The Hot 100 2016

In this special feature, we identify the most influential people in the residential leasehold property sector. Included within the list is a mix of leasehold campaigners, Parliamentarians, trade and professional bodies, managing agents, building owners, investors, developers, valuers, and lawyers among others. Let us know if we missed anyone out by emailing editor@newsontheblock.com

A download of the print edition of the Hot 100 feature can be found at the end of the article.

Entries have been gathered subjectively according to our knowledge and experience of the industry and are arranged in alphabetical order by name.

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James Agar
Head of Specialist Funds, Brooks Macdonald Group
James has responsibility for specialist fund management and property acquisition for Brooks Macdonald Group, with oversight of the Ground Rents Income Fund, Defensive Capital Fund and North Row Capital Liquid Property Fund. James manages the company’s large-scale corporate and institutional client base, which has seen the business grow to manage more than £1 billion of property assets.

Clare Allan
Partner, Child & Child
Claire is a well-connected property lawyer with an impressive client base. Within her residential property practice she specialises in leasehold enfranchisement. She deals with some of London’s most valuable and exclusive properties with absolute discretion as to her clients’ identities. She has also successfully taken cases to Appeal Court level. Claire was Enfranchisement Solicitor of the Year 2012 at the ERMAs.

Hema Anand
Head of residential development, Bircham Dyson Bell
Hema is head of the residential department at Bircham Dyson Bell Solicitors, and has over 16 years’ experience in all aspects of high-net-worth residential property and leasehold enfranchisement. She is known for successfully handling group actions and complicated enfranchisement claims. Hema was awarded Highly Commended at the ERMAs in 2011, 2012 and 2014, and won the Association of Women Solicitors’ Best Woman in a Property Practice Award 2011. Hema is regularly approached to comment or write on current residential property issues in the press.

Karl Ardern
Director, Warwick Estates
Karl is now well into his second decade specialising in residential management and approaching his fourth in property.

Anna Bailey
Co-founder and director of ALEP
A chartered marketer by profession, Anna is co-owner of agency DRIVE Marketing, as well as Leasehold Solutions, Leasehold Valuers and Leasehold Law. In 2007 she founded ALEP (the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners) with her brother, Alex Greenslade, and has overseen the growth of the association to 200-plus member organisations.

Chris Baker
Owner, McDowalls Surveyors
Chris has 18-plus years’ experience in the PRS, has been integral in driving McDowalls to seek new ventures and been instrumental in setting up a unique property licensing service. McDowalls has dedicated, specialist teams to deal with housing associations valuations, lettings, sales and property management.

Justin Bates
Barrister, Arden Chambers
Justin Bates is a barrister at Arden Chambers, where he specialises in all aspects of housing law. He is the deputy editor of the Encyclopedia of Housing Law, co-author of Leasehold Disputes and author, co-author and contributor to many other books and journals. The Legal 500 describes him as a ‘walking encyclopaedia’ with ‘the ability to always get the tribunal panel on side’. Chambers and Partners describes him as “incredibly articulate”. He spends most of his professional life in the FTT/LVT, Upper Tribunal and, increasingly, Court of Appeal.

Tony Beaumont
Director, William Pears Group
Tony is responsible for the management of the company’s substantial UK residential portfolio. His considerable expertise and experience in the valuation and analysis of complex ground-rent portfolios is key in influencing their policy on acquisitions and disposals. The group is active in this market and is always looking for new opportunities.

One to Watch
Jordan Begg
Technical director, Future Lighting
Jordan is a fully qualified electrical and electronics engineer with 15 years’ experience in commercial lighting. He is responsible for managing projects, testing and commissioning, and has vast knowledge of the latest lighting and controls. His ability to communicate effectively with clients guarantees effortless customer relations. As technical director, Jordan has taken Future Lighting from strength to strength, with projects valued from £65,000 to £100,000-plus consistently delivered on time and without complaint. He receives exceptional feedback from his clients, largely as a result of Jordan’s can-do, customer-facing approach. This word-of-mouth recommendation has been fundamental to the company’s exponential growth over the past year.

Andrew Billson
Managing director, Barratt Residential Asset Management
Andrew Billson, one of the most experienced property managers in the UK, is managing director of Barratt Residential Asset Management (BRAM). Andy joined BRAM after 21 years with OM Property Management to ensure that the company’s superb customer service in property management adds value to Barratt’s property offering.

Sam Bone
Partner, Wallace LLP
Sam is joint head of the leasehold enfranchisement department. She has successfully represented a wide range of clients including the Freshwater Group, and has been involved in several significant cases, including Brick Farm Management v Richmond Housing Estate, City & Country Properties v Plowden Investments, and Howard de Walden Estates Limited v Stella Kateb. Sam deals with over 350 enfranchisement cases each year.

Sir Peter Bottomley
MP, leasehold campaigner, House of Commons
Sir Peter campaigns with senior Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick for leasehold justice and reform inside and outside parliament, chairing meetings at Westminster about leasehold and leasehold issues, after a landmark legal case in his constituency brought what he describes as “legal torture” to his attention. That case and others have been assisted by LKP, Carlex and the remarkable help by Martin Boyd and Seb O’Kelly.

Mary Anne Bowring
Managing director, Ringley Group
Mary-Anne, an engineer and chartered surveyor, is the founding director of Ringley Group, which delivers property management to 10,000 leasehold properties as well as ‘build to rent’ solutions, building engineering services, valuations and legal work to help leaseholders enfranchise or claim their right to manage. She sits on Notting Hill Housing Trust’s All-Together Better committee, the Federation of Private Residents Associations, is one of London’s Ambassadors for Apprenticeships, and previously served as an IRPM governor.

Martin Boyd
Director, Leasehold Knowledge Partnership (LKP)
Having successfully won several cases at the Property Tribunal, Martin is now a trustee of the charity the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, which campaigns on leasehold matters with the object of helping all parties to better understand the many problems faced by the sector and the potential ways forward. As well as organising a range of round-table meetings in parliament over the last three years, Martin and LKP have recently been appointed to act as secretariat to the new All-Party Parliamentary Group for Leasehold Reform and Commonhold.

Clare Brady
Managing director, Brady Solicitors
Under Clare’s leadership and strong vision, Brady Solicitors has continued its march towards becoming a leading light in the property management sector and beyond. Through careful recruitment Clare has added to her team with talented senior property solicitors that can deliver a broad spectrum of property law expertise with the usual blend of Brady Solicitors’ nous and commercial acumen. The firm continues to record substantial year-on-year growth and a widening client roster, with its growth due in no small part to Clare’s relentless focus on continual improvement, innovation and professionalism in the leasehold sector.

Kelly Bream
Operations director, Berkeley Group
Kelly is responsible for the running of the Operations Department for Berkeley Homes (SEL). Her team acts as a central communication point for the business, concentrating on the design of buildings, the legal structure, and the appointment of managing agents, as well as ensuring all Berkeley’s assets are managed and financially operated to the highest standards.

Julian Briant
Head of residential consultancy, Cluttons
Julian Briant FRICS heads up Cluttons’ Residential Consultancy. His role for more than 30 years has been based on working for a number of London estates. His roles have included leasehold enfranchisement, valuations, property management, lease restructuring, expert witness work, insurances, statutory tenancies and refurbishments – right across London, and for a range of clients from charities, family trusts, property companies and private clients.

Andrew Bulmer
CEO, IRPM
Andrew Bulmer FIRPM, FRICS, MARLA opened his leasehold block and PRS management business in 1995, selling in 2011. He then took on the role of RICS UK residential director for its c.15,000 members in the residential sectors, delivering the PRS Code of Practice cross-industry project for DCLG’s PRS Taskforce, and working with government and stakeholders to raise standards. Andrew took over the CEO role at IRPM in October 2016 to drive improved outcomes and higher standards in the leasehold management and build-to-rent sectors by delivering industry-leading qualifications, training and support for its members, with a sharp focus on the Institution’s relevance and ability to meet industry need.

Louie Burns
Leasehold Solutions, Leasehold Valuers and Leasehold Law
Passionate about the rights of lease­holders, Louie Burns is co-owner of Leasehold Solutions, Leasehold Valuers and Leasehold Law. Well-known for his campaigning work on behalf of leaseholders, Louie regularly appears in the media as an expert, and presents at events, seminars and conferences in the wider property industry.

John Byers
Director, LBB Chartered Surveyors
John is a chartered surveyor with almost 30 years’ experience. He leads the Building Surveying Team at the award-winning LBB Chartered Surveyors. Much of John’s work involves property disputes and litigation regarding service charges, building repairs, major works, dilapidations and alterations. He is an RICS Accredited Expert Witness, and was awarded Expert Witness of the Year at News on the Block Magazine’s ERMAS this year. He also writes regularly on property issues and speaks at training events. John is highly respected for applying his considerable experience and expertise in a thoughtful way, taking great care to give his clients thorough, objective and professional advice.

Alice Cadfan-Lewis
Director, Block Recruit
After success in setting up and running PMR, providing site-based staff, Alice established Block Recruit in 2014. Alice’ approach to valuing her candidates, as much as her clients and specialising only within the Block Management sector has continued to prove that her knowledge of the market, makes her firm the obvious ‘go-to’ for block managers looking to successfully develop their careers.

Jonathan Channing
Director and head of block management, Savills
Leading the prime estates depart­ment to a much-coveted prize at the 2016 RESI awards, Jonathan is director and head of residential block management within a specialist block and asset management, build-to-rent, leasehold reform and consultancy team at Savills. A  Fellow of the IRPM, Jonathan has been invited to rejoin the organisation as a volunteer and will now sit on the RICS Residential Property Management working group. Helping to integrate the likes of Chainbow and GBR Phoenix Beard into Savills has been an exciting challenge for Jonathan in 2016.

Mark Chick
Partner, Bishop & Sewell LLP
Mark Chick is a specialist in leasehold reform and a partner at Bishop & Sewell LLP, a full service central London law firm. He is also a director and founder of ALEP and was recently named Solicitor of the Year 2016 at the ERMAs. Mark has also appeared on BBC Breakfast as property expert and writes and lectures regularly on landlord and tenant matters.

David Clark
Chairman, Mainstay Group
David is co-chair and one of four owners at Mainstay Group, one of the largest residential and mixed use asset managers in the UK, with over 40,000 units under management and a further 50,000 units asset-managed for funds. David is former chair of ARMA and was involved in both the creation of its regulatory regime and of the IRPM, which he chaired until September this year. He is a board director at West Midlands housing association, Fortis Living.

Haydn Cooper
Property director, Cadogan
Haydn Cooper MRICS is responsible for the management of commercial and residential property assets for the 93-acre Cadogan Estate in Chelsea, focused on Sloane Street, Sloane Square and King’s Road Cooper leads the asset and property management teams, managing the £5.6bn estate and enhancing its long-term value as an outstanding location to live, work and visit.

David Cowans
Group chief executive, Places for People
Places for People owns or manages 144,000 homes across the UK. David has 30 years’ experience of housing, urban regeneration, mixed-tenure and mixed-use development, property management and financial management, leading strategic change in large and small organisations. David has led the transformation of Places for People from a traditional housing association into a diverse business, which provides a range of products and services to build and manage communities that can prosper and be sustainable in the long term.

Richard Daver
Managing director, Rendall & Rittner
A Fellow of the RICS and the Chartered Institute of Housing with more than 25 years’ experience, Richard joined R&R in 2006 to head a specialist team providing developers with long-term consultancy, strategy advice and management services. He has been instrumental in delivering the management of a range of developments including high-end prestigious buildings and substantial developments including some of London’s largest regeneration projects.

Julian Davies
Founder and managing director, Earl Kendrick Associates
Julian’s winning combination of technical expertise and a belief that the property business is primarily about relationships has seen EKA grow steadily over the past five or six years, with a strong, technically gifted team and offices in central London and Brighton. With an enviable depth to his residential surveying experience, he contributes regularly to professional publications and conferences, with an emphasis on major works and licences to alter. Julian is the past chairman of the RICS London Matrics and currently sits on the RICS Residential Property Management Working Group and the RICS Editorial Advisory Group.

Jeremy Dharmasena
Partner and head of leasehold reform, Knight Frank
Jeremy specialises in carrying out lease extension valuations and enfranchisements of flats and houses of prime central London residential properties. He advises landlords and tenants and has more than 20 years’ qualified professional experience. He takes pride in delivering a first-class service to his clients and achieving the best possible results in negotiations.

Marilyn Di Cara
Director, sales and marketing, Moat
Moat is a housing association in the South-East of England with 20,000 homes. Some 5,500 of these are shared-ownership homes, the largest proportion of any UK housing association. Marilyn’s team at Moat markets and sells around 500 shared-ownership homes each year, a mix of new homes and resales. Her team also provides post-sales services to Moat’s shared owners, including staircasings, redemptions, lease extensions, etc. Marilyn is a member of the Chartered Management Institute and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. She is active in the sector, promoting affordable home-ownership options to first-time buyers.

Fiona Docherty
Managing director, James Andrew Residential
Fiona established James Andrew Residential four years ago, offering a bespoke and personalised property management service that continues to attract an impressive portfolio of clients. ranging from landlord investment companies to resident-owned blocks, The company has been instructed to manage the initial three phases of the private residential development of the King’s Cross regeneration scheme, the largest mixed-use development in single ownership to be developed in central London for more than 150 years.

Tim Dray
Head of indirect sales and partnerships, Sky
Tim Dray has worked at Sky for nine years and is currently head of indirect sales and partnerships. Tim’s team ensures all Sky communal TV customers have access to the world’s best entertainment experience through the Sky Q enhancement programme and that Sky remains the first choice for entertainment in the home.

Professor James Driscoll
Lawyer, mediator and author
Professor James Driscoll is a solicitor and a judge on the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). He is a leading expert on residential leasehold matters and housing law generally. In addition to his years in practice as a solicitor, he has held academic positions in England and in the United States. He is a regular speaker at conferences for lawyers and property professionals. James is a prolific author of books on housing and property law, including several volumes of Halsbury’s Laws. He regularly contributes articles to the Estates’s Gazette, the New Law Journal and other publications. James is a consulting editor to the Landlord and Tenant reports.

Anthony Essien
Chief executive, Leasehold Advisory Service
Anthony Essien is chief executive of the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), an accredited mediator and qualified barrister. Anthony has more than 20 years’ experience in residential leasehold and was a member of the Civil Justice Council working group on property disputes in the courts and tribunals. He continues to be a regular speaker at events and conferences as well as making a number of media appearances to address leasehold matters in both the private and public sector.

James Farrar
Co-founder, JFM Block & Estate Management
James founded JFM with his business partner Joe Mallon in May 2015. JFM’s USP is that it works exclusively for home-owner controlled blocks/estates. This choice to specialise in fighting the corners of service-charge payers has resonated with people, and in just 18 months the business has acquired 35 clients and has roughly 1,350 units under management.

Anna Favre
Partner, Pemberton Greenish LLP
Anna Favre is a partner at Pemberton Greenish LLP. She is a recognised leading expert in the complex field of leasehold enfranchisement, acting for major London landed estates including Cadogan, Sloane Stanley and the Day Estate, as well as a large number of tenants. She also advises companies and high-net-worth individuals on all aspects of landlord and tenant law. Anna regularly presents at conferences and seminars, and has written for both the legal and general press on these specialist areas. In both 2013 and 2014 she won Solicitor of the Year at the prestigious Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards, the first entrant to have achieved this in its history. Anna also won Real Estate lawyer of the Year at the Women in Law Awards 2016. Anna is also a member of ALEP.

Nigel Feast
Managing director, Deacon
Nigel commands huge respect in the insurance market and has built a strong management team at Deacon. Established in 1989, Deacon has built an enviable reputation as the specialist insurer for blocks of flats. They were awarded Block Insurer of the Year 2015-16 at the PMA Awards and Broker Claims Team of the Year 2016. As part of the international Arthur J. Gallagher group of companies, in addition to all statutory regulatory requirements they also abide by a strict code of conduct known as the Gallagher Way. The brand continues to set the benchmark for negotiating terms and conditions that benefit lessees, agents and freeholders.

One to Watch
Damien Finnegan
Chartered building surveyor, author, founder & managing director of Finnegan Property Services
Damien is a development expert passionate about helping clients minimise risk and maximising return on investment. As a very active investor and developer himself, he very much stands in the shoes of his leasehold and freehold clients and practises what he preaches. This is a real differentiator in this sector. “Property is a people business. There are many factors to be considered and people are at the heartof every consideration,” he says. Damien and his team work very closely with managing agents, boards of directors, investors and developers. He is author of Improving Standards and Reducing Risk on Block Maintenance published by RICS iSurv. Finnegan Property Services, a firm of chartered surveyors and development consultants, specialises in the maintenance, repair, restoration, refurbishment and development of buildings in the residential and commercial sectors. Damien is known for his knowledge, understanding, passion and practical approach, and his clients achieve very successful outcomes.

Ian Fletcher
Director of policy, British Property Federation (BPF)
The Federation’s apolitical director of policy, whose remit covers everything property, but looks never happier than when promoting residential investment and leading the BPF’s position as the home of build-to-rent. Participated in the Government’s Montague Review Group, and must be delighted to see the BPF’s campaign for an institutionally-funded build-to-rent sector translating into new, professionally managed homes that are adding to the nation’s housing supply.

Baroness Gardner
Leasehold campaigner, House of Lords
As a peeress in the House of Lords, Baroness Gardner has actively raised issues concerning residential leasehold property in parliament, including questioning the government on regulating managing agents and leasehold service charges.

Neil Gardiner
Fund manager, Aviva Investors
Neil has specialised in the residential and alternative investment sectors for more than 20 years.  While at Aviva Investors he has been closely involved in areas including the Igloo Regeneration Fund, Quercus Healthcare Fund, Beach Student Fund and Capital Residential Fund, as well as launching and managing the Aviva Investors REaLM Ground Rent Fund. Neil has also advised on residential investments in Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania.

Ellodie Gibbons
Barrister, Tanfield Chambers
Recommended in both Chambers UK and the Legal 500, Ellodie specialises in residential lease issues, particularly, service and administration charge disputes, leasehold enfranchisement, rights of first refusal, Right to Manage and associated professional negligence issues. As well as being a regular conference speaker and contributor to publications such as the Estates Gazette, Ellodie is a contributor to the first, second and third editions of Service Charges and Management and co-author of Leasehold Enfranchisement Explained.

Dr Nigel Glen
CEO, ARMA
Nigel joined ARMA as CEO in April 2016 following a varied and highly successful career in senior executive positions, including a software business start-up, investment banking, and co-founder and director for a residential property management firm. Nigel’s main responsibility is the longer term strategy and direction of ARMA.

Helen Gordon
Chief executive, Grainger
Helen Gordon is chief executive of Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord. Helen was appointed chief executive of Grainger in January 2016 from RBS, where she had been global head of real estate asset management since October 2011. Prior to that Helen was director of Legal and General Property, responsible for the Main Life Fund and several smaller funds including English Cities Fund, a fund specialising in regeneration of our cities. Prior to this she was group property director of Railtrack and managing director of John Laing Developments.

Amanda Gourlay
Barrister, Tanfield Chambers
Many will know Amanda from her service-charge blog, Law and Lease. Quick-witted, bright and diligent, Amanda is instructed by lessees and landlords in equal measure. She deploys her wealth of leasehold knowledge to achieve practical results. This year, the IRPM recognised her contribution to property management with the award of a Fellowship.

Damian Greenish
Consultant, Pemberton Greenish LLP
Damian Greenish is a solicitor specialising in residential landlord and tenant issues. He is co-editor of the leading textbook on leasehold enfranchisement, Hague on Leasehold Enfranchisement. He is honorary president of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) and a member of the Residential Management Committee of the British Property Federation.

Alex Greenslade
Honorary secretary ALEP; chairman, Leasehold Solutions; partner, Leasehold Valuers and Leasehold Law
Alex founded both ALEP and Leasehold Solutions with his sister, Anna Bailey. He has huge experience as a hands-on manager of both collective enfranchisement and bulk-lease extension projects, and prides himself on explaining both processes in jargon-free language.

Roger Hardwick
Partner and head of residential leasehold, Brethertons
Roger has extensive knowledge of statutory lease extensions, collective enfranchisement claims and the enfranchisement of leasehold houses. He is frequently involved in proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) and Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), acting primarily for landlords and managing agents in connection with service charge disputes, applications to vary leases and applications to appoint a manager. Roger won ERMA’s Regional Professional of the Year 2016 and is a partner.

Shaun Harris
Founder and managing director, Harris Associates
Shaun is a chartered surveyor with more than 25 years’ experience. Over the past 10 years his firm has built a reputation for providing outstanding levels of customer care and professionalism by blending technical expertise, innovation and traditional personal service. With offices in London and the South-East, Harris currently advises on residential properties with a combined value of more than £4bn.

Naomi Heathcote
S​enior Associate, Charles Russell Speechlys
Naomi is a Senior Associate in the Real Estate team at Charles Russell Speechlys. She advises companies and private individuals on commercial and residential property matters. Her particular expertise is in leasehold enfranchisement, acting for  both landlord and tenant clients in this specialist field. Naomi advises on a range of topics in this area, including lease extensions and collective enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (as amended) and house freehold claims under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967. Naomi is admitted to practise in England and Wales.

One to Watch
Colin Horton
Director, Pier Management
Colin is the managing director of Under 80 Ltd and chairman of the Young Leasehold Professionals Association (YLP),  an association aimed at establishing long-lasting business relationships in the leasehold industry. His events are regularly attended by some of the top firms in the industry.

Michael Howard
Managing director, urbanbubble
From a standing start in 2008 to a team today of 85 colleagues, urbanbubble looks after 6,000 homes across 95 developments in Manchester and 1,000 homes across four developments in Liverpool, growing to 2,500 in the next 18 months. The company has a further commitment of 4,000 units over the next few years working with a number of the North-West’s leading developers, Captial & Centric, Peel, Property Allianz, Elliot Group and FICM to name a few. The firm provides a range of services to developers, landlords and residents, with the principal aim of ensuring residential developments are managed and maintained to the highest standards.

Jeremy Hudson
Partner, Speechly Bircham
Jeremy heads the large enfranchisement group at the newly merged firm, and now leads a team of 35 lawyers. He is an expert in claims for the freehold of houses and in the valuation aspects of collective claims and lease extensions on flats. His principal client is the Howard de Walden Estate in Marylebone. He has been involved in many leading cases in the field, including the recent Accordway case in the Upper Tribunal.

Ben Jordan
Managing Director, Premier Estates
Ben founded Premier Estates 18 years ago. From humble beginnings with three staff managing 30 developments, Ben has grown Premier Estates into one of the country’s leading managing agents employing more than 200 staff and managing over 450 developments throughout England and Wales. Ben is a fellow of the IRPM and was the Chair of ARMA between 2012 and 2014.

Sally Keeble
Independent regulator, ARMA
Sally will take up the appointment as ARMA Independent Regulator in November 2016. Sally is a former government minister and has enjoyed a varied and highly successful career in senior positions including council leader of the London Borough of Southwark, and most recently held a senior role in international development.

Nicholas Kissen
Senior legal adviser, Leasehold Advisory Service
Nicholas Kissen is a senior advisor at the Leasehold Advisory Service, having previously spent around 15 years in private practice as a solicitor. Nicholas oversees LEASE’s professional training and development programmes with broad experience of public presentations on all aspects of residential leasehold law. He is also a regular speaker at property events around the country.

Melanie Leech
Chief executive, British Property Federation
Melanie joined the British Property Federation in 2015 following nine years as director general of the Food and Drink Federation. Melanie began her working life as a constable in the Metropolitan Police. She joined HM Customs in 1988 and subsequently held senior roles in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Office of the Rail Regulator and the Cabinet Office. Her role is to champion UK real estate and to promote a sustainable partnership between government and the sector to deliver a high quality built environment.

The Leaseholder
With more than 4.1 million privately owned leasehold properties in the country, by far the most influential people in the sector are flat owners themselves. In London alone, service charges are estimated in excess of £500 million. As paying customers, leaseholders are increasingly aware of their rights and how to exercise them.

Jonathan Leitch
Founder, JB Leitch
Jonathan founded J B Leitch in 1997, since when the firm has gone from strength to strength, building an impressive roster of clients including many significant freehold investment and property management companies. Known for its forthright collection methods and recognised by the Legal 500 for its expertise in highly technical disputes, the firm also aims to deliver cutting-edge business intelligence information.

Mark Loveday
Barrister, Tanfield Chambers
Editor of the definitive textbook on property management law, Tanfield Chambers on Service Charge and Management. Mark is a specialist property barrister and judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). He writes and lectures extensively about service charges and his Ask the Expert column appears in the Times Property section every Friday.

Samantha Massey
Business development manager, HML Holdings
Samantha is a qualified Chartered Surveyor (Residential) and is also a director of the IRPM. She has enjoyed a career in the wider residential property sector spanning more than 20 years. She is also a co-founder of Doyenne, created to connect, support and inspire women in the industry.

Joe Mallon
Co-founder, JFM Block & Estate Management
JFM was formed solely to serve the interests of elected home-owner controlled estates. Joe launched JFM with James Farrar in April 2015 and since then the company has taken the sector by storm, securing 35 blocks and estates with 1,338 units under management. The company continues to go grow steadily.

Debbie Matusevicius
Leasehold consultant, Anchor Trust
Debbie is a Fellow of the Institute of Residential Property Management and former chair and director of the Association of Retirement Housing Managers. Having worked within the sector for many years, Debbie is passionate about continually improving standards within retirement housing, and recently sat on the Law Commission’s Advisory Panel which looked at event fees. Debbie provides specialist leasehold support for Anchor, England’s largest not-for-profit leasehold management organisation, to help meet regulatory and statutory requirements and drive best practice.

Steve Michaux
Director of leasehold services, A2 Dominion Group
Steve has taken a leading role in raising the profile of block management within housing associations. He has been active in putting forward the case for specialist teams and in promoting membership of the IRPM for housing association staff. Steve conceived the idea of the National Leasehold Conference, aimed primarily at shared-ownership managers. He is also chair of the National Leasehold Group.

John Midgley
Partner, Seddons Solicitors
John acts for landlords and tenants in collective enfranchisement, lease extension and right-to-manage claims, as well as for property management companies in connection with all lease and service-charge issues. He has been involved in a number of landmark cases and was instrumental in pioneering the Leasehold Reform (Amendment) Act 2014. He works closely with politicians on various other property issues including the proposed changes to tenancy deposits. John was, until recently, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP). He writes regularly for industry publications and speaks at conferences and seminars on his area of expertise.

Yashmin Mistry
Partner, JPC Law
Yashmin Mistry is an award-winning partner and recognised legal expert in a successful London law firm. Responsible for the continued growth of a key area of law since her move to JPC Law in 2011, Yashmin successfully leads the residential property practice group. Following major changes in the legal sector over the past five years, Yashmin’s drive and leadership have provided the department with a substantial stream of new cases, achieving recognition as legal experts in leasehold law. Yashmin’s role as a recognised expert, prolific writer and contributor to the property press and her growing reputation for advising technically complex areas of law has led to her inception as committee and board member of various property organisations including ALEP, the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners, and ARHM, the Association of Residential Housing Managers, as well as her long-standing role as honorary legal consultant for the FPRA, the Federation of Private Residents Association. Yashmin has ambitious plans for the continued development of her department and firm in the coming years, including furthering the opportunities for women in law who wish to develop their careers.

Noella Morton
Chief operating officer, ARMA
Noella is responsible for the day-to-day management of ARMA and the overall performance of the organisation. Noella has over 20 years’ experience in the industry. Prior to her appointment in July 2015 as COO she was chair of ARMA Technical Committee and also a member of ARMA Council.

Eleanor Murray
Head of enfranchisement and residential disputes at CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
Eleanor heads up the residential disputes and enfranchisement team at CMS. She is the principal enfranchisement and RTM legal advisor to the Wellcome Trust on the South Kensington Estate. She specialises in all areas of residential property disputes and this year successfully led the trust’s legal team in the long-awaited Upper Tribunal decision on relativity. Eleanor won the Young Professional of the Year Award at the 2014 ERMAS and was finalist for Solicitor of the Year in 2016. She was also awarded Highly Commended for Associate of the year at the British Legal Awards 2015.

Rajeev Nayyar
Managing director, Fixflo
Rajeev is a former property lawyer and one of the founders of Fixflo, the award-winning repairs and on-site workflow management software that is used in more than 400,000 homes across the UK. With integration between Fixflo and Qube Global Software’s suite of products launching shortly, expect to hear more about Rajeev and Fixflo over the coming months.

Paul Neville
Partner, residential property department Forsters
Paul is an expert in all aspects of residential property. He has a particular specialisation in leasehold enfranchisement, where he has extensive experience acting for individual tenants, groups of tenants, freeholders and intermediate landlords. He also advises on general residential landlord and tenant issues, including service charge disputes,and assured and Rent Act tenancies.

Alison Nimmo CBE
Chief executive, Crown Estate
Alison Nimmo is chief executive of the Crown Estate, which has a capital value of more than £8 billion. The estate’s assets range from prime real estate in London’s West End to around half  of the UK’s foreshore and almost the entire seabed around the UK, to farmland and forestry. In the last financial year it returned in excess of £285 million revenue to the Treasury for the benefit of the nation. Alison has been listed in both Radio Four Woman’s Hour’s Power 100 and the Evening Standard’s Power 1,000 lists. She was also voted number one in Property Week’s list of the 100 Most Influential Women in Property.

Mark North
Partner and key client manager, Brethertons
Experienced key client manager Mark North has a wealth of expertise in the property industry. He specialises in the leasehold sector, is responsible for customer and business relationship management, and plays a critical role in monitoring the firm’s high levels of customer care. He has been with the firm since 2005 and was recently made a partner.

Sebastian O’Kelly
Director, Leasehold Knowledge  Partnership (LKP)
Sebastian, a former national newspaper journalist and property editor, is a campaigner for leasehold reform, highlighting the injustices of the system via the popular Leasehold Knowledge Partnership and Carlex websites (35,000 page views a month). LKP has been appointed the secretariat of the new All-Party Parliamentary Group for Leasehold Reform and Commonhold. LKP’s initiative obtained two amendments to the Housing and Planning Act 2016, the first changes to leasehold law since 2002. LKP holds quarterly roundtable meetings at Westminster, where key stakeholders in leasehold address MPs. It has been referenced by all media, most recently in the Times and Financial Times, and on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours.

Darren Osgood
Team leader, Crabtree Property Management
In the four short years since joining Crabtree from Exeter University, Darren has made the transition from graduate trainee to team leader of the central London portfolio. Over that time he developed excellent customer relations with key clients. This, coupled with his critical knowledge of legislation and technical matters, enabled him to claim the prestigious Young PM of the Year title for 2015-16. Darren is currently pursuing a number of exciting opportunities within prime central London, securing new business for Crabtree’s ever-growing portfolio.

Sue Petri
Managing director FirstPort Property Services and FirstPort Bespoke
Sue has worked in the industry for 16 years, has been a board member for 14 years and has been with FirstPort for the past four years. Sue is responsible for around 110,000 homes across FirstPort Property Services and Bespoke. Sue also plays an active role within the industry and is chair of ARMA’s conference committee, as well as being a member of the ARMA council.

Jeff Platt
Chief executive, Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM)
Jeff has been heavily involved in developing professional qualifications, examinations and training for more than 3,000 property managers in the leasehold and block management sector. He is the lead author of the Property Management chapter of the RICS Blue Book and a professional member of the Residential Property Tribunal Service.

Robert Plumb
Chief Executive Officer, HML
Rob joined HML in 2005. This year he received an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in recognition of his knowledge and experience in the property industry. Rob is a member of the Residential Management Committee of the BPF and has represented LKP at a number of presentations to MPs on leasehold at the Houses of Parliament. HML manages more than  65,000 residential units from 17 offices.

Anthony Radevsky
Barrister, Falcon Chambers
Anthony is co-author of the leading textbooks Hague on Leasehold Enfranchisement, and Tenants’ Right of First Refusal. He has appeared in many important cases, including four in the House of Lords or Supreme Court, and 53 in the Court of Appeal. He was the Barrister of Year at the Enfranchisement and Right to Manage Awards 2012, and received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2016 awards.

Philip Rainey QC
Barrister and head of chambers, Tanfield Chambers
Head of Tanfield Chambers, leading specialist property law barristers. “A true star with a first-class brain” (Legal 500) who has taken five cases to the House of Lords or Supreme Court. Expert in enfranchisement, RTM and service charges. Keenly interested in the reform of landlord and tenant law.

Natasha Rees
Partner and head of property litigation, Forsters
Natasha has experience in all areas of property litigation, with an emphasis on residential property and leasehold enfranchisement. She advises and acts for a number of settled estates, charities, landlords and management companies in London. Natasha also regularly acts for both landlords and tenants in relation to enfranchise­ment and professional negligence claims arising from enfranchisement.

Duncan Rendall
Barrister, CEO and founder,  Rendall & Rittner
Duncan graduated with a 2.1 in Law from Oriel College, Oxford in 1986, and three years later passed the Bar Finals exam. He first worked at Japanese bank Sumitomo Trust before studying for an MBA at the London Business School, graduating in 1992. While still at business school, Duncan started Rendall & Rittner with his business partner Matt in 1990. He also worked for the treasury department of Esso UK, after which he left to focus full-time on Rendall & Rittner. Advising lessees and landlords on freehold acquisitions, RTM applications and management disputes, Duncan has been appointed by the London Valuation Tribunal (LVT) to manage several central London schemes. In 2010 he became chairman of Rendall & Rittner and in 2015, the CEO.  Duncan takes an active interest in the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), and was chairman of the association from 2005-2007.  Duncan is also a Fellow of the Institute of Property Management.

Matthew Rittner
Founding director, Rendall & Rittner
Matt founded Rendall & Rittner in 1990 with his business partner Duncan Rendall. He continues to manage developments and is responsible for the insurance and legal service teams. He previously worked in the music industry. His entrepreneurial skills enabled him to start a small chain of record shops, among whose services was the wholesale import and export of records and CDs. Matt is a dedicated family man and remains interested in a very wide range of music.

Paul Robertson
Managing director, Midway Insurance Services and 1st Sure Flats
Paul Robertson is Managing Director of Midway Insurance Services Ltd who are the parent company to 1st Sure Flats, who have won Block Insurer of the Year five times in the property management awards. Paul is passionate about ensuring flat owners are treated fairly and are provided with insurance products that provide appropriate protection for an reasonable price.

Rob Robertson
Rob Robertson managing director, Crabtree Property Management
Rob has been involved in the expansion of the organisation into a number of new property-related sectors including legal, surveying, valuation, cleaning, maintenance and property-related software. He believes the expansion and growth of the group is directly related to a conscious and structured programme of support and development of the staff. Crabtree’s success has come from the ability to adapt and change, to recognise good ideas and having the courage to follow things through.

Kevin Ryan
Partner, Carter Jonas
Kevin Ryan, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, is an expert in enfranchisement, valuation and landlord and tenant matters. He acts for high-profile landlords including Grosvenor Estate, Howard de Walden Estate, Berkeley Estate, Langham Estate, Dorrington plc and Transport for London, as well as tenants on the Crown Estate, Cadogan Estate, Wellcome Estate, John Lyon Estate, Eyre Estate and Bedford Estate, among many others. He is regularly instructed as an expert witness in tribunal and court hearing in relation to enfranchisement and other residential property disputes.

Duncan Salvesen
Director, residential, Dorrington Plc
Duncan, a qualified chartered surveyor, is responsible for Dorrington’s residential business, comprising a portfolio of more than 4,000 units. He chairs the residential board and committee of the British Property Federation, and several other working parties. He is well known in the residential investment market.

Luke Sanders
Group managing director, Mainstay Group
Luke has spent his career in the property and facilities-service industry. He has held a number of senior roles with businesses including Initial Facilities, MITIE Group and G4S Integrated Services, where he was managing director responsible for running the UK FM Operation. Having previously led the provision of outsourced services to many corporate and public sector occupiers, Luke joined Mainstay in early 2014 as chief operating officer to take responsibility for operational service delivery and to maintain high levels of customer service. He was appointed managing director for the group in the summer of 2015, and has successfully implemented a number of innovative customer service initiatives, while also leading the business on a number key new instructions including securing the prestigious Aviva REaLM Asset Management contract.

Ian Sands
Enfranchisement director, Howard De Walden Estate
Ian is a chartered surveyor with more than 20 years’ experience in residential estate management. He started his career in private practice and then spent 10 years with the Grosvenor Estate. In 2009 he was appointed enfranchisement director at the Howard de Walden Estate, where he manages all of the leasehold enfranchisement matters for the estate.

Simon Serota
Partner and head of litigation, Wallace LLP
Simon’s reputation as one of London’s top property litigators stems from his establishment of one of the first teams of lawyers dedicated solely to leasehold enfranchisement, which has experienced phenomenal success. Simon is advising on the freehold acquisition of Dolphin Square – the largest enfranchisement claim to date, and all of the enfranchisement work for one of London’s largest private landlords.

Jonathan Smith
CEO of Trinity Property Group
Jonathan joined Trinity in 2004 with responsibility for the residential portfolio, which has grown to almost 65,000 units managed and committed. His focus is also on new initiatives and opportunities for the group.

Bob Smytherman
Chairman, Federation of Private Residents’ Associations (FPRA)
Bob Smytherman is the Chairman of The Federation of Private Residents’ Associations, now in it’s 45th year, which provides impartial advice to over 500 Residents’ Associations.  Bob is a passionate campaigner and advocate for leasehold rights, and since 1992 has been a director of his own residents’ association.

John Stephenson
Senior partner and head of enfranchisement at Bircham Dyson Bell
John Stephenson served the first ever collective enfranchisement claim notice on the day the 1993 Act came into force in 1994, and has been a leading practitioner in the field of leasehold reform since that date. He has acted mainly, but not exclusively, for tenants, especially those on the Grosvenor, Cadogan and other leading London estates, and has been involved in many of the leading court and tribunal cases in the field, including three which went to the House of Lords or Supreme Court. His practice now includes advising many of the buildings which he has helped to enfranchise on the many management issues which arise with leaseholder-owned blocks, and especially enjoys guiding clients through the personality as well as legal challenges which arise, so as to endure that the freehold project is a long-term success.

Craig Stevens
Managing director, Warwick Estates
Craig started Warwick Estates with an idea to give property managers less buildings to manage. This simple philosophy has led to multiple awards and rapid growth in the nine years since inception. With more than 120 staff spread across a national network of eight offices, the challenge for Craig now is to instil the ethos of ‘why we are different’ to an ever-expanding workforce.

Alastair Stimson
Director, Savills Enfranchisement
Alastair is one of the leading residential valuers specialising in enfranchisement in London. He has dealt with some landmark and high-profile prime central London enfranchisement cases, including most recently defending the hedonic regression challenge to relativity, known as Mundy.  He was part of the team behind the successful placement of asset management across the Wellcome Trust’s South Kensington estate to Savills, which has led to the formation of a specialist team called Prime Estates.

Colin Stokes
Director, Adiuvo
Colin Stokes, a former central London block manager, founded Adiuvo in 2007 with the idea of providing trained and experienced property managers for clients’ call-handling needs. Working predominantly out of hours to provide emergency cover for agents, Adiuvo is now responsible for almost 250,000 units and remains the first and only specialised out-of-hours and call-handling service for the property sector.

Joe Tona
Director, Property Debt Collection and PDC Law
Since 1993 Joe has worked tirelessly with his team to develop a unique recovery solution for service charges and ground rent. Focused on service delivery, enhanced reporting technology and key industry knowledge, his efforts have culminated in the revolutionary ‘no win, no fee’ service provided by Property Debt Collection and PDC Law to many of the UK’s leading freeholders and managing agents.

Jonathan Upton
Barrister, Tanfield Chambers
Jonathan is a leading junior for property litigation. His recent property management work includes Leaseholders of Foundling Court and O’Donnell Court, Brunswick Centre v (1) Camden LBC; (2) Allied London (Brunswick) Ltd & Ors [2016] UKUT 366 (LC) (whether freeholder and/or intermediate landlord obliged to consult sub-tenants); Francia Properties Ltd v Aristou (whether roof development interferes with RTM company’s management functions); Fazil v Portman Estate Nominees (One) Ltd (whether terms of acquisition agreed without a lease plan); Cowthorpe Road 1 – 1a Freehold Limited v Wahedally (whether service of a counter-notice by email valid); and Rossman v Crown Estate Commissioners [2015] L&TR 31 (modification of terms on lease extension).

One to Watch
Zoë Walheim
Chartered building surveyor and team leader, Earl Kendrick Associates
Zoë is already an accomplished young surveyor, having achieved chartered status in 2014. She recently led the opening of EKA’s new office in Brighton, and she is also chairman of RICS Matrics Sussex. Zoë is experienced in defect diagnosis, feasibility reports and preparation of planned maintenance schedules, including life-cycle cost analysis, particularly on maintenance management of complex residential and mixed-use conversions of former school and hospital sites. She also has a particular interest and expertise in heritage buildings.

Terry White
Chairman, Crabtree Property Group
Crabtree’s decision to offer ancillary property-related services to its clients continues to be justified. Turnover on both the cleaning and maintenance company and the legal practice has increased considerably. In addition, the core company, Crabtree PM, has consolidated its position as one of the largest independent residential property management companies in the UK.

Brett Williams
Executive partner, SDL Bigwood
Brett is a Fellow of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Institute of Residential Property Management, with some 25 years’ experience of working in residential property management. His team at SDL Bigwood manages 30,000 homes, with a pipeline of 15,000 from its estate management section, and more than 1,000 PRS build-to-rent homes, with a pipeline of 5,000. The team operates nationally from five offices across the country. Brett is a past chairman of ARMA and also served on the RICS Residential Property Management Group for five years. Brett is well known for championing excellence in customer service, combined with high standards of compliance for technical and leasehold matters.

James Wilson
Director, Jones Lang LaSalle
James is a regular speaker on leasehold valuation issues, including as a member of RICS Residential Survey and Valuation Group. He is co-author of Leasehold Enfranchisement Explained, and is technical author of RICS Practice Standards’ Leasehold Reform in England and Wales, and a contributor to ‘iSurv’ on leasehold reform matters.

Debra Yudolph
Partner, Say Property Consulting
Debra is a partner at SAY Property Consulting, which provides management advice to developers and investors specialising in large mixed-use schemes and the private rented sector. SAY is working on some of London’s most prestigious and challenging developments for clients, who include Argent, Canary Wharf Group, Westfield, CapCo, British Land, Helical Barr, Grainger and Great Portland Estates. Debra is deputy chair of Notting Hill Housing and a non-executive director of Deverell Smith Recruitment.

Cassandra Zanelli
Partner, Taylor & Emmet
Cassandra runs Sheffield-based Taylor & Emmet’s property management team and is recognised principally for her expertise in the First-tier Tribunal. She appears regularly as an advocate and speaks nationally at conferences, events and seminars on various topics. Her most recent innovation is Property Management Focus, a resource website for industry professionals.

Congratulations to all those who have made it into the Hot 100

 

 

Associated documents

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