Planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans has announced its 2023 Partner promotions, set to take effect from 1 April this year.

Ally Campbell (Planning) is experienced at working on large, major developments throughout Scotland, delivering high-profile planning permissions across a variety of different sectors. She has most recently advised on the repurposing of brownfield/town centre assets for alternative uses, including residential, PBSA, Build to Rent, hotel, office and other commercial opportunities.

Will Hyslop (Commercial and Agency/CAA) specialises in the Build to Rent and Purpose Built Student Accommodation sectors, providing acquisition, disposal and funding advice to developers, institutional investors, operators and lenders.

Emily Patey (Property Management) focuses on property and asset management in the retail sector, particularly town centres and shopping centres.

In addition, Matthew Boyd (Advisory), Harry Charman (Advisory), Rob Cohu (CAA), Sarah Gibbs (Advisory), Hugh Mitchell (Advisory), Tristan Paterson (CAA), Emily Pile (CAA), Nick Pond (Planning) and Mo Qamar (CAA) have all been appointed to the role of Associate.

Ben Dakin (Planning), Will Fennell (CAA),  Nick Garside (Planning), Richard Glover (Advisory), Jo Kelly (Advisory), Rachel McGall (Planning) and James Veitch (Advisory) have been promoted to Senior Surveyor.

Rob Bower, Montagu Evans’ Managing Partner, said: “Our partnership expects a lot from its people; it’s what differentiates us. We place a lot of emphases on organic talent growth and value and above all, its importance for long-term succession and generations of deep client relationships built on trust and stand-out service.

“Not only do these promotions – along with this year’s senior lateral hires – mean that we have reached the highest number of Partners in Montagu Evans’ 102-year history, they set the pathway for many other talented individuals who continue to build our partnership legacy. My warmest congratulations to all involved.”

 

8-10 IPB UK Limited, a joint venture between The Linton Group and Henika Group, has been given the go-ahead for the development of a 117,165 sq ft (10,885 sq m) co-working hub on a former warehousing and car park site at Ingate Place in Battersea. The plans were unanimously approved by LB Wandsworth.

These proposals will create a new part-6, part-8 and part-10 storey building comprising office and light industrial floorspace designed to accommodate co-working, small and medium enterprises on all floors, with two floors solely for managed workspace. Sustainability technologies, enhanced biodiversity measures, and new public realm are all incorporated within the plans.

Linton founder Gary Linton said: “We are delighted that planning permission has been secured for this exciting project, that will hopefully be a founding anchor within Wandsworth Council’s new Battersea Design and Technology Quarter, alongside the recent consent achieved by Nuveen at 220 Queenstown Road opposite. This scheme hopes to provide a dynamic and exciting workspace for tech companies that can align themselves with the new arrival of the Apple HQ in Battersea Power Station.’’

Chris Reid, founder of Henika Group, added: “In the new post-pandemic era, where companies and employees have redefined the relationship with the office, occupiers deem it is more important than ever to take up space in best-in-class offices with high-quality amenities, design and sustainability. We are very pleased the proposed development will achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.

Montagu Evans provided planning, heritage and townscape advice, including the Tall Building Impact Assessment to support the application.

Guy Bransby, Partner at Montagu Evans and head of its Central London Planning team, said:  “These proposals optimise this brownfield site in a highly sustainable location and will transform an underused industrial area into new sustainable workspace able to accommodate over 500 new jobs. Design quality and sustainability have been central to our plans from inception and will set the tone for future development in the area.

Ingate Place is situated close to Queenstown Road and Battersea Park railway stations and the new Northern Line extension at Battersea Power Station. It has been identified in the GLA’s London Plan as a Strategic Industrial Location (SIL) and forms part of the Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Battersea Opportunity Area.

The scheme has been designed by Jo Cowen Architects.

More coverage from EG, React News and BeNews.

 

Planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans has recruited residential land specialist Richard Thomas as part of its increasing focus on the housing sector.

Formerly a Partner at Cushman & Wakefield, leading its London and South East land team with responsibility for Residential, Student and Co-Living land transactions, Thomas originally started his career on Montagu Evans’ graduate training programme and has also worked with BNP Paribas/Strutt & Parker.

In this new role, he will lead the partnership’s land team, working closely with investment, planning and advisory colleagues, as well as Montagu Evans’ landowner clients, to help unlock value and deliver development opportunities across all areas of the housing lifecycle.

His appointment follows Andrew Ludiman joining Montagu Evans in January to spearhead its residential markets activity. The partnership is increasing its focus on providing a fully integrated offer to public and private sector landowners to tackle complex requirements in the housing arena, as well as developing strategies to provide institutional capital flows to unlock housing-led regeneration.

Adrian Owen, Partner at Montagu Evans, said: “Underlying the significant opportunities that the housing sector currently presents is the need for broader thinking about land and site supply. The ability to put in place new transactional and funding structures to deliver high-quality development is essential. Richard’s wide-ranging experience on behalf of some of the largest London and regional developers, his recent focus on sectors such as student housing and co-living, and his deep technical and legal knowledge will be an advantage to clients exploring new approaches in this area.

 

West Silvertown Place Ltd, advised by planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans, has been given the go ahead for a new residential development along North Woolwich Road in Silvertown.

The development will use and optimise a previously developed brownfield site to provide 81 high-quality new homes, across a mix of housing types, including 28% family sized dwellings.  35% of the housing units will be affordable, of which a significant proportion will be affordable family homes.

Alongside the new housing, the development will provide:

• a car-free scheme, promoting greener modes of travel
• cycle parking that exceeds required standards
• significant landscaping improvements and new tree planting
• generous on-site amenities in the form of two private residential communal courtyards and associated play space
• public realm improvements to the North Woolwich Road
• increased urban greening and biodiversity net gain
• air source heat pumps, and
• a sustainable urban drainage strategy.

The scheme will comprise three new buildings ranging between two to nine storeys, with the proposed heights designed to form a positive relationship between the existing low-rise terrace housing to the north and east and the emerging taller contemporary developments of Royal Wharf and Silvertown Quays to the south.

Simon Marks, partner at planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans said:  “This successful outcome shows how an imaginative repurposing of underused brownfield sites can unlock land for much-needed residential development.  Key to the success of these plans was continued consultation between the council and development team to deliver a high quality, financially viable scheme that provides for the greatest housing needs in the borough, including affordable homes.”

West Silvertown Place Ltd was advised by Montagu Evans (land agency, planning and financial viability advice), Stephen Davy Peter Smith Architects and Ardent Consulting.

Photo credit – Stephen Davy Peter Smith Architects Ltd.

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 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.�?

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.”

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.

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.”

Planning and development consultancy Montagu Evans has welcomed a new generation of talent with its 2022 early careers cohort joining the partnership.

The 22 new recruits, made up of graduates and apprentices, will work across all the business’s key services, from planning and historic environments to advisory and agency roles, and sit on the firm’s sector-focussed teams providing clients with specialist multidisciplinary advice.

They have dedicated support in the form of managers, mentors and ongoing training as they embark on their careers with the firm. 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.

The new early careers recruits are Cameron Aitchison, Edouard Barrois, William Chadd, Dylan Chaplin, Bridget Crossley, Sahil Dave, Louis Earle-Davis, Euan Humphery, Camille Lizama, Niamh Lydon, Charlie Major, Anna Mido, Lulu Moakes, Beth O’Sullivan, Justin Parker, Simran Shah, Emily Sheldon, Aaron Singh, Rachel Slater, Ellie Smith, Sam Stratton and Ben Wikeley.

Victoria Thompson, HR Director at Montagu Evans, said: “This is a very talented group of budding real estate professionals who have impressed us from the start with their energy, focus and commitment. We’re delighted to welcome you to the partnership and are looking forward to supporting and challenging them during this next stage of their careers.”