Vail Williams strengthens its team

Property consultancy Vail Williams LLP has made six strategic promotions and new appointments to strengthen its team to meet demand as business continues to grow across all sectors. The end of financial year promotions come as the 170-strong, 50-partner, six-region, firm remains ahead of target in its current growth blueprint.

Vail Williams continued to invest in people and the latest technology to maintain a full service to clients throughout the pandemic, quickly implementing business contingency and remote working plans. The latest promotions – across the Surrey, Thames Valley, Birmingham and South Coast regions – include four to associate and two to surveyor level 3 grade.

Adam Barnfield and Brian Miklasz (both Birmingham) and Alex Gauntlett and Jon Sharp (both Southampton) have all been named new associates, while Dan Reynaldo (Reading) and Andrew Soane (Woking) are promoted to surveyor level 3.

Soane joined Vail Williams in 2019 from Rushmoor Borough Council in Farnborough, where he was responsible for estate management, lettings, lease renewals and the purchase of investment properties, including office, industrial, retail out of town retail, leisure and car dealerships.

Working initially in the Surrey valuation team, he now splits his time between valuation and occupier advice and is working towards taking is RICS assessment of professional competence (APC) exams in the autumn to qualify as a chartered surveyor. 

He has experience of valuation for a number of purposes, including secure lending on behalf of a number of banks, the purchase of a property or business, and pension matters. This includes a mixture of residential development sites, existing residential portfolios and commercial investment properties and portfolios. 

As part of his occupier advisory work, Soane supports and advises a number of national and local occupiers with a variety of matters including disposals, rent reviews and lease renewals.

He said: “These are exciting times as the country begins to further unlock and I am determined to continue do my best for Vail Williams throughout the region as valued clients fully expand their operations to pre-pandemic levels.”

Surrey regional managing partner Geoff Fallon said: “Andrew’s promotion is well deserved and is in recognition of his good start at Vail Williams, his attitude and his willingness to get involved. He has a tremendous ability to learn and contribute and offer support to his colleagues in the wider team. He now has a growing confidence in his own ability. Coming from a local authority background he also brought with him an awful lot of knowledge and contacts.

“Andrew has become an integral part of our team in a very short space of time. His tenacity and desire to get things done is second-to-none and he is constantly building up the breadth and depth of his experience.”

Expanding Vail Williams has also appointed new members of staff in Surrey to cope with growing business demands.

Nicki Rought has joined the Woking office as a surveyor, from Westbourne Block Management, a niche residential property and private garden square management practice in West London. 

She previously worked for GBR Phoenix Beard (now Savills) and EA Shaw (now CBRE) in the West End. Her previous clients have included Columbia Threadneedle, Thames River Capital, Aberdeen Asset Management, Shaftesbury PLC and Pelham Associates.

Through her experience in both commercial and residential sectors, Rought has advised investors, developers and private landlords in a variety of building consultancy services. She has predominantly specified and project managed office and residential property refurbishment projects for landlords and occupiers in London and the home counties. 

She also provides dilapidation advice and negotiates financial settlements for retail, industrial and office landlords and occupiers. Rought said: “I believe in an honest and open approach to working with clients, using my skills and experience to gain trust and respect, which I believe is evidenced by lasting relationships with landlords and occupiers.”

This follows the appointment in April of chartered building surveyor Holly Vos as senior surveyor. She joined from independent London practice, Palmer Glew, having previously worked at the City offices of GVA (now Avison Young) and Cushman & Wakefield.

Her in-depth experience in building consultancy and project management has bolstered the region’s building consultancy work across the South East.

She provides a range of building surveying and project management services to clients including investors, landlords and occupiers of commercial property.

The promotions and appointments follow the acquisition of Bournemouth-based Cowling & West in March, strengthening Vail Williams’ South Coast presence. 

Following a series of mergers, Vail Williams has 10 offices – Birmingham,  Bournemouth, Crawley, Heathrow, Leeds, London, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton and Woking – and is launching a property management and occupier advisory IT platform, while unveiling a brand refresh and newly configured website. 

Vail Williams’ full-service property advice includes property valuation, planning and lease advice, investment and development expertise, property asset management and occupier consultancy.