strategic leasing solutions. She originally joined Colliers in 2018 as a graduate surveyor, gaining experience across valuation, property management, corporate solutions, and national offices teams. According to Cook's LinkedIn profile, Bruntwood hired her as an associate commercial director in March, having spent more than six and a half years at Colliers.

Living specialist Harris Associates has promoted Alex Matthews as a partner after more than two years with the firm. Matthews will continue as head of build-to-rent having played a major role in building the platform. He has also led on a a number of high-profile transactions, strengthened relationships with global capital and shaped its rental housing strategy, the firm added. As a partner Matthews will take a broader role in business strategy, talent development and growth across the living spectrum. "The appointment signals the firm’s intent to continue investing in people, widening its leadership bench as it enters a new phase of expansion," the firm added.

"Alpina advances our regional strategy to establish the most comprehensive integrated property and facilities management platform in the Asia Pacific," said Mark Ridley, group chief executive of Savills, last week, after it bought a majority shareholding in the Singapore-based property and facilities management platform. Savills will initially have 70% ownership of Alpina, with options which could increase its ownership to 100% in 2030. Alpina is a leading provider of government and public sector works, offering a range of building solutions including integrated building services, mechanical and electrical engineering, and alteration and addition services.