New Year, new appointments. Agencies gear up for year ahead

The Buying Solution – the independent buying arm of Knight Frank – has appointed Theo James-Wright as a Partner to cover the southern Home Counties – Surrey, Sussex and Kent.

James-Wright joins The Buying Solution from Savills where he specialised in selling premium £5 million plus country houses across West Sussex, Surrey and East Hampshire, from their London Country Department.

Prior to joining Savills, James-Wright was a buying agent in London working for Crown Mayfair, having moved from Carter Jonas Barnes, following a first job in property agency with KFH.

He says: “I’m thrilled to join The Buying Solution and it is really exciting for me to move over to the buying side again, having previously been focused on country house sales.”

CONNELLS

Elsewhere, Connells has appointed Adrian Pitt as its Midlands Divisional Managing Director.

His experience in estate agency spans almost 30 years, starting out as a Negotiator at Countrywide in 1993. He transfers internally from Countrywide, where he was Regional Director for the Midlands region and replaces Elizabeth Brown following her retirement at the end of 2022, after 42 years with the company.

He says: “With most estate agency businesses, the core day-to-day jobs stay the same, customers are always at the forefront of your mind, and you are always thinking about how you can improve, but my priority is always my people.

SO Resi

Meanwhile, shared ownership specialists SO Resi has promoted Group Head of Sales Kevin Sims into the newly created role of Director of Sales and Marketing.

Sims joined SO Resi in the summer of 2019 and has a 35-year-long background in the property and mortgage industry, having worked across a number of sectors including new homes development, estate agency and shared ownership.

Before joining SO Resi he held regional sales and marketing director roles for national housebuilders including McCarthy & Stone, Wilcon Homes and Prowting Homes, and was also regional director for Countrywide.

He says: “Marketing is an incredibly valuable tool for informing, educating and supporting people about the benefits of affordable schemes. I’m determined to change the way that shared ownership is perceived within the industry, and by first-time buyers, many of whom don’t understand the benefits that the product can offer.”