Birmingham-based property consultants Vail Williams LLP have promoted two female surveyors based at its office on Newhall Street in the city.
Carole Taylor who has been at the firm for four years as a salaried partner, has been invited to join the equity partnership, whilst Emily Knowles has been promoted to associate.
With over 25 years’ experience in industrial property acquisition and disposal, Carole, who recently took on the role of regional managing partner for Vail Williams’ Birmingham office, has played an active role in the Midlands property market for many years.
During this time, she has acted on a number of schemes, including Westwood Business Park (Coventry), Birmingham International Park (Birmingham Airport), Kings Norton Business Centre and Magna Park Lutterworth.
Major acquisition instructions have included the Law Society’s new Midlands HQ, a new manufacturing facility for specialist system build company Innovare, new combined Midlands base for Jacobs, and a regional HQ for Shell Energy.
She said: “I am delighted to have been invited to join the equity partnership at such an exciting term for the firm. Our presence in Birmingham has more than doubled in size in the time I have been here, and I am keen to build on this further.”
Emily joined Vail Williams in 2012 and qualified as an RICS Registered Valuer in 2015.
A commercial property valuation specialist, she regularly works with commercial lending clients, such as Lloyds, Barclays and One Savings Bank, and also provides valuation advice to the Canal & River Trust of more specialised inland waterways properties.
Emily is Chairman of RICS Matrics Birmingham where she is responsible for spearheading the Matrics’ programme, providing a network, support and a voice for its members and engaging with local schools and universities to attract new talent to the profession.
She also joined the RICS West Midlands Regional Board in Spring this year, as a Non-Executive Board Member, supporting a range of objectives to set and improve local industry standards.
Across the firm’s other offices in Crawley, Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth, London and Woking, eight further promotions were made, spanning the firm’s commercial property investment, business rates, planning, lease advice, valuation and property asset management teams.
Richard Dawtrey (London) was also invited to join the equity partnership, whilst Sam Hill (London), Joe Walker (Southampton) and Suzanne Holloway (Crawley) were all promoted to partner for their work in their respective disciplines of business rates, lease advice and planning.
Managing Partner, Matthew Samuel-Camps, commented: “I’m delighted to announce this year’s round of promotions. Our people are at the heart of our business, so it’s incredibly important to reflect the outstanding contributions they have made during their time with us.”
“Rewarding our people through clear career progression allows us to, together with our cultural values and agile approach to working, become the employer of choice – attracting and retaining the very best talent in the sector, for the benefit of our clients,” Matthew continued.
Ben Christian (Southampton), Philip Knight and Jane Chamberlin (Reading) were also promoted to associate for strong individual performances in their respective disciplines of planning, asset management and valuation.
Meanwhile, Elliot McNish, based at the firm’s office in Woking, was promoted to Surveyor Level 2, having joined Vail Williams following its acquisition of New Ballerino, in November 2018.
The promotions kick-start another year of projected growth for the residential and commercial property consultants who, in 2018, merged with Southampton and Fareham – based Hughes Ellard, and acquired New Ballerino in Chertsey.
Over the course of the last year (2018-19), the firm has achieved double-digit growth in revenues of 17% and now employs over 170 people across its offices in Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth, Woking, Crawley, Heathrow, Birmingham and London.
Matthew concluded: “As we look ahead to the next three years, we remain committed to investing in the future growth of the firm in each of the regions in which we operate, and in particular, to the continued development of the people that lie at the heart of our business.
“I’d like to take the opportunity to congratulate each and every one of this year’s promotees and wish to thank them for their hard work and dedication to both our clients and the wider business.”
The promotions took effect on 1st June.
