Duchy Appoints New Team in the North

Following the announcement that the Duchy of Lancaster wished to strengthen the management of its rural estates, we are pleased to announce a number of key appointments in the North.

From 1st November 2017, Rural Surveyor and Land Agent Andrew Johnson took up a new post as Rural Surveyor North with overall responsibility for the Duchy’s Lancashire and Yorkshire Surveys. Andrew was born in Lancashire and raised on the family smallholding, which now runs a small herd of Beef Shorthorn cattle. For the past six years he has been an associate at Savills’ Clitheroe office where he managed a range of client estates and properties including the Duchy’s Lancashire Survey.

The Northern team has been further strengthened by three other new recruits, Assistant Rural Surveyor Leyla Green, Rural Accountant Ralph Whitehead and Office Administrator/PA Emma Clarke.

Chartered Surveyor and RICS valuer Leyla Green joins the Duchy team after four years at The Brown Rural Partnership in Cheshire where she worked on the renovation of a number of traditional rural buildings as well as managing compulsory purchase schemes for a variety of clients.

Lancastrian accountant Ralph Whitehead has been Group Finance Manager of Cityblock since February 2015 working as Head of Finance for a family-run student property company. He previously worked at Centrica and GSK before taking on the role of Rural Accountant for the Duchy of Lancaster.

To complete the team, Emma Clarke has been appointed as the Office Administrator/PA for the Duchy’s Northern office. The new recruits will join Project Manager Ian Bartlett and Head of Communications Debbie Garritty in the purpose-built Duchy office suite at Lancaster Castle which opened in September 2016.

Commenting on the appointments, Duchy CEO Nathan Thompson said: “The Duchy has always maintained that while its head may be in London, its heart is in Lancaster. The development of a new office suite within Lancaster Castle is a clear statement of intent and by recruiting a team who will be based here we are further demonstrating our commitment to the Castle, the city and to the county.

“We believe that this transfer of some regional functions to a base outside of London should help us to improve our support, communication and visibility with our tenants and give us a better understanding of any local issues and concerns. I would like to welcome all members of the team to the Duchy family and look forward to working with them in their new roles.”

The Duchy of Lancaster is also consolidating the management of its rural estates in Cheshire and Staffordshire bringing both Surveys together under a single lead surveyor. Paul Hutchinson, a director of Savills York office, was previously the managing agent responsible for the Duchy’s Yorkshire Survey. Paul will now lead on Cheshire and Staffordshire, supported by Property Managers Jessica Cartwright and Naomi Browne.

All rural teams will work closely with the Duchy’s Head of Rural Christopher Sparrow and other members of the senior management team.