Appointments: Johnson Fellows; Bilfinger GVA, CBRE; Bruton Knowles

THE Birmingham office of chartered surveyors Johnson Fellows has hired senior surveyor George Brittain.

Mr Brittain will work in the property and asset management team supporting some of Johnson Fellows’ major clients including Tesco.

He will also be involved in developing the company’s corporate estate management services, and joins from the Birmingham office of CBRE where he worked as a surveyor for two years.

Neil Wetherell, partner at Johnson Fellows, said: “George is a young and talented surveyor who already has invaluable experience in the Midlands market. We’re delighted to have him join us and to add his expertise and enthusiasm to our growing team.”

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A RAFT of recent promotions and new hires in the planning team at the Midlands office of Bilfinger GVA.

The consultancy said the expanding team reflects the strength of the property market in the region.

Tim Evans has been promoted to associate and Miles Drew and Cat Mumby to principal planners, while Stephanie Eastwood has been elected as a member of the RTPI and promoted directly to senior planner.

Bilfinger GVA has taken on three staff, Jeremy Haughton as a senior planner, Eleanor Suttie as assistant planner and Katherine Green as a graduate planner.

Craig Alsbury, senior director, Bilfinger GVA, said: “Our team is continuing to grow as a direct result of the number of instructions that we currently have in the Midlands, together with the strength of our pipeline – work that we expect to convert later this year. The region is continuing to perform strongly across all sectors and we, in turn, have responded by increasing our capacity as a team.

“At Bilfinger GVA we attract the best and the brightest, and our new colleagues will continue to bring a fresh perspective to our work. Of course, they will be aided by the skilled staff we already have at our disposal – making our planning team even stronger in the Midlands. This is good news for the company, but also gives a strong signal regarding the market in the region.”

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CBRE had added a senior surveyor to its residential land and development team in Birmingham.

Will Blacker joins the firm from BNP Paribas Real Estate, where he advised private developers and local authorities on scheme viability. He also spent six months on secondment with Network Rail.

At CBRE he will advise on residential land sales and acquisitions, as well as providing consultancy advice.

Adrian Willet, senior director and head of the residential land and development team, said: “It’s straight in at the deep end for Will, as landowners and purchasers assess values and prepare to test the market post Brexit.”

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A TRIO of graduate surveyors have taken their first step on the commercial property career ladder thanks to Bruton Knowles.

Cash Evans, Freddie Meyer and Lauren Milner have joined the property consultancy’s Birmingham office on training contracts.

Over the next two years, the graduates will gain practical, hands on experience as part of their training to become fully qualified chartered surveyors.

Ian Pitt, partner and head of Bruton Knowles’ Birmingham office, said: “This is another great example of Bruton Knowles supporting the property industry by providing career opportunities to a new generation of surveyors.

“The firm has a strong track record of taking on graduates and supporting them through their APC with training and development. A number of surveyors in the Birmingham office came via the graduate route and are now integral members of the team.

“I’m confident Cash, Freddie and Lauren have equally successful careers as surveyors ahead of them.”