The UK’s largest independent commercial property consultant and Birmingham’s leading property advisor, GVA has created a new role in its Building Division and has appointed experienced industry figure Keith Shead to lead its Building Engineering Services offering.
Currently, the company spends significant sums each year outsourcing work to third party consultants. It will be part of Keith’s responsibility to identify opportunities for the Engineering Services team to retain some of this work in-house, particularly in the mechanical and electrical engineering fields.
With 36 years’ experience in the property and construction industry, Keith joins GVA with a wealth of knowledge and a specific understanding of the requirements of the Midlands market, having first moved to the region in 1989.
Keith established himself as a key figure in the property industry at engineering and design consultancy WSP, where he was appointed head of the Birmingham office, overseeing more than 130 employees. Keith left the company last year.
Keith said: “After 36 years I needed a new challenge and despite receiving a number of offers to go back into engineering consultancy, I believe that this role with GVA represents a very positive opportunity to grow and expand a new area of the business.
“There is no reason why this role cannot be expanded out to our other offices around the country, however each region has slightly different requirements and emphasis. So we would need to understand these before implementing the role, as we have done in transferring from London to the Midlands.”
Keith’s appointment follows the establishment of a similar role at GVA’s London office in the latter half of 2011. Following 12 months of success, it was decided that the concept should be rolled-out to other regions, starting with the Midlands.
David Martin, Senior Director, GVA’s Building team, said: “This model has been proven to be successful in the London market and while the regions have their own demands and requirements, our knowledge of the Midlands market has enabled us to adapt the format accordingly.
“Last year saw some exceedingly high profile successes for us as a team and we are looking at some extremely positive forecasts for this year. It’s allowed us to put this plan forward to be considered. Creating a new role such as this in a difficult economic market is a calculated risk, but we believe that Keith is a great fit for GVA and we are delighted to have him on board.”
Keith has previously been responsible for overseeing the engineering support on two of the UK’s largest due diligence instructions, including Abbey National’s sale of assets of around £1.5 billion, and the sale of 25 per cent of the Crown Estate on Regent’s Street, totalling £454 million.
Last year marked the best to date for the building team, with revenue generated topping the previous record-breaking year in 2007/08 by 4 per cent. This growth and prosperity is particularly impressive given the continued tough economic conditions and increased competition in the sector.
The team is continuing to receive a growing number of instructions for sites and projects throughout the Midlands, including Birmingham City Hospital, provision of a 1 million sq ft planned maintenance report for a shopping centre in Leicester, project management of Wragge’s fit out at Two Snowhill, and due diligence/monitoring of 25,000sqft of offices at Centre City in Birmingham.
Other clients include RBS and the Ministry of Justice for whom they advise on all aspects of their occupied estate. GVA Building is unique in that it has a dedicated banking support team, specialising in advising on corporate recovery and distressed developments.
