Reading: Vail Williams promotes two
Reading-based property consultants Vail Williams LLP have promoted two advisers to associate at its office in Reading.
Philip Knight and Jane Chamberlin were promoted to associate for strong individual performances in their respective disciplines of asset management and valuation.
Knight, who has worked for Vail Williams for 15 years, specialises in property asset management service charge reconciliations, client account bank reconciliations and treasury management. He is responsible for maintaining over 100 client bank accounts for in excess of 50 clients, collecting £30 million in rents and maintaining 60 service charges with a total budget of £10m.
“I am really pleased to receive recognition for my work over the past 15 years. The firm’s property asset management team has grown a great deal in that time, and it feels good to be a part of it,” commented Knight.
Chamberlin, who previously worked for the Valuation Office Agency, is responsible for carrying out Red Book Valuations of residential and commercial properties in and around the Thames Valley area for loan security, probate/matrimonial purposes and asset valuations.
Speaking of her promotion, she said: “I’m delighted to have been promoted and I’m looking forward to contributing to the further growth of the firm.”
Across the firm’s other offices in Birmingham, Crawley, Southampton, Portsmouth, Woking and London, eight further promotions were made, spanning the firm’s acquisitions and disposals, commercial property investment, business rates, planning and lease advice teams.
Planning and valuation advisers, Ben Christian (Southampton) and Emily Knowles (Birmingham) were also promoted to associate.
Carole Taylor (Birmingham) and Richard Dawtrey (London) were invited to join the equity partnership for their work in property acquisition and disposal and commercial property investment.
Sam Hill (London), Joe Walker (Southampton) and Suzanne Holloway (Crawley) were all promoted to partner for their work in their respective disciplines of business rates, lease advice and planning.
Managing partner, Matthew Samuel-Camps, commented: “I’m delighted to announce this year’s round of promotions. Our people are at the heart of our business, so it’s incredibly important to reflect the outstanding contributions they have made during their time with us. Rewarding our people through clear career progression allows us to, together with our cultural values and agile approach to working, become the employer of choice – attracting and retaining the very best talent in the sector, for the benefit of our clients.”
Meanwhile, Elliot McNish, based at the firm’s office in Woking, was promoted to surveyor level 2, having joined Vail Williams following its acquisition of New Ballerino, in November 2018.
The promotions kick-start another year of projected growth for the residential and commercial property consultants who, in 2018, merged with Southampton and Fareham-based Hughes Ellard, and acquired New Ballerino in Chertsey.
Over the course of the last year (2018-19), the firm has achieved double-digit growth in revenues of 17% and now employs over 170 people across its offices in Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth, Woking, Crawley, Heathrow, Birmingham and London.
Samuel-Camps concluded: “As we look ahead to the next three years, we remain committed to investing in the future growth of the firm in each of the regions in which we operate, and in particular, to the continued development of the people that lie at the heart of our business. I’d like to take the opportunity to congratulate each and every one of this year’s promotees and wish to thank them for their hard work and dedication to both our clients and the wider business.”
The promotions took effect on June 1.
Vail Williams, which counts the likes of John Lewis, National Express and RBS amongst its clients, was established more than three decades ago and works with occupiers, landlords, developers and property investors.
