One of the biggest Commercial Property Consultants in the East Midlands is expanding its Derby operations as demand for professional advice on business space in and around the City continues to rise.
Pride Park-based FHP Property Consultants has added two new people to its team, with Jon Marriott coming in to head the firm’s professional services department and Darran Severn moving up from London to develop his agency career in a thriving industrial City.
Their arrival comes in the wake of the appointment last year of Tim Richardson as office head. A well-known figure on Derby’s commercial property scene, he says the new recruits are a signal of FHP’s ambitions to expand the reach of its Pride Park operations.
He commented: “We’ve been firmly established in Derby for more than 10 years now, and the expansion is a reflection of the City’s role as the engine of regional growth. Jon and Darran bring a mix of seasoned experience and real ambition, and they join us at a time when we are being asked to take on high quality instructions across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and along the M1 corridor”.
“The official figures show that the East Midlands is the fastest growing part of the UK economy, but the lion’s share of that stems from the aerospace, automotive and transport engineering industries which Derby is world famous for”.
“We’re seeing significant investment in projects like Infinity Park and the Derby Arena and projects like these make statements about the City’s ambitions which give people confidence that it’s a place that welcomes business and investors”.
Jon Marriott comes to FHP Derby with more than a decade’s experience of property valuation in both the public and private sector. He worked most recently for a major global property consultancy, and says “I’ve been valuing property across the private sector gives me valuable experience of the way the market works here”.
“I’ve acted for some of the major lending institutions, private investors and property businesses, and I believe there is a real opportunity to grow our professional services work in a market which is performing strongly”.
Darran Severn moved to FHP in Derby after three years specialising in office and industrial agency work around London Heathrow Airport. He says he was drawn to Derby because of its status as a fast growing City. “I knew FHP because of their reputation in the industry as one of the most active agents, and Derby is a great place to develop your career because it’s a growing industrial City anchored on fantastic global businesses”.
Darran will work on a wide range of agency instruction for office, industrial and retails client. He will work alongside Mark Bradley, who runs FHP’s successful retail team in Derby, and colleagues Lauren Sherwin and
Becki Phillips.
FHP also have the largest retail team in the Midlands with eight surveyors across the Derby and Nottingham offices. FHP continue to act as joint agents on Intu Derby with unprecedented demand throughout the last 12 months, demonstrating the strength of Derby and Intu Derby for expanding retailers. FHP’s Alan Pearson leads the Intu marketing and has been instrumental in adding to the mix of quality retailers and restaurants in the centre.
Tim Richardson concluded “Jon and Darran join FHP at an important time. The East Midlands commercial property market is now progressing strongly as the economic recovery gathers pace and both occupiers and investors are looking to make the most of what the market has to offer. They need experienced advisors who know the market and we are in pole position to do that”.
