MONTAGU EVANS WELCOMES 2023 EARLY CAREERS COHORT
Planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans has this week welcomed its 2023 early careers cohort.
15 new graduates have joined the partnership to work across the business’s key areas, from planning and historic environments to advisory and agency roles.
With dedicated support in the form of managers, mentors and ongoing training, all are continuing a qualification pathway, and the firm has a robust and market-leading programme in place to help them in their ongoing development and growth as young professionals.
This year’s new recruits are: Luke Audis, Harry Beveridge, Zahra Bhojani, Paloma Calvert, Ed Elliman, Matthew Fitzgerald, Tobias Johnston, Harry Lloyd Jones, Sophie Kenworthy, Oliver Moir, Alex Nesti, Tom Pitts, Tami Raji, Xanthe Sloane and Nathan Wilson.
Victoria Thompson, HR Director at Montagu Evans, said: “We are very pleased to welcome this talented group of young professionals to the partnership. Throughout the application process, they have impressed us with their attitude, capability and potential, and we have recruited from a wider range of higher education institutions and courses than ever before.”
In addition to these graduate appointments, Montagu Evans offered 13 intern places this year – its largest intake to date – including three students from the 10,000 Black Interns programme and two from 10,000 Able Interns, as well as others applying through its website. For the first time, the planning and development pathway was offered to provide interns with a wide grounding in the partnership’s specialist areas.
Click here for more information on our Early Careers programmes.
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MONTAGU EVANS APPOINTS HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY FOR CLIENT AND FIRM-WIDE ENGAGEMENT
Planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans has appointed Oliver Pye as Head of Sustainability.
Pye will set the strategic direction and overall sustainability and environmental ambitions for the firm, reporting directly to Managing Partner Rob Bower. Engaging with business lines and teams across the partnership, he will look to enhance the integration of sustainability advice into existing and future projects and client-relationships.
Pye, who has more than a decade of experience in real estate sustainability and ESG, is a Chartered Environmentalist and Full Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). He joins from ESG and energy management consultancy EVORA Global, where he worked for the last six years as director, advising global real estate investment clients on their ESG strategies and implementation. Prior to this role, he was a senior ESG consultant at ARUP, where he advised a range of blue chip property companies and public sector clients.
Rob Bower, Managing Partner at Montagu Evans, said: “Oli’s work will form a golden thread as he drives a strategic approach to sustainability through our planning and development offer. Not only should we, as a business, continuously challenge ourselves to do better across all areas of the ESG continuum, but we must bring the same thinking and commitment to daily engagement on projects and with clients. With government targets and market-wide appetite continuing to grow, this is a role that should generate considerable change at every level, and we are looking forward to seeing the impact Oli will make across the partnership.”
Oliver Pye, Partner at Montagu Evans, added: “This role presents a huge opportunity to support the firm and its clients on their sustainability journey and to deliver significant positive impact across the full trinity of sustainability objectives (economic, social and environmental); for our clients, wider society and ourselves. Naturally, carbon is going to be a major priority, including advising on decarbonisation of existing buildings and carbon reduction strategies during design, planning, construction and operation, but I will also have a wider-reaching brief across a range of other areas.”
“On top of this, there is a culture here that should lend itself especially well to making any new initiatives successful – strategic thinking, cross-team working, open dialogue and a focus on L&D already happens very successfully, and I’m seeing some very exciting opportunities even in my first week.”
Montagu Evans is a member of Business Declares and Race to Zero.
MONTAGU EVANS WIDENS HOUSING FOCUS WITH RESIDENTIAL MARKETS LEAD APPOINTMENT
Planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans is increasing its focus on housing, with the first of a number of senior appointments joining the partnership this week.
Andrew Ludiman has been appointed as Partner and will lead the firm’s Residential Capital Markets and Land teams, which focus on all forms of residential accommodation, including PBSA, co-living, BTR, affordable housing, senior/assisted living and single-family housing.
Previously Commercial Director at Knight Dragon and Investment Director at Capital & Counties, Andrew started his career at King Sturge, then JLL, and has considerable experience in residential-led development, leading on major schemes including Greenwich Peninsula and Earls Court.
In this new role, he will lead a cross-disciplinary team providing planning, development and funding expertise. The team will work with public and private sector landowners to tackle increasingly complex requirements for repurposing town centres and provide much-needed private and affordable rented housing for younger and older generations in locations across the country. Strategies to help provide institutional capital flows that will fund and unlock this regeneration will also be a major focus.
Adrian Owen, Partner at Montagu Evans and Head of Commercial and Agency, said: “Housing delivery remains central to our business – from high-density development in town and city centres to large-scale strategic sites on urban fringes. Putting more focus into a wider range of types and tenures means we will be even better placed to unlock opportunities for our clients. Andrew has a passion for this area, a very strong track record and a clear vision. We’re very pleased to welcome him to the partnership and excited about how this area of the business will develop.”
Andrew Ludiman, Partner at Montagu Evans, added: “With markets evolving considerably in the last year, we see enormous potential in opening up Montagu Evans’ housing expertise and integrated service lines to a wider cross-section of the market, in particular supporting landowners with new ways of unlocking residential opportunities. Throughout, we will be focussed on best-in-class assets that respond to clients’ drivers and keep their requirements front and centre at all times.”
REPURPOSING OF HISTORIC WHITBREAD BREWERY STABLES APPROVED IN ISLINGTON
Over the past 2 years, Montagu Evans has provided heritage advice to CIT on a scheme to repurpose the grade II listed former Whitbread brewery stables at Garrett St, Islington.
The building was constructed in 1897 to keep up to 100 dray horses across 3 levels, each accessed by ramps. The dray horses were used to pull carts laden with beer for delivery in the local area. The nearby brewery ceased in 1976, although the horses did not leave until 1991. A very different occupier, Travis Perkins, had resided in more recent times.
The engineering to create the ramps and structural integrity of each floor was not novel for the period, although the building is of special interest as a relatively rare example of a multi-storey stable, its architectural appearance, including the handsome frontage and vaulted ceilings and its historic association with Whitbread.
The proposals for CIT, designed by Horden Cherry Lee, comprised the repair and restoration of the listed building, plus extension at roof level and courtyard, and interior alterations for the use of the building as workspace. This would consist of 1,000 sqm (GIA) of relocated affordable workspace from Finsbury Tower (aka the HYLO building) as well as additional affordable workspace fitted out to Cat B. The reallocation of affordable workspace to the Garrett St site was driven by Islington’s Inclusive Economy Team, who considered the standalone industrial building to be both more suitable and attractive to prospective occupiers.
Our assessment identified harmful elements of the proposals but several countervailing benefits. Throughout the process, we tested various options to ensure that those harms were minimised or were absolutely necessary to deliver the workspace which all parties considered as the optimum use. The benefits included the removal of previous attritions and reinstatement of the original plan form arrangement, plus the reuse of the original horse ramp as an integral part of the circulation space. The rooftop and side extension to the listed building has been carefully considered. We went through a detailed pre-application process to reach the final design, including meeting with the LBI conservation officer and design review panel.
The scheme was recommended for approval by officers at the LBI. On Tuesday night, members went with that recommendation and unanimously approved the scheme. The scheme will provide much-needed fit-for-purpose affordable workspace to the borough whilst bringing this fantastic building back into use and enabling the public to appreciate its rich history.
Image by Horden Cherry Lee.
MONTAGU EVANS REVEALS FOCUS FOR 2023 FOLLOWING PROFIT AND REVENUE RISES
Montagu Evans will focus on enabling more development of housing, urban logistics and healthcare in 2023, according to Rob Bower, the managing partner at the firm. The property consultancy will also concentrate on repurposing and repositioning stranded assets and places, such as older offices, retail and town centres, he added. Bower spoke to Property Week after the firm revealed a rise in both revenue and profit for the year to the end of March 2022, despite challenging market conditions.
He said: “Turbulent times are when clients need us most – from bringing more resources to in-house teams to thinking differently when the market is moving quickly, and new approaches are needed. We didn’t shy away from investment in the business, even during the most challenging moments of Covid-19. People were our priority, not just their health and wellbeing, but making sure they could proactively support clients during long periods of uncertainty. And, like the rest of the sector, we benefited from post-pandemic tailwinds driving market activity, particularly in transactional areas.”
Bower added that the company would continue to invest in its systems in 2023 (as data and insight grow in importance) as well as in training and development: ”Our focus remains on retaining talented people, and this will mean further investment, including in our early careers cohort, learning and development, and wider support networks. We also continue to focus on strategic senior lateral hires in areas such as sustainability, where our clients continue to face challenges.”
2021/22 FINANCIAL RESULTS: REVENUES RISE AND INVESTMENT IN THE PARTNERSHIP CONTINUES
In the annual report and accounts registered this week at Companies House, Montagu Evans has reported an increase in revenues and further investment in its business for the financial year running from April 2021 to March 2022.
Revenue was up to £64.1 million (a 22% year-on-year increase), with all fee-earning departments recording turnover increases of over 20%.
Statutory profit increased by £6.1 million to £23.2 million (although 2021 included one-off costs relating to the relocation to its new City of London headquarters the same year).
Distributable profit for partners also increased (up 19%), as did the non-partner bonus pool (up 26% to £6 million). The average distributable profit per partner was up 27% from the previous year to £529,000.
Staff investment increased by £5.2 million, including a continued focus on senior lateral hires in strategic growth areas that will continue into 2022/2023 and an increase in provision for its early careers cohort that includes both apprentices and graduates. The average number of staff increased by 58, excluding property management site staff.
Prudent financial management of resources has resulted in a £1 million growth in net assets to £17.2 million and a strong positive cash balance.
Its energy and carbon report demonstrates a significant improvement in emissions (from 228 to 148 tCO2e) and a significant reduction in carbon footprint since the prior year, halving the intensity ratio from 0.6 to 0.3.
Diversity, equity and inclusion remain a priority, and the partnership is continuing to make progress against its 5-year commitment started in 2019, including the appointment of a new responsible business manager for this area. New programmes in the past year include partnering with Disability Connect and becoming Disability Confident Committed; joining the Menopause Workplace Pledge and Social Mobility Pledge; setting up the Reach Acade:ME designed to provide dedicated support to students from Years 10 to 13, including an annual bursary; and adopting market-leading parenthood policies. The firm also offers a cost of living contribution to support staff who need it. A full report is available here.
Managing Partner Rob Bower said: “Above all, this success comes from the great work our people do every day, especially their ability to provide high-quality advice tailored to each client and its challenges. Everyone should be proud of the part they have played.
“Clearly, this current year is different. Our central core of planning and development may not be affected to the same extent as transactional markets, but we will be working hard to support clients as they navigate these changing circumstances. We also have some major projects at the Royal Albert Docks, at Stansted and in Shepherds Bush to focus on, as well as supporting public and private sector organisations UK-wide.
“At the same time, we remain focussed on investing in the business, continuing to make it more sustainable, inclusive and diverse, and protecting the qualities that make this a fulfilling and rewarding partnership.”
GO AHEAD FOR CANNING TOWN MASTERPLAN PENULTIMATE PHASE
Linkcity, advised by planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans, has been granted planning permission by the London Borough of Newham for Phase 4 of its Hallsville Quarter development masterplan in Canning Town.
This latest phase proposes a new mixed-use city block which will deliver 377 purpose-built student accommodation rooms, a wide range of student amenity spaces including a first-floor garden and 7th-floor roof terrace and 566 sq m of new ground floor, flexible commercial floorspace and landscaped public realm.
Phase 4 marks the penultimate phase of the Hallsville Quarter Masterplan, which, when complete, will deliver 1,148 new homes with a variety of tenures, over 30,000 sq m of leisure and retail space, a new health centre and community facilities close to Canning Town underground station. New pedestrian links and cyclist provisions are also included as part of the six-hectare development.
Montagu Evans provided planning, townscape/heritage and viability advice.
Phillippa Prongue, Managing Director of Linkcity, said: “Linkcity is excited to be completing the main part of the Hallsville Quarter new town centre working in conjunction with the London Borough of Newham as part of the wider Canning Town and Custom House urban regeneration programme. This phase will provide much-needed student accommodation in close proximity to some of London’s world-leading education institutions, and this will add vitality and diversity to the local community and businesses.”
Simon Marks, Partner at Montagu Evans, said: “This approval facilitates the next stage in unlocking this vital development for Canning Town. Hallsville Quarter will help meet local needs with more and a greater variety of homes, many of which will be affordable, in a well-planned development close to public transport, shops, health and leisure facilities.”
The project is expected to be completed in June 2025.
Image credit: PRP Architects
More coverage on EG here.
GO AHEAD FOR MAJOR EAST CROYDON OFFICE PLANS
Croydon developer Freshwater, advised by Montagu Evans, has been given the go-ahead for the development of a new 175,000 sq ft office scheme opposite East Croydon station.
Plans for the new building on 96-98 George Street, designed by architecture practice Orms, extend to 11 storeys, with a café and office space on the ground and mezzanine floors and offices on the basement and upper floors.
They will deliver a significant increase in office floor space and new retail space, in a highly sustainable and distinctive new building that will help reinforce central Croydon as a key business destination.
A high-level landscape design has been developed to improve College Square and provide an area of the public realm that is accessible to all and provides a welcoming environment for students, office workers, shoppers and the area’s other users. There is also public art provision in partnership with Croydon College.
At the same time, this building will be a highly sustainable development – an energy-efficient building that minimises water and energy usage and incorporates measures to ensure low carbon emissions.
Guy Bransby, Partner at Montagu Evans, said: “Our planning case focused on the need for new, flexible, Grade A office space that is lacking in Croydon, the economic boost to the town centre through the creation of 1,600 jobs, the associated spend on local goods and services, and the creation of a number of apprenticeships.”
More on the story from CoStar and Property Week.