Cluttons bucked the trend in lockdown and has launched a northern hub with a team of experts based in Manchester.
The office, based on King Street in the City, is led by partner Charlie Ardern, who joined the company from Avison Young following 13 years at Knight Frank, who will also lead the company’s northern valuation practice.
Charlie is working alongside partner Ryan Jones, who also joined from Avison Young’s Manchester office. Ryan has over 17 years’ experience in the local market and leads business rates in the north and empty rates mitigation for Cluttons nationally.
Other recruits include: Sally Allsop, senior surveyor in valuation, who came from Lambert Smith Hampton with six years’ experience in Manchester valuations; and Georgie Park, a graduate who will predominantly support the valuation team.
Darren Zitren, partner and head of networks estates management and Josh Klepper, senior surveyor in compulsory purchase orders, have relocated to Manchester from the London office and there are several new hires to be announced in the next few months.
James Homer, investment and leasing agent, also supports Cluttons northern hub from his base in Leeds.
Between them the team have already been appointed on over £100m of commercial property, are undertaking over 100 HS2 appointments through their CPO service, and are supporting the national team on £20bn of valuations.
Managing partner, James Gray, said: “Building our geographical coverage across the UK is a key part of our growth strategy. We are always seeking opportunities to develop our national footprint to support our ambitions for the business and offer clients around the country a full range of services. Manchester has a flourishing commercial market and we see the city as an ideal location to launch and grow a northern hub over the next few years. Our mantra is to work together across all business lines to offer our clients so much more than standard property advice. This is what we want to replicate in Manchester for our northern clients – a full lifecycle of services with best in class experts that work together seamlessly to create both value and opportunities for our clients.”
Charlie added “The Manchester office has hit the ground running with experts from across the professional, management and building consultancy fields working on projects worth well over £100m already. We are excited to welcome several new senior people to the team over the next few months and be able to replicate the successful model of our London office by working together to service clients better and offer them more across all sectors and disciplines.”