The Midlands office of independent property advisor GVA has expanded its retail team with the appointment of new associate, Gary Bucknall.
Since starting his career at Johnson Fellows, Gary has built up considerable experience in the retail market, having worked on a combination of professional and agency instructions for national and regional retailers in high street, suburban and out of town locations.
Gary has acted for well known retailers including Tesco, Boots and One Stop Stores, providing advice to landlords, maintaining and developing tenant mixes and recommending asset management and marketing strategies.
At GVA, Gary will be working for landlords and developers including Opus Land, Conygar Investments Company and The Healthcare Property Company. He will also be looking after accounts for retailers and occupiers such as Urban Country and Leisure Ltd, Players Bars and Temple Martial Arts.
Gary’s appointment forms a part of GVA’s wider strategy to enhance its retail offering in the Midlands by providing a dedicated acquisitions expert.
He said: “By offering specific advice on acquisitions, we will be filling a gap in the market and adding another string to the GVA bow. I am very excited and exceedingly pleased to be a part of this team.”
Gary’s appointment follows the recent recruitment of Alastair Roberston-Dunn, who joined the retail team as a director in August.
Alastair said: “Having worked with Gary previously, I know that his outstanding energy, drive and professionalism are going to be a huge benefit to us as we continue to evolve and strengthen the retail team in the Midlands.
“What we’ve seen across the region are a number of retailers and occupiers looking to take more space and move into fresh units, despite the poor market, and Gary’s appointment allows us to capitalise on this positive upswing.
GVA is one of the only property agencies in the Midlands to have two dedicated retail directors, with Alastair working alongside fellow Director Paul Brewer, who specialises in providing consultancy advice to local authorities, landowners, developers and food store operators on town centre mixed use regeneration developments and opportunities.
Paul said: “By growing the team we can ensure that we are offering the full suite of our retail and leisure services and advice to our clients.”
GVA’s retail team has seen substantial growth over the last four years and has now returned to pre-recession strength, with 30 people working across the business’s regional offices.