Agency swoops for Harworth land acquisitions specialist

An expert in land acquisitions has been taken on by chartered surveyors Mather Jamie.

Gary Owens MRICS has started in the newly-created role, which will see him identifying and securing new land opportunities for the firm’s clients across the Midlands and North of England, while leading on the sale of residential and commercial land with planning permission.

Previously director of acquisitions for Harworth Group, where he sat on the Executive Board since 2014, Owens has been responsible for leading on the acquisition of more than 2,000 acres of land, with the potential to deliver over 3,000 new homes and 8 million sq ft of commercial space, in addition to commercial investments with an annual rent roll in excess of £5m.

He said: “After more than 14 years involved in successful land acquisition and development management for various private and publicly listed companies, including seven years at Harworth Group, I wanted to make the move to a small, private practice. From working closely with Mather Jamie, I got to know their team and how they worked and was impressed by the quality of their clients and the variety of work they do for them.”

Robert Cole, director of Mather Jamie, said; “After working with Gary on some high profile projects, I was struck by his professionalism and knowledge of the acquisitions process. I thought he’d make an excellent addition to our team of experts and approached him with this new role, which we hope will help us to expand into areas we had not previously covered.”