New leadership for Savills UK

Savills is, for the first time, introducing two leadership roles for its UK business due to the size and scale it is today.  CEO James Sparrow will be supported by Managing Director, Richard Rees.  They will work alongside Tim Maynard in his capacity as Chief Financial Officer and Operations Director.

Mark Ridley, Deputy Group CEO, says: “I have had 11 hugely enjoyable and stimulating years running the Savills Commercial business, which then became Savills UK when our UK Commercial, Residential, Rural, Planning and Residential Development businesses merged in 2013.  Since the merger, the business has grown from 3,500 to over 5,500 employees and revenue increased by approximately 60%, a fantastic team effort by all involved.  This has been achieved by a combination of organic growth together with some significant acquisitions including, Smiths Gore, Collier & Madge and GBR Phoenix Beard.

“I would like to congratulate James Sparrow and Richard Rees on their appointments.  I hope that they enjoy their new UK leadership roles as much as I have done over the past eleven years and thank them for taking on these positions.”

Both James and Richard were appointed to the Savills UK board when it was formed in 2012, prior to that having sat on the Boards of Savills Commercial and Savills L&P.  James as Head of Professional Services has board level responsibility for Valuation, Building Consultancy, Lease Consultancy, Rating, Capital Allowances, Recoveries and the Public Sector Business.  He also has had direct responsibility for the Housing and Healthcare divisions which he has run since they were formed.  Richard is, and will continue to be, responsible for our National Development Services division comprising over 700 people across the areas of Development, Planning, Residential Development Sales.    His division covers the breadth and depth of the UK, and he also Co-Chairs the UK Regional Development Boards.

James Sparrow says: “I am delighted to be taking over the leadership of the UK business with Richard Rees from today, it is hugely exciting.  Savills UK has enjoyed extraordinary growth and success under Mark’s guidance and, on behalf of the UK Board and the entire company, we want to thank him for all that he has done.  We look forward to working with him as he progresses to lead the global firm.

Richard Rees adds: “Savills UK is a strong and successful business.  We are committed to ensuring the business continues to operate a high level of service with a strong culture.   One of Mark Ridley’s great legacies to the UK business is the increased teamwork that now exists, which has made us a more cohesive business.  This has also made us more successful and maintaining this momentum will be a key strand of our new strategy.”