Property development professional David Podesta MRICS has joined Vail Williams as an associate on the South Coast.
David, who has worked in the property sector for more than 25 years, will be based out of Vail Williams’ South Coast regional offices in Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton, focusing specifically on property development consultancy for clients across the South East region.
He was previously head of development management and operations for Osborne, an established developer/contractor specialising in the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and build-to-rent sectors.
Prior to this he spent eight years as Estate Manager for the University of Southampton and so brings extensive ‘client side’ experience to this new role.
Russell Miller, Vail Williams’ Regional Managing Director for the South Coast region, said: “David is a well-respected property professional with an impressive track record in delivering results and this addition to the team supports our continued growth within the residential sector.
“Examples of his work includes the development and operation of a student townhouse scheme in Colchester followed by its sale to a major UK pension fund for nearly £16m, securing planning for a brownfield development site in central Norwich, followed by its disposal for £6.75m, and the development management of a new 130 unit BTR development in central Reading.
“David is already known to many Vail Williams colleagues in Southampton and Portsmouth, having worked for Hughes Ellard, a consultancy which merged with us nearly six years ago.”
MRICS-qualified, David started his career at the University of Portsmouth with a first-class honours degree in Estate Management.
He said: “I look forward to working with the team at Vail Williams and to providing the full range of development consultancy services to the firm’s extensive client base.”
David’s background includes estate/asset management, lease advisory, disposals & acquisitions, facilities management and, most recently, residential development where he was directly involved in all stages of the development process from site identification and acquisition, design, planning, funding, delivery, operation and disposal.
He has particular expertise in the PBSA sector, having worked on projects that have delivered in excess of 2,500 beds of student accommodation including both direct let and those with university lease/nomination agreements.
David has a specific interest in regeneration and working with clients to masterplan their landholdings in order to optimise the value from development opportunities.
