Ken Williams FRICS, founding partner of property consultancy Vail Williams, passed away on January 28, 2014 following a short illness.
A member of RICS, Ken started his career in Manchester with Dunlop Heywood before moving south to join Mann & Co in Woking during the early 1970s. He founded his own practice Pearson Williams in Reading in March 1976. The growing business opened offices in Camberley, Surrey and Bracknell, Berkshire before merging with LS Vail & Son in 1988 to form Vail Williams, where Ken was the managing partner and joint senior partner with John Vail. During this period he acquired the businesses of Gibson Eley in Reading and Shepherd Dear & Co at Heathrow. Ken retired from the business in 2004 to become a consultant, following which he continued to act as an expert witness and arbitrator.
A prominent figure in the commercial property sector throughout the Thames Valley and Surrey areas, Ken was involved in many of the regions’ profile development and investment transactions during the 1980s and ‘90s representing clients such as Marlborough Property Holdings Plc, Crest Estates Plc, Barratt Commercial, Systems Designers Plc, Thorn EMI and NSS News Agents. Major developments led by him included Bartley Wood at Hook, Nr Basingstoke; Albany Park, Camberley; and many of the major office schemes in Camberley, Woking, Farnborough and Fleet.
Since moving to Spain in 2004, Ken remained in close contact with Vail Williams throughout his retirement taking great interest in the ongoing development of the firm. Most recently he was able to attend the Vail Williams’ alumni event hosted in London at the end of last year as part of Vail Williams’ 25th year anniversary celebrations.
Commenting on Ken’s career, Ian Rudland, chief executive officer of Vail Williams, said: “Ken was a visionary with an amazing capacity to look at business opportunities from a unique perspective. Ken’s commercial acumen enabled him to build Pearson Williams, the firm he founded in 1976, in to a hugely reputable commercial surveying practice with offices in Reading, Camberley and Bracknell. Ken led the merger of Pearson Williams to join forces with LS Vail & Son in 1988 which cemented Vail Williams’ position as the largest firm of commercial property agents in the South East.”
Ian added: “Ken was renowned for his social and inter-personal skills. He cared immensely about the people around him and spotted young talent which he mentored and nurtured, giving freely of his time and trust. He was never happier than when he was able relax and chat with his colleagues and acquaintances no matter their position. This aspect of Ken is very firmly embedded in the culture of Vail Williams. We are all very saddened to loose such a charismatic personality which has been made all the more poignant given that we have been celebrating the firm’s 25th anniversary and less than 12 months after the death of John Vail.”
A memorial service will be held in the near future, details of which will be available from Ian Rudland.
