Less than six weeks after Co-operative Estates appointed Kris Nayak to oversee future planning of the 8,000 properties in its portfolio, the Co-operative Group has named Jason McEwen as head of its project delivery and programmes.
The Co-operative recently confirmed it intends to open more than 100 new high street and community stores by the end of this year and 150 in subsequent years and McEwen’s responsibilities will include leading the construction, refurbishment and retro-fit of all the new outlets.
With more than 14 years of programme and project management experience, he joined the Co-op in November, 2012, as national investment delivery lead. He previously worked for management consultant Ernst and Young. Before that McEwen spent two years with management consultancies in Australia and four years as a client side project manager at international consultancy and construction company, Mace Group.
David Roberts is director of estate services at the Co-op. “The group is undertaking a significant programme of re-fits and refurbishments across its food trading estate as part of its vision to be the best local retailer in the UK, as well as in other business areas,” he explained.
“In the two years Jason has been with us he has proved himself capable of overseeing this vast programme, and I am confident his knowledge and experience of programme management will ensure its continued success.” said Roberts.
After 13 years as an investment specialist with Jones Lang LaSalle Jonathan Mills is returning “home” to the North West to head Colliers’ investment business in the region.
Working from Colliers’ Manchester office he will liaise with the firm’s national investment team, advising fund institutions and developers on both the buy and sell-side of transactions.
Mills has a strong track record in the North West that includes an involvement in M & G’s £320m purchase of Royal Bank of Scotland’s 450,000sq ft 1 Hardman Boulevard and its smaller 240,000sq ft office on Deansgate in Manchester. He also advised on the sale of the city’s 100,000sq ft Chancery Place and Resolution’s acquisition of Great Northern Warehouse for £72m.
“The opportunity to join Colliers at such an exciting time in its development in the UK — at the same time as returning to my home city — doesn’t come around very often,” said Mills.
“Colliers’ latest acquisitions of BCL and H2SO, plus the quality individuals that it has boosted the team with recently, have been enough to convince me that this is a success story that I want to be part of,” he added.
M & G Real Estate has hired Lucy Williams as director of institutional business for the UK and Europe. She is replacing Chris Nash who has left the group.
Williams — who has 20 years’ experience within the building industry ranging from construction to real estate fund management — joins from Ignis Asset Management. She previously worked for six years at Lothbury Investment Management where she headed the business development, investor relations and marketing divisions.
In her new role at M & G Williams will lead the real estate’s business development team, spearheading capital raising activities in the UK and across continental European markets.
Story: Cliff Goodwin
Photo: La-Citta-Vita on Flickr
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