Former Valuation Office Rating expert joins Colliers International

Colliers International has appointed rating specialist Gordon Garnett to join its Rating team in Birmingham.

As the former team leader of the Valuation Office’s Specialist Rating Unit for Eastern England and, prior to that, District Valuer and Valuation Officer for Nottingham and Derbyshire, Gordon has over 40 years’ experience in the industry and to this day is still the youngest person ever to receive a RICS Diploma in Rating.

Over his 40 year career, Gordon has advised on all manner of property issues with key highlights including, agreeing rating assessments for superstores and large foodstores throughout Eastern England, including; Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Aldi, Lidl and The Co-Operative Food. Garnett also played an instrumental role in brokering an agreement between the Valuation Office and the occupier’s professional advisors for the ‘Superstore Beacon Agreement Scheme’, upon which the basis of valuations for superstores was agreed.

On the new appointment, Head of Rating for Colliers International, John Webber said: “Gordon is a well-respected and highly experienced professional in the rating industry and for him to be joining our team is a real coup.

“The Government’s postponement of the 2015 revaluation is the cause of great pressure for many of our clients at a time when business is already extremely challenging. At Colliers we are committed to addressing this issue at a national level in order to provide some much needed financial respite for our clients across the UK. Having Gordon on the team; with his first-hand experience of working with the Valuation Office will be of great value to our clients, both existing and prospective.”

Gordon Garnett concluded: “Colliers is widely regarded as a leading advisor in the field of Rating. With the Colliers’ national Rating team being based largely out of the Birmingham office, the opportunity to join a truly national team so close to my home in the East Midlands was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”

Garnett’s individual case experience includes: M&S Fosse Park, John Lewis flagship stores in Cambridge and Leicester, Warner Bros Film Studios Leavesden and the Harry Potter World Visitor Centre ­ the largest film studio in Europe.