Rettie builds up private rented team with senior hire

Property specialist Rettie & Co has hired industry veteran Hazel Sharp Webb to head up its private rented sector (PRS) and build-to-rent (BTR) team.

Hazel Sharp Webb with Rettie & Co director Matthew Benson. Picture: Stewart Attwood

The move comes after the Edinburgh-based firm advised on Scotland’s largest-ever BTR deal – a £215 million development in the city’s Fountainbridge area that will see joint venture partners Moda Living and Apache Capital deliver more than 500 new homes.

• READ MORE: Edinburgh to get new £215m build-to-rent ‘village’

Rettie & Co director Matthew Benson said: “Having worked alongside our team for several months now, it’s great news that Hazel has joined us on a more permanent basis.

“Hazel’s contribution to our BTR services will be invaluable for Rettie and our clients.”

Sharp Webb joins from the senior team at Allsop Letting & Management, the UK’s largest independent residential investment manager, and brings with her more than a decade of industry experience. She also chairs the Scottish Property Federation’s residential investment and management committee and is a member of the PRS forum of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland.

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Rettie is “currently advising on over 3,000 prospective new units for private rent in Scotland, are managing the development and delivery of over 650 units and have around £1 billion of existing residential assets under management”, she said.

“At the UK Property Professionals Scottish property conference in Edinburgh last week, the general consensus was that BTR opportunities outweigh the risks of the new tenancy regime and rent pressure zones, greater collaboration between the public and private sectors is required and that there is very real and active interest from foreign investors who are less nervous about Brexit and Indyref2 than UK investors.

“It’s also the case that the 3 per cent tax advantage for institutional investment in BTR in Scotland is a major advantage. Overall, this shows Scotland is open for business.”

• Property investment and development company Bellair (Scotland) has unveiled two senior appointments as it eyes further growth, writes Scott Reid.

The firm was founded by managing director Alistair Campbell and his son, Colin Campbell, has joined from JLL where he was an associate director in the capital markets team. Crawford Geddes, who has held a number of senior positions in the property industry, also joins as a director.

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