The national property consultancy Naismiths is ramping up its operations in both East Anglia and Western England with the opening of new offices in Norwich and Exeter.
The two new hubs, which between them will house up to 15 staff, will enable the company to consolidate a period of rapid growth in two of Britain’s best performing regional property markets.
Naismiths, which was founded nearly six decades ago and has offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Nottingham and Leicester, grew its UK-wide revenue by 8% in 2020-21.
But growth has been especially strong in East Anglia and the West Country, regions which have benefitted from the post-Covid redrawing of the UK property map. Surging demand for homes from former commuters, newly unshackled from London and the Southeast, has triggered a wave of residential construction in areas which offer better value land and strong development opportunities.
Naismiths’ dedicated project monitoring division – the largest of its kind in Britain – has seen exceptional demand from lenders who use Naismiths’ expert surveyors to serve as their ‘eyes and ears’ during both the due diligence and construction phases. As well as working on a series of large residential schemes across the Southwest, Naismiths’ team in the West Country has been engaged to monitor development at Gravity, a 635-acre former munitions manufacturing site in Somerset that is being transformed into a smart campus that will create 4,000 jobs.
The firm’s new Exeter office will be led by David Hale, a senior surveyor who – like many commuters – is relocating to Devon from the Southeast. The Norwich office will be led by Associate Director Anna Vincent-Gill.
Marcus Higgins, Head of Project Monitoring at Naismiths, commented: “These are exciting times, both for Naismiths and the property sector as a whole. As growth ripples out to regions which previously saw less investment, strong development opportunities are emerging, and the resurgent residential market is powering renewed interest in commercial schemes too.
“Naismiths prides itself on combining nationwide coverage with strong regional knowledge. Over the coming months we’ll be putting more professionals with blue chip experience and first-class CVs into our new offices in Norwich and Exeter, ensuring we are better equipped than ever to serve our growing list of clients across East Anglia, Devon and Cornwall.”
Associate Director at Naismiths, Anna Vincent-Gill, added: “Britain’s real estate market has been transformed – and the property map redrawn – during the past 18 months. There has been a surge of interest and investment in areas that were previously a little under the radar, and nowhere is that truer than here in East Anglia.
“We’re proud to be on the front-line of development, giving lenders the certainty and oversight they need as they deploy capital that is already making a positive impact in communities across the region.”
