Four commercial property professionals have been promoted at Leeds property consultancy, GV&Co.
Daniel Walker, Tom Preene and Matt Harriman have all become directors, and David Geary has been made an associate. The promotions follow the firm’s recent expansion into bigger city centre offices at Carlton Tower on St Paul’s Street and the company’s twentieth anniversary celebrations.
Daniel works within the agency and investment team. He joined the business in 2012, completed a degree alongside his day job in 2017, and became a chartered member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in 2019.
Daniel said: “Every day is different, dealing with lettings, acquisitions, investment sales and advising on long term strategic development sites. Recent highlights include the work we have done on employment allocation for Integral, a 60-acre scheme at Thorpe Park, the £25m acquisition of Total Park, Leeds and advising on the lettings of 285,000 sq ft at Catalyst, Sheffield Business Park.
“We are optimistic about the market and can clearly see an increase in positive sentiment. Occupiers can understandably take their time making decisions, but there is a definite sense of market confidence returning, after the recent downturn in activity, which followed a very busy few years.”
Tom works in lease advisory and asset management. He joined GV&Co in 2022 having spent six years at a global property firm and is responsible for negotiating rent reviews and lease renewals on behalf of both landlords and tenants.
He said: “The industrial market continues to perform well with headline rents reaching record levels and I’m looking forward to growing this side of the business further, as more landlords and tenants recognise the value that we add.”
Matt works in building surveying and project management. He joined GV&Co as a graduate ten years ago when the department was first established, and since then it has grown to a seven-strong team, with an enviable client base.
Matt said: “I really enjoy working on a diverse spectrum of commercial property across multiple sectors, and have keen interest in contract administration, dilapidations and acquisition surveys.
“In the last twelve months, I’ve managed over £3m worth of commercial refurbishments and successfully negotiated over £1m of dilapidations. As a director, I’ll be more involved with helping to manage the team and mentoring colleagues, as well as continuing to drive the department forward.
“Upcoming changes to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) legislation is the hot topic at the moment and with a fundamental understanding of building efficiency upgrade costs, we are well positioned to advise clients on improving EPC ratings to ensure assets remain attractive to both occupiers and institutional investors.”
David Geary joined GV&Co’s building surveying and project management team eight years ago and has successfully completed a Masters (MSc) in Building Surveying during that time. David project manages construction projects across all sectors, as well as carrying out condition surveys and negotiating dilapidations claims.
David said: “I really enjoy my role at GV&Co. I’m heavily involved in refurbishment schemes, predominantly around Yorkshire and the Midlands, but I have recently completed a large-scale refurbishment of a Grade A listed building in the centre of Edinburgh.
“The building is now fully let to multiple occupiers and holding its own in a prime part of the city. On a local level, the market is busy in the world of building surveying and the pipeline until the end of 2024 is strong.”
