In Brief: D’arcy to retire; Addleshaw Goddard advises on deal; Historic orphanage sold; Travel trade visit

JULIAN D’arcy, head of northern residential development at Knight Frank, is to retire from the property organisation to pursue other opportunities.

Mr D’arcy, an equity partner, has been with the property consultancy for 15 years.

Knight Frank said in a statement: “He has been unstinting in his support of the firm and has helped build the residential development business to be the force that it is today. The Partnership wishes him every success for the future.
 
“Tearle Phelan, Anne Haggas and Andy Finch, and their established teams in Yorkshire and Manchester, will be responsible for continuing to drive the northern residential development business and providing outstanding service to our clients.”

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A TEAM from Addleshaw Goddard’s Leeds office has advised the shareholders of Direct Heating Spares in the sale of the company to The BSS Group.

Founded in 2005 by father and son team Graham and Simon Gough, Lancashire based DHS supplies replacement parts to heating engineers and contractors for the repair of domestic boilers.

Turnover is expected to exceed £10m this year, with significant further growth in sales performance forecast.

Graham Gough is a former Wolseley director with more than 30 years experience in the industry. Simon Gough, a former corporate finance adviser with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Leeds, will remain at DHS for a handover period to ensure the smooth integration of the business into the BSS group, before then exploring further business opportunities.

The team from Addleshaw Goddard was led by corporate partner Garry Elliott with Emma Dann, Helen Appleyard, David Chan, Suzanne Wrench and Natalie Robinson.

A team from Hammonds, led by corporate partners Robert Bray and James McKay advised The BSS Group.

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Acting on behalf of the Sailors’ Families’ Society, DTZ has completed the sale of the Newland Estate, a 3.9 hectare conversion and development opportunity in Hull to Ashcourt Properties.

The Newland Estate comprises 13 listed buildings together with additional land with development potential. 

The listed buildings were historically used as an orphanage where the Society provided support for the children of deceased and disabled seafarers from across the country. However, in more recent times help is given to children in their homes and hence the

Newland Estate has become surplus to requirements.

Ashcourt Properties plan to convert the 13 buildings into student accommodation for students of nearby Hull University. 

Yorkshire commercial law firm Rollits advised the Trustees of the Sailors’ Families’ Society on the sale of the Newland Estate

The Society will retain an interest in the estate whilst work continues on the planning application to utilise the west side of the land for new build housing.

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A RECORD number of the UK’s travel trade visited West Yorkshire region for a three-day showcase event, to promote the area as an ideal destination for group visitors, whilst helping boost the local economy.

The mix of 40 group travel organisers and coach and tour operators from across the country attended the trip organised by the newly-launched Leeds & Pennine Yorkshire Group Travel Service and experienced some of the region’s most iconic sites and hidden gems.

Amanda Bond, from Leeds & Yorkshire Group Travel, said: “It was great to attract so many of the country’s leading travel buyers to the region, as we believe we have a fantastic product to sell.

“A central part of our showcase was a ‘meet the tour buyer’ workshop where we introduced representatives from a wider range of the region’s attractions and hotels for face-to-face sessions with all the attendees.  This way we were able to promote an even more comprehensive taste of our diverse portfolio.”

The Leeds & Pennine Yorkshire Group Travel service provides travel organisers with a suite of support services ranging from creating itineraries; booking and negotiating rates for accommodation, meals and attractions; to making travel arrangements at each stage of the trip.