Savills promotes two to head up European Retail

International real estate advisor Savills has promoted Larry Brennan to Head of European Retail Agency. Dublin based Larry has been one of the driving forces behind the growth of Savills in Ireland, where he was chairman for four years. As well as continuing to head up Savills Ireland’s retail team, over the last twelve months he has been co-ordinating mandates between Savills individual country teams on the continent, with a focus on the core markets of Spain, Germany and France.

Larry Brennan, Head of European Retail Agency, Savills, comments, “Savills has already established a reputation in the UK, Asia and the US for delivering a best in class service to clients across the retail  spectrum, including leasing, investment and management. Working with our global network, I am confident that we will be able to replicate this level of service in continental Europe.”

With Larry taking up his new position, Savills has recruited Kevin Sweeney as a director in the retail team in Dublin.  He joins the firm from Westfield shopping centres in Sydney, Australia, where he was regional manager for seven years.

Savills has also promoted Oli Fraser Looen to Head of Cross Border Retail Investment in Europe. For the past four year he has been working from Savills London HQ,  liaising with its investment teams around the globe, buying and selling retail assets for cross-border investors.

Oli Fraser Looen, Head of Cross Border Retail Investment, Savills Europe, comments: “Cross border investors are now dominating transaction volumes in the retail sector in almost every European market, therefore it has never been more imperative for us as advisors to be expert in tracking and enticing this kind of capital.”

Mark Ridley, CEO of Savills UK & Europe, comments: “In line with our expansion strategy, our retail business in continental Europe has gone from strength to strength over the past year. I am very pleased that Larry is now in a position to focus on the development of Savills retail agency in this region and, through working alongside Oli and our global investment and asset management teams, we will be best placed to advise our retail clients on their European real estate requirements.”