On 1 May 2024, the Argent business best known for delivering large scale regeneration across the UK, including King’s Cross in London, Brindleyplace in Birmingham and St Peter’s Square in Manchester, will transfer its employees, projects and assets to Related Argent Limited, which has been operating in parallel since 2015. Going forward, the business will operate solely under the Related Argent name.
Related Argent is a UK business set up by the Argent Partners and Related Companies. The company brings together the expertise and track record of Argent with that of Related – one of the most innovative and prolific real estate companies in the US that has delivered Hudson Yards and Deutsche Bank Center in New York, The Square in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the Grand LA in Los Angeles.
Since its inception eight years ago, Related Argent has become one of the UK’s leading developer-owner-operators and has rapidly grown a £9Bn+, 12m sq ft mixed-use development pipeline. This includes major regeneration projects in London, at Brent Cross Town and Tottenham Hale, as well as a Build-to-Rent (BtR) scheme at King’s Cross, known as ‘Author King’s Cross’.
Alongside the planned transfer to Related Argent, the business is also announcing leadership changes and a long-term succession plan.
Robert Evans who has been with Argent for 23 years has decided to leave the business at or around the transfer to Related Argent in May 2024. Robert has stepped down as the Joint Managing Partner of Argent and will remain as a Partner until his departure. He will also remain as the CEO of King’s Cross until he leaves the business. Nick Searl will continue as the Managing Partner of Argent until the business transfer.
Tom Goodall, Partner and Head of Residential for Related Argent, will become the Managing Director of Related Argent Limited with immediate effect and will lead the combined business from 1 May 2024. Current Partners Nick Searl, André Gibbs, Morwenna Hall and Mike Lightbound will all become Executive Directors, and David Partridge will continue as the Related Argent Chair. The leadership team will continue to work closely with Ken Wong, Co-Founder of Related Argent and COO of Related Companies. The consolidated business will have approximately 200 talented employees working across its projects.
Related Argent has built an enviable pipeline and invested close to £1Bn of capital across its projects. It has leveraged its reputation for delivering sustainable, mixed-use developments to attract capital investment and major project partners to make significant, substantial and consistent progress during challenging economic times.
Related Argent’s first UK BtR project, Author King’s Cross, is set to open in late Summer 2023. This will be the first in a growing portfolio of BtR assets that capitalises on Related’s extensive US rental experience.
Major momentum also continues at the Brent Cross Town development which is being delivered alongside the master-developer joint venture partnership with Barnet Council, with five buildings underway including affordable, market sale and BtR homes as well as student homes in partnership with Fusion. The first three residential buildings have also been completed at Tottenham Hale.
Over the past year, the business secured significant inward investment from The Olayan Group for its King’s Cross BtR development. It also achieved one of the largest capital raises of the year in Q4 2022 with Invesco, acting on behalf of a US separate account client, to bring forward £600m of gross development value including new homes and retail at Brent Cross Town.
Tom Goodall, Managing Director of Related Argent said: “It is an honour to be offered the opportunity to lead the Related Argent Limited business and I look forward to working with my 200 talented colleagues who are delivering some of the best projects in the UK. Our current pipeline is just the start of the Related Argent journey as we aspire to grow the business with new projects both inside and outside of London. Together with Nick Searl and my other Partners, over the coming year we will be focused on preparing ourselves to become one company in May 2024.”
Nick Searl, Managing Partner, Argent and Partner of Related Argent said: ”I firstly want to congratulate Tom Goodall on his new role as Managing Director of Related Argent Limited. Our future is in good hands, and I will be working with Tom and my other colleagues to take forward Related Argent as the next evolution of this great business. I also want to thank Robert Evans for everything he has done over the past three years working closely with me as Joint Managing Partner. He has been instrumental to the success of our business and our projects over many years.”
Ken Wong, Co-Founder of Related Argent and COO of Related Companies said: “When we established Related Argent, combining the best of Argent and Related, it was our shared objective that this new company would be the future of the business. Related Argent brings a compelling and unmatched offer to the UK market. We believe that announcing these succession plans well ahead of their implementation creates the right platform for the future leadership to succeed, and for the business to flourish. I would like to congratulate Tom Goodall on his new position as Managing Director of Related Argent Limited and thank Robert Evans and Nick Searl and the Partners for their leadership.”
David Partridge, Chair of Related Argent said: “For more than 40 years, our company has continually evolved to meet shifting business, investor and consumer needs. Related Argent Limited is a natural next step in this process and I look forward to working with the leadership team to deliver the regeneration projects and services our UK cities need and demand.”