Neale bows out but his name lives on

VETERAN surveyor David Neale is to hang up his theodolite after more than 50 years in the property business.

He has sold his company, Birmingham-based David Neale Surveyors, to colleague Neil Tunks.

It is the third time Neale has sold a business: his firm was acquired by Vail Williams in 2006 and before that he sold his business to Hillier Parker (now CBRE) in 1994.

Neale began his career as a trainee at Grimley & Son (now GVA) in 1960. Birmingham-born, he has worked in both his home city and in London for Cheshire Gibson and Elliot Son & Boynton.

The 70-year-old attempted retirement twice before, but now says he is planning to spend his dotage on the golf course and the beaches in Spain, where he has a holiday home.

He said: “I have spent more than half a century in property. In that time, I have seen massive changes to the way surveyors are trained, the introduction of a raft of legislation and the implementation of IT. I have worked through three recessions, the worst of which is undoubtedly the one we are still in now.

“I fully intended to retire in 2009, but was asked to manage a handful of ‘legacy’ clients. The thing snowballed and before I knew it I was back in business. In the last couple of years Neil Tunks has been my right-hand man and I was determined to give him first option of taking on the business.”

Tunks joined the firm two years ago as associate director.  He previously worked for DTZ and the Aviva fund.

At David Neale Surveyors he handles property portfolios for Birmingham Cathedral, Birmingham Dogs Home, Great Malvern Holdings, Jubilee Estates and the Queen Anne Trust.

The firm was recently appointed to manage Chester Cathedral’s property holdings and recruited Sam Tarjomani, formerly of Hindwoods Chartered Surveyors, to support expansion plans.

Tunks said: “When David said he was planning to retire I was keen to take over the reins. It is a great opportunity to acquire an established business, which I know inside out, but with potential to grow.

“We have established a niche for clients who want the kind of personal service they can’t buy at the big corporates – the kind of service David is synonymous with and which I fully intend to be a hallmark of the business going forward.”

The firm will continue to operate from George Street under the name David Neale Surveyors.