Leading commercial property agency Innes England has welcomed highly-experienced property professional Caroline Sanderson as a director in the company.
Caroline brings a wealth of expertise from a wide-ranging career in the public and private sectors to her role in the property asset management team, which works across the East Midlands and the wider Midlands region.
Most recently, she spent eight years as a regional manager for major retirement apartment developers McCarthy Stone, being responsible for a portfolio of residential developments from the East Midlands to Scotland, and was part of the operational management team leading the firm through rapid growth.
Caroline, whose career has seen her oversee a number of commercial and residential property development and management cases, said: “I’m delighted to join Innes England – I have always enjoyed working with them in the past. It’s a great size of company, very personable and with a lot of ambition.
“I’m keen to get back to a commercial property role, which I’ve had lots of experience in. Property management is about people as well as buildings, so you don’t lose those skills you’ve built up. It’s about negotiating, understanding and listening, and trying to come up with a solution that suits everybody.”
As a teenager Caroline was determined to avoid working in an office all day. She added: “I grew up on a farm and was initially interested in land agency but there were very few female land agents at the time and so I moved into commercial property.”
Having gained a degree in general practice surveying in Newcastle, Caroline’s first job was as a senior technical officer for the British Rail Property Board, valuing properties and visiting scrapyards, among other sites.
A job as a management surveyor followed, then senior roles for British Waterways, first in Leeds and then Newark, and she was deeply involved in high-profile heritage projects such as the Loughborough Canal basin redevelopment and the refurbishments of The Kiln, Newark, and Castle Wharf, Nottingham.
“Castle Wharf was a rundown, almost derelict warehouse with no tenants, so it was wonderful to see its transformation,” she said. “I worked with the development team to ensure a smooth transition to management – it was a really interesting process and I learned a lot.”
Caroline later became head of asset management and property services for Rutland County Council, before first joining McCarthy Stone as an area manager in 2011, where she enjoyed the focus on building communities.
She said: “No two days are the same in property management and that variety I’ve had throughout my career is important to me. I’m also excited about working in an office environment for the first time in 12 years, though there will be plenty of going out and about.”
Caroline, a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, added: “It’s been good to see more women enter the industry over the years – there have been many changes and the sector is a very different place, which is fantastic. It’s a really great career for anyone to have.”
Innes England director Gary Woodward, head of property asset management, said: “Caroline is a really impressive property professional with incredibly wide-ranging expertise across both the public and private sectors, which will really strengthen our offering in the management team here.
“Caroline will play a pivotal role in supporting our plans for growth within the management department and her skills in operational and facilities management are an important addition to our team.”
