Savills : Changes at the top for Savills Oxford

Director, Richard Binning, has been appointed to lead its 120-strong commercial and rural property services office on Botley Road - one of the firm's two offices in the city. Richard has worked for Savills for more than 17 years and is head of its rural agency team in the central region. He commented:

'Having been born and brought up in Oxfordshire, I am delighted to be appointed to run the Savills Oxford office. As a large regional office with a complete range of property services, it promises to be a varied and exciting role.

'2019 is set to be another interesting year in politics and business. The agenda presents both challenges and opportunities and my focus will be on ensuring our teams across all disciplines continue to proactively offer our clients the very best advice and support.'

Richard takes on the role following director, Patrick Eve's decision to step down after 6 years in the role, following his appointment as head of the company's regional development business, comprising 21 regional development teams from Aberdeen to Exeter. He said:

'I am immensely proud of our business here in Oxford, which has continued to grow and evolve over the last six years. I am delighted to hand the reigns to Richard Binning, who has played a key role in our senior management team for a number of years. I know he will do an exceptional job of leading the office in 2019 and beyond.'

Patrick continues to work from Oxford and will continue to play a major role in the office's consultancy and development work for key clients.

In addition to the new head of office in Oxford, Savills has announced the appointment of directors, Tim Watson and Ed Keeling to lead its market-leading development and valuation department. Tim, who is based in Oxford, and Ed, who is based in Reading, will run the department in the south central region, overseeing its teams in Oxford, Reading and Cheltenham. Ed Keeling said:

'The team has grown considerably from just a handful of us when I joined Savills in Oxford 11 years ago, to 27 colleagues across 3 offices as we move into 2019. Tim and I see huge potential to further our business in the markets we are growing in, such as Cheltenham and Reading, while continuing our leadership of the market in Oxford.'

Tim Watson added: '2019 will no doubt bring new challenges, but with our team, breadth of services and geographical coverage, we are ideally-placed to meet these head on.'