Our People

Alastair joined Christie + Co in 2011 having spent the first three years of his career working in Dubai and Bahrain. He is based in our London office where he undertakes valuations and consultancy work for Christie + Co’s Corporate Retail team, considering a wide range of properties including pharmacies, petrol filling stations, and convenience stores across the country.

Alastair is an MRICS qualified Chartered Surveyor and Registered Valuer, having previously attained a degree in Economics from the University of Bristol and a Masters in Real Estate Management from Oxford Brookes University.

Alex joined Christie + Co in July 2011 after five years working in the hotels and leisure sectors at GVA Humberts Leisure. Alex is based in our London in the Corporate Hotels Team and he undertakes a mix of work involving going concern sales, hotel development and investment projects and mixed-use leisure schemes within the UK.

Alex is a MRICS qualified Chartered Surveyor and is also an RICS Registered Valuer.”

Allen joined Christie + Co in 1999, having previously worked for two specialist business sales agencies in the north of England. He has more than 19 years’ business sales experience and was invited to join the Corporate Retail Department in January 2005, where he soon became a Director. Based in our Leeds office, Allen is strategically located to offer advice to multiple and corporate operators across the north of England. He is also Christie + Co’s petrol filling stations specialist, dealing with the sale and acquisition of forecourt sites throughout the country for corporate, multiple and independent clients. Working with the local offices, he has enjoyed considerable success in this core part of our retail business.

Andreas is the Head of Consultancy at Christie + Co, the UK’s leading specialist hotel and leisure property advisor. He has extensive consultancy and M&A experience across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the USA. Andreas joined the firm from Deloitte, where he spent six years working in the UK and the USA across the company’s Consultancy and Corporate Finance divisions. Prior to joining Deloitte, Andreas was based in Los Angeles as part of Arthur Andersen’s Hotel Business Consultancy team. He has operational hotel experience in the USA, Switzerland and Hong Kong. He is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and speaks fluent German and Swiss-German.

Andreas has advised on c. £7bn of debt exposure across the hospitality & leisure sectors in the last 18 months, providing operational reviews, independent business reviews, strategic advice, as well as defining workout options and evaluating rebranding/positioning opportunities.

Andrew has over 29 years of experience working across the licensed and hotel property sectors and started his career in commercial property with Christie + Co in 1981 when he joined our London-based Corporate Hospitality team. Five years later, he left to form the Business Sales Group (BSG), which specialised in acquisitions and valuation work across the pub sector for a number of high-profile clients including Whitbread and JD Wetherspoon.

Prior to rejoining Christie + Co Andrew was working in a consultancy role for Intrinsic. Andrew focuses on acquisition opportunities across pub freehold estates, aiding the expansion targets of national pub companies, whilst also monitoring alternative-use development openings for leading retail operators.

Anthony initially worked for Christie + Co in the early 1990s based in our Birmingham office and dealing with pubs in the West Midlands on behalf of private clients. He rejoined the company in 2006 after dealing with licensed property with another firm of surveyors as well as a short spell in the wines and spirits industry.

Anthony now works closely with our Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Ipswich and Enfield offices where he is responsible for managing relationships with Christie + Co’s corporate clients. In addition Anthony has been responsible for the acquisition and disposal programmes for a number of national and regional pub companies including Pubfolio, Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company, Greene King and Tattershall Castle Group. Other clients include British Waterways, Intertain Limited and McManus Pub Co. In addition, he has advised and worked for the administrators of GRS Inns and Regent Inns.

Armin is based in Christie + Co's Munich Office. Having joined the company as a Senior Consultant in January 2004 he is now a Director & Head of Advisory and Valuation Services. Prior to this he worked for PKF hotelexperts. He has gained extensive experience of hotel feasibility, valuation studies and strategic consultancy work, having worked on a wide range of hotels, serviced apartments, time-share and other leisure properties throughout Europe. More recently, he has worked alongside his UK colleagues on a number of care home valuations.

Armin holds a Diplom-Betriebswirt (FH) degree in Economics, specializing in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. Furthermore, he holds a special degree in Real Estate (Immobilienökonom IRE/BS), which is comparable to a Master of Science in Real Estate. Armin has authored several articles on hotel valuation and other hotel related topics.

Aude-Marie joined the Paris office in February 2011 as a consultant. She has four years experience from MKG Hospitality where she has crisscrossed the French hotel market by conducting market and facilities studies within the Paris – Ile de France region. Aude-Marie graduated from ESC Dijon and holds a MBA in Tourism and Hospitality Management at ESG Paris.

Bernard has over 14 years’ experience in the property sector with a focus on commercial agency and professional advisory services. He is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and has a BSc (Hons) degree in Estates Management. He is also a fluent French speaker. Since joining Christie + Co, he has been working from the Winchester office, identifying land and development opportunities within the healthcare sector across the South East, as well as advising on the sale of corporate businesses as going concerns throughout Greater London.

Brian joined Christie + Co in September 1991 having previously been involved in both the property and banking sectors. Whilst servicing both private and corporate clients, Brian concentrates primarily on bar, restaurant and hotel projects. His clients have included Belhaven Brewers, Punch Taverns, McLay Inns and Rosemount Taverns — having acted in both an acquisition and, more recently, a disposal basis. One of his more notable deals was the acquisition of LAW Property Group on behalf of Pubmaster (now Punch Taverns) in 2003.

Brian was made a Director of Christie + Co in December 2002 and on September 2007 was appointed Agency Director for Scotland. More recently, Brian was appointed Location Director for Scotland. He oversees all of Christie + Co’s activities across Scotland from both the Edinburgh and Glasgow offices whilst still maintaining a particular emphasis on the development of the company’s licensed business.

Carine joined Christie + Co in May 2005, having worked for a private equity fund as a portfolio management analyst. Prior to this, she spent four years working as a Consultant and Senior Consultant with HVS International in London. She has extensive experience of conducting hotel feasibility studies and advisory projects throughout Europe, and has led several detailed research and analytical studies offering strategic advice across many sectors and markets.

She also specialises in producing high quality, intelligent documentation to support Christie + Co’s Corporate and International Agency and Advisory work. Carine holds an MBA in International Hotel Management from IMHI – a joint programme between Cornell University, Ithaca, and ESSEC business school, Paris. She also has a BSc (Hons) degree in Hotel Management.

Chris Day joined Christie + Co in 1985 and, having worked in the Manchester, Birmingham and London Offices, was appointed Managing Director in 1993. He has overall responsibility for all Christie + Co's specialist transactional and advisory activities. Chris has overseen the successful expansion of Christie + Co into a truly global firm, which currently has 25 offices throughout Europe and in the Middle East.

Based in the London office, Chris has particular responsibility for our international operations and he travels regularly. He specialises in the sale and valuation of hotels, public houses and restaurants and has led teams handling numerous disposal and valuation assignments for many high profile clients.

Chris is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC). He commenced his career in the property profession in 1975, qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor in 1980. In recent years he has chaired the Central London Branch of the RICS, and is currently a member of the London Regional Board of the RICS.

As Director of Corporate Child-Centric Sectors at Christie + Co, Courteney has a vast range of expertise in the childcare and education sectors. Courteney has specialised in the nursery sector since 1999, providing valuation, transactional and consultative advice to operators, banks and investors. In one capacity or another, she has been involved in every major nursery transaction since 2006. Working with owners of single settings, regional and national nursery groups across the UK, Courteney has a unique insight into current trends in the market, including levels of demand and sustainability. Alongside her work in the nursery sector, Courteney also advises on other child-centric businesses including residential special educational needs schools, children’s homes, independent schools and foster care businesses.

Alongside Courteney’s national role at Christie + Co, and as testament to her expertise in the nursery sector, she was invited to join the board of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) as a Co-opted Trustee.

Courteney is frequently invited to speak at conferences and seminars, including in 2011 the Laing & Buisson 2011 Children’s Nurseries Conference , and Childcare Expo.

Daniel graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in Urban Estate Management and started his career in the telecomms industry as an acquisition surveyor. He joined Christie + Co in 2004, working in the retail department at the Winchester office. He moved into the corporate retail team in 2006 to complement the corporate acquisition and disposal service across the south of England.

Darren joined Christie + Co’s Birmingham office as a valuer in 2001, before moving to Leeds in 2004 as Valuation Services Manager and latterly Location Manager of the Leeds office in 2005.

In January 2007 Darren moved to London to take up the position of national head of Valuation Services and now has overall responsibility for our national team of valuers, our appointments to bank valuation panels, RICS regulation and compliance and the Company’s Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Darren is a RICS qualified Chartered Valuation Surveyor, a Registered Valuer and also enjoys participating as an APC Assessor for the RICS. During his time at Christie + Co, he has worked on a variety of valuation projects on a local, regional and national scale, gaining substantial experience across all six of our trading sectors. In particular, he has extensive experience in the valuation of petrol forecourts, holiday & caravan parks and the pharmacy & medical sectors.

David joined Christie + Co in 1972 and was Managing Director prior to the formation of Christie Group in 1985 when he was appointed Group Managing Director and later Chief Executive. David is Chairman of Christie + Co and has many years’ experience in the sale and valuation of businesses. In particular, he has extensive experience of the hotel sector worldwide.

Emma joined Christie + Co in March 2011 to jointly lead the company’s first office outside Europe. Emma previously ran her own advisory business, and worked with TRI Hospitality Consulting and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Emma has lived in Dubai and Bahrain for the past 17 years, and worked on projects across the Middle East. Emma is a specialist in the hotel industry but has wider knowledge of Middle East business markets and consulting practice having also advised on government, services and manufacturing industries.

Emma’s has extensive experience in corporate strategy, market and financial feasibility studies, opportunity assessments, opinion papers and bespoke research assignments. Her projects range from multiple hotel portfolios within major mixed-use developments to single plot hotels and cover an array of products including budget hotels, city based business hotels, conference hotels and beach resort hotels in both established markets and emerging destinations.

Gavin joined Christie + Co’s Birmingham office in June 2000 and was made a Director in 2006. He assumes responsibility for managing and developing relationships with the company’s corporate clients in the Midlands and the North West of England. Gavin has considerable hotel sector experience and has negotiated many individual hotel transactions on behalf of independent clients in the Midlands region. He has also worked on UK portfolio disposal projects and was involved in the sale of the Thistle Birmingham Edgbaston, which formed part of a portfolio of eight properties acquired by Menzies Hotels.

Gavin joined Christie + Co in March 2011 to jointly lead the company’s expansion into the MENA region, following the successful acquisition of his hotel advisory business. Prior to this, Gavin was a Director at TRI Hospitality Consulting. In addition to his specialisation in hotel investment advisory, he has provided strategic consulting advice across many industries to large multinational companies in Europe and the Far East.

Gavin has worked extensively throughout the Middle East and North Africa for the past nine years and has a lifetime association with the region. He has provided hotel advisory assistance to a diverse array of clients, including government institutions and companies, project management and property development firms, private investors and hotel management companies. He has provided these services to many of the highest profile projects across the region from standalone hotels and resorts to significant mixed-use developments.

Gavin’s areas of expertise are in general corporate consulting, market and financial feasibility studies, highest and best use development projects, tourism development and master planning, research and opinion papers and management contract negotiation.

A graduate of Cambridge University, Ian has over 25 years’ experience of the hotel property market with Christie + Co. During this time he established the London Valuation Division, born from agency experience in the London hotel market, and was instrumental in developing the Professional Services Division across our UK network of offices, latterly assisting with our fledgling offices in Europe. He is currently spearheading our corporate hotel valuation work in London, embracing substantial individual hotel assets and cross border portfolios in the UK, Europe, North Africa and the USA.

Inmaculada is the Director for Christie + Co in Spain and Portugal. Based in our Barcelona Office, Inmaculada has been the Director of Christie + Co’s Spanish operations since they were inaugurated in 2000. She has more than 18 years’ experience in the real estate sector, and ten years’ in the hotel sector. Previous experience has included working for the Catalonia Development Agency, where she was responsible for attracting foreign investment to the region.

She also managed the ‘Site Selection Division’ of the property company, King Sturge, where she was Business Development Manager and Director of the Barcelona office. Inma was also one of the founder members of the first hotel innovation groups created in Spain. She is also a member of the recently created “Barcelona Global” platform, formed by key entrepreneurs and business leaders in the city, with the aim of acting together to promote city development.

Hwfa has a financial services background, having previously worked for RBS and PwC. Most recently he has been with KordaMentha, a specialist corporate recovery firm in Australia. He is ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales) and IPAA (Insolvency Practitioners Association of Australia) qualified.

Hwfa joined Christie + Co's dedicated Bank Support and Business Recovery (BSBR) unit in early 2011. Along with his BSBR colleagues, he is responsible for advising on distressed cases and coordinating resource with the requirements of clients, banks and insolvency practitioners.

Jeremy started his career with Christie + Co as part of Birmingham’s Valuation Services team. He was appointed Director in December 2006 and in June 2007 he joined our national Corporate Care team. Jeremy holds a BSc (Hons) in Valuation and Estates Management and became RICS qualified in 1996. Over the past twelve years, he has been involved in a number of healthcare projects across the UK, providing professional advice to owner occupiers and corporate operators as well as the principal lending institutions. He has a vast amount of experience and has provided advisory services across a range of care sectors, including elderly care, specialist young adult and children’s homes, independent hospitals, children’s day care, schools, doctors’ surgeries and dental practices.

Jeremy has more than 20 years’ experience in the hotel and hospitality sectors. He originally joined Christie + Co in 1984 and managed the Birmingham office for a number of years before he moved to London in 1998.

Jeremy was responsible for establishing Christie + Co’s first European offices in Paris, Frankfurt and Barcelona. He was subsequently instrumental in launching Christie + Co’s International Hotel Advisory Services operation to complement the activities of the agency, valuation and investment services teams.

Operating from Christie + Co’s London office, Jeremy is now responsible for all the company’s hotel sector activities. Over the past 10 years he has worked throughout Europe and also undertaken disposal work farther afield, selling properties in South Africa and Jamaica.

Jeremy has worked with many of the biggest names in the hotel industry, on portfolios ranging in value from £1m to £1bn. He oversees hundreds of brokerage and advisory assignments each year for clients that include the Hilton Hotels Corporation, Rocco Forte Hotels, LRG Acquisition, Westmont Hospitality Group, Goldman Sachs, Thistle, Whitbread, InterContinental Hotels Group and Jarvis Hotels. His numerous achievements have included the successful £417 million sale of the Hilton Metropole Hotels in London and Birmingham and the £32.5 million sale of the St David’s Hotel in Cardiff.

Since joining Christie + Co in 1995, Jeremy has been based in our London Office. Having worked in the Central London hotel market for his first 3 years, Jeremy then joined the established Corporate Hotels Team. Since then, he has been responsible for national and international private client transactions and group assignments on both single asset and portfolio sales.

His caseload over the years has featured work for most of the leading hotel groups including Whitbread, Hilton, Intercontinental Hotels and active investors such as Goldman Sachs, Realstar and Westmont Hospitality.

Jeremy has been responsible for some of the highest profile hotel deals in 2009/10 his latest being the sale of the Park Inn Hyde Park London in July 2010 for a reported “offers around £35M”.

Jon joined Christie + Co in 1984 and has extensive experience of the sale and valuation of leisure businesses, together with the development of leisure and hospitality property involving both solus and mixed-use schemes. He has worked in our Leeds, Newcastle and London Offices, being instrumental in the development of our corporate pubs business in the early 1990s.

In 1995 Jon established Christie + Co’s Leisure and Development business working throughout the UK with numerous operators, developers and investors including the likes of Academy Leisure, Aprirose, Berkeley Group, Esporta, Fitness4Less, FX Leisure, GL-14 Group, Genr8, Grantside Developments, Harrison Developments, Leeds City Council, Moto Hospitality, Neptune Developments, Nexum, Nuffield Health, Opus Land, Oxford Hospitality, Rushbond Group, St Modwen, Starboard Hotels and Tesco.

Jonathan was appointed at the beginning of 2008 to head up the London based Investment team which as also advises on development projects, after joining Christie + Co in 2006 as a member of the Corporate Hotels agency team with responsibility for transactions in the north west, midlands and northern home counties. He has a wealth of hotel agency and consultancy knowledge, having worked in the sector for 25 years, with extensive experience in the investment and development disciplines; site sales and acquisitions, operator appointments and developer/operator/investor structures covering leases and management agreements.

Prior to joining Christie + Co, he was a Director of Hotels & Leisure Agency at Lambert Smith Hampton, where Jonathan had a national remit and covered hotel sales and development work, advising on leases, brands and management contracts for clients that included Peel Holdings, West Properties, Langtree Group plc, Gladman and Muse. Other roles included an Associate Directorship at Druce Hotels & Leisure. Transactions handled by Jonathan in the past include sales and acquisitions for Whitbread Hotels, QMH, Macdonald Hotels, Jarvis Hotels and Paten Hotels.

Julian joined Christie + Co in January 2008. After qualifying from university with a BSc (Hons), he took the decision to move into the property market. Julian went on to work for an independent property developer based in Farnham, Surrey, where he was largely responsible for site acquisition in the healthcare and hotel sectors. He is now working as part of Christie + Co’s corporate care team, from the head office in London. His main focus is on strengthening relationships with a number of major care owners and operators in the South of England.

Having originally joined Christie + Co in 2000, Julie left in 2003 to work for a specialist care agency concentrating on care home groups and private operators as well as development and ‘turn key’ sales.

Julie rejoined Christie + Co in February 2010 and is based in our Newcastle Office where she is building on the experience she has gained working with regional operators on sales and acquisitions, as well as covering the North of England and Scotland in a corporate role, establishing and strengthening relationships with major care home owners and operators.

Following 12 months working with the International Hotel Advisory Services team, supporting a wide range of consultancy and valuation assignments, Kerr joined our Investment and Development team based in London. Prior to working for Christie + Co he spent 18 months working for a hotel management, development and investment company.

Kerr studied at St Andrews University, where he graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in Management and a Master of Letters in Management, Economics and International Relations.

Kerr has undertaken a number of high profile assignments for our corporate clients including, Hilton, Menzies Hotels, InterContinental Hotel Group, Apollo Real Estate Advisors, Moorfield Real Estate, LRG Acquisitions and MSREF.

Kimmo joined Christie + Co in January 2005 to work from London as part of our International Advisory Team. He was appointed an Associate Director in March 2007 and, in April 2008, returned to his native Helsinki, to take on the position of Director of Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltic States. He previously spent three years working in London as an Associate Director and Relationship Manager with three of the UK’s most important hotel lending banks and five years as a consultant and senior consultant with HVS International in London. He has extensive experience of conducting a range of hotel market and feasibility studies and advisory projects, including hotel valuations throughout Europe.

Kimmo holds an MSc Diploma in Property Investments from City University in London and an MBA in Hotel Management from Michigan State University (East Lansing, US). He also has a BSc in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management from Haaga Institute Polytechnic, Finland.

Lorna joined Christie + Co in August 2005, having previously worked in the housebuilding, water and construction industries. She has more than 20 years’ marketing communications and media relations experience — working both in-house and in consultancy roles. Lorna’s media experience includes the management of a busy press office and the completion of a number of live radio and television interviews, which tackled a range of difficult subjects. Lorna is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Lukas joined Christie + Co in September 2010 as Manager Business Development Austria & CEE and is based in our newly opened office in Vienna/Austria. He holds a degree in Tourism Management & Leisure Industry as well as a Master of Science in Real Estate and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Before joining Christie + Co, Lukas worked as Senior Advisor at KPMG in Budapest. In this position he worked on numerous projects in Germany, Austria and CEE. His projects included valuations across Europe, hotel operator searches, contract negotiations, feasibility studies, preparation of sales and marketing plans for integrated resorts as well as assistance in hotel transactions.

Prior to this Lukas worked as Development Manager for RIMC, a hotel management company in Hamburg, Germany. In this position he was responsible for the evaluation of new hotel projects, reviews and negotiations of hotel contracts as well as the preparation of operational forecasts for the proposed hotels. As part of his property development tasks he worked closely with architects, developers and investors. His professional experience in the hotel and tourism industry further includes working in places such as Switzerland, the Caribbean and the US (e.g. InterContinental, Renaissance, Sacher, Sandals Antigua Resort).

Markus Beike has headed up the development of Christie + Co’s German operations as Managing Director since 2003. Key achievements since his appointment have included the opening of new offices such as Berlin and Munich, the development of an advisory and valuations team, and the completion of more than 150 hotel transactions during the past three years.

Markus started his professional career 25 years ago with an apprenticeship as a qualified hotelier at Steigenberger. Subsequently, he was employed as an assistant to the executive board at Kempinski and worked as an analyst in the credit risk management of Deutsche Bank. Before joining Christie + Co, Markus Beike held the position of a manager in the corporate finance team at Arthur Andersen. Markus holds a certificate as a qualified hotelier from the German Chamber of Commerce, Hotelfachmann (IHK), a graduate business diploma, Diplombetriebswirt (FH), and a special degree in property business (EBS). He is also a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Markus also regularly lectures at Technische Universität Berlin, Universität Wuppertal and Maastricht Hotel School.

Marta joined Christie + Co as the Location Manager of the Barcelona Office in 2007, after 2 years working for the firm as an outside consultant. She has international consulting experience in sectors such as finance, investment, marketing and communication, having worked and resided in Europe and the United States. Marta holds a degree in Economics with a Masters in International Trade and Marketing.

Martin has been a Chartered Surveyor since 1993 and has specialised in the healthcare sector since 1997. He joined Christie + Co in 2002 and has overall responsibility for valuations in the healthcare sector. Major clients include Quercus Healthcare Property Partnership, CareTech Community Services Plc and Craegmoor Ltd.

Martin provides advice relating to various types of property including children's day nurseries, private hospitals, elderly care units and specialist units for the handicapped, including some providing an educational element. Prior to specialising in the sector, Martin practiced in the commercial property sector both in the UK and in Australia.

Martin joined Christie + Co’s Corporate Pub Team in January 2008.

Martin works closely with the locally based pub colleagues in the Christie + Co Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle offices. Martin is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with the local Christie + Co offices and the regional and national pub companies operating across the North East and North West.

Before joining Christie + Co, Martin worked for Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises as an Acquisitions Manager, prior to which he was employed by a leading firm of specialist licensed surveyors and valuer’s. Martin is also an experienced agent and has worked on a variety of major letting campaigns and disposals projects on a local, regional and national scale.

Matthew joined Christie + Co in 2005 and was made an Associate Director in 2008. Prior to joining the company, Matthew worked for Boots the Chemists, Lloyds TSB and Somerfield in their property departments, where he dealt with valuations, acquisitions, landlord & tenant and estate management issues.

Matthew is responsible for Christie + Co’s Corporate Retail Valuation and Advisory Services nationally and has been involved the companies expansion of professional services within the pharmacy sector.

Maureen Doyle joined Christie + Co’s Corporate Hotels group as a Hotel Consultant in February 2007. Prior to joining Christie + Co, Maureen worked for two years as a hospitality consultant at one of Ireland’s leading accountancy firms, in their Corporate Finance and Hotel Consultancy division. Prior to this she worked in the hotel industry both in Ireland and Internationally. Her consultancy experience includes many feasibility studies, market studies and advisory projects. Maureen holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Hospitality Management from Trinity College Dublin, and an MBS (Hons) in Travel and Tourism Management from the Michael Smurfit Business School, University College Dublin.

Maxime joined Christie + Co France in April 2006. He previously worked as a consultant in an international advisory firm, based in Paris, where he conducted market and feasibility studies for hospitality operations, as well as appraisals around Europe and Africa. Maxime holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Hospitality) degree (Hons.) from the Hotel Management School Les Roches of Crans-Montana (Switzerland). He is fluent in English, French, Italian, Spanish and has a good working knowledge of German.

Based in the Paris office, Maxime has worked on several corporate hotel projects on behalf of institutional and private investors. He contributed to several advisory and brokerage assignments for clients such as the LFPI Group, Starman, InterContinental Hotels Group, Accor Hospitality and Gecina.

Michael Hodges joined Christie + Co in 2002 to work from our Bristol office. He relocated to Milton Keynes in 2004 where he was appointed Valuation Services Manager and subsequently Location Manager. He was appointed Director of Christie + Co in 2005 and joined the Corporate Care team in 2007.

Michael is a qualified Chartered Surveyor with 13 years’ experience within Christie + Co’s specialist sectors. He has had extensive exposure to the care sector, providing valuation, consultancy and landlord and tenant advice in connection with substantial national and regional portfolios in addition to single asset properties. His market knowledge spans elderly and specialist care, as well as children’s homes, day nurseries and schools. In relation to his landlord and tenant practice, Michael acts for a number of leading operators including Busy Bees, Asquith and Bupa.

He also has significant experience as an expert witness where he has appeared in both High Court and Public Inquiry settings. Michael has also successfully developed Christie + Co’s care business in Germany, where over the last three years, he and the German team have advised on a variety of German care businesses and property portfolios with an aggregate value well in excess of €1bn.

Neil has been involved in the property market since 1982 and joined Christie + Co in 1994. Developing specific experience in the pub, restaurant, leisure and development sectors, Neil also spent five years running the Winchester office, before moving to London in April 2004 to head up the Corporate Pubs team. He now has national responsibility for Christie + Co’s activities in both the pub and restaurant sectors.

Over the past five years, Neil has been responsible for the acquisition and expansion of a number of small private/regional pub companies. He has also project managed a number of major pub company disposals and acquisitions throughout the UK and assisted in key strategic estate reviews.

Neil was instrumental in managing and concluding one of Christie + Co’s most high profile campaigns when, in August 2007, the company successfully completed the letting of 637 pubs for Punch Taverns, just 15 months after receiving the instruction to do so.

Nikola joined Christie + Co as a Consultant in September 2010 having worked for NorthCourse- the global consultancy and market research arm of the Wyndham Worldwide Corporation for three years. Her consultancy experience includes assignments in Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East and encompasses market research, feasibility studies, sales and marketing advisory and strategic development briefs for hotels and leisure real estate.

Prior to this she had operational roles with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and Jumeirah Hotel Group. Nikola has completed a B.A. (Hons) in International Business and Tourism from The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, in academic association with Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne.

Noel, a Chartered Surveyor, has been Involved in the valuation and agency of licensed premises since 1996, initially in our Birmingham Office. He re-joined Christie + Co in 2002, working in the northern area, responsible for our corporate pub work out of our Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Birmingham Offices.

Noel’s primary roles have focused on the strategic reviews of portfolios for the likes of Marston's, Unique, Whitbread and S&N Retail. He is also actively involved in assisting clients who own sites which are suitable for conversion or redevelopment for higher alternative use.

Noel is also instrumental in the daily management and regular portfolio reviews of group disposals for Enterprise Inns, Admiral Taverns and Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries.

Peter joined Christie + Co in March 2011, bringing with him over 25 years’ media relations and corporate communications experience, largely in the healthcare sector. He has run busy press office functions in both the private and public sectors and has extensive writing credits in leading trade press publications, as well as radio and television exposure. Peter has also created successful events for a range of companies and is comfortable in the political arena, with influential contacts in Westminster, Whitehall and amongst the think-tank fraternity.

Peter qualified as an Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1975 and has specialised in licensed property since 1977. He originally joined Christie + Co in 1996 based at the Milton Keynes Office, having previously worked for companies such as Allied Breweries, Grand Metropolitan Estates and Erdman Lewis. Peter re-joined Christie + Co in 2004 to be based in our London Office undertaking valuations, rent reviews and lease renewals, principally on behalf of corporate clients in connection with public houses, restaurants and hotels. In 1995 Peter was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

In 2001, Peter attained a Post Graduate Diploma in Arbitration from the College of Estate Management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is on the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' Panel of Arbitrators and Panel of Independent Expert and is appointed in these capacities to resolve rent review disputes.

Philipp Kraneis was one of the very first people to join Christie + Co´s German team in 1999. As Head of Investment Germany, he is responsible for corporate transactions across the country. He also oversees the transaction departments in Frankfurt and Munich.

Philipp specialises in working with open- and closed-end funds, multiple ownership structures and NPL transactions. During his time with Christie + Co, he has successfully negotiated more than 130 freehold and leasehold hotel deals. Highlights include the sale of several hotel portfolios operated under various brands and the successful disposal of the Maritim Hotel in Hamburg, one of the largest single-asset deals completed in Germany in recent years. Philipp has worked in the property sector for over 14 years, holding various positions in the hotel sector with a number of well-known companies, such as Kempinski, where he worked before joining Christie + Co. Philipp Kraneis was appointed Director in 2006.

Pia joined Christie + Co in March 2001. She is responsible for internal and external communications in the German-speaking countries, including press and media relations, organising events and exhibitions, and coordinating all kinds of print and online marketing.

Pia was instrumental in setting up and developing the German versions of the company’s websites, and helps to enhance brand awareness and improve the Christie image in the German-speaking countries. Before joining Christie + Co, she worked in the gastronomic sector and the tourism industry. Pia has a vast knowledge of client and corporate communications, and is fluent in German, English and Italian. In 2008, she was appointed Communications Director for Germany and Austria.

Pia Andrews is a translator/interpreter for English and a Fachwirtin Public Relations (IHK) – a Bachelor of Public Relations from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Richard joined Christie + Co in 1989 from a major retirement housing developer. He has specialised in healthcare throughout his career, and has worked throughout the company’s network, with periods managing the Winchester, Bristol and Birmingham Offices. Richard was made an Associate Director in 1996 and a Director in 1998, becoming responsible for the care sector in 1999. Working with our local agency teams, Richard has developed relationships with the top corporate healthcare operators and financiers, selling over 50% of all individually transacted care homes in the UK in each of the last two years.

Robert Chess has more than 20 years’ experience dealing with hotels and leisure property. He is a member of the President’s Panel of the RICS Dispute Resolution Service and a Fellow of the RICS (FRICS). Having gained experience in the corporate sector working for the Imperial Group and Grand Metropolitan, Robert has worked in private practice for more than 20 years.

Working as a specialist within the hotel sector, he is primarily experienced in the professional and consultancy side of the business, having undertaken numerous valuations, rent reviews and general advisory projects in the UK and across Europe including projects in France, Spain, Germany, Austria and Hong Kong.

Recognised as one of the industry’s leading specialists, Robert has given evidence in Court on a number of occasions and has also given evidence at planning inquiries.

Ross Petar is a Chartered Surveyor who joined Christie & Co's Corporate Hotels Group as a Hotel Valuer in January 2008. Prior to joining Christie & Co, Ross worked for a firm of Chartered Surveyors for over 3 years specialising in the leisure and hospitality sector. Ross holds a BA (Hons) degree in International Business Studies from Leeds Metropolitan University and a MA in Property, Valuation & Law at City University Cass Business School.

Simon was made a Director of Christie + Co in 2005 and moved to the Corporate Division to develop our coverage of the southern area. With over 20 years' experience in the pub and restaurant market Simon now heads our Corporate Restaurant division, based out of London, working with operators such as Gondola, Tragus, Davys Wine Bars and Little Chef.

The most recent activity has been the disposal of Sausage & Mash cafes, a chain of 6 sites in around central London.

Sabina joined Christie + Co’s Corporate Hotels team in 2011 having worked five years for a specialist hotel advisory firm. Her consultancy experience includes financial feasibility studies, market assessments, due diligence and business reviews for projects ranging from budget hotels, luxury island resorts and boutique hotels to serviced apartments.

Sabina also worked on the assessment of the hotel development and investment opportunities at the London Olympic site for the 2012 Games. Fluent in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian, Sabina has carried out projects in the UK, central Europe and Latin America.

Prior to working in hospitality consulting, Sabina gained hotel management and tourism industry experience as an advisor for the Unctad/ITC (UN/WTO) in Ecuador, crew member with Swiss International Airlines (formerly Swissair) and in operational roles at Claridge’s in London, luxury hotels in Switzerland, Mexico as well as Australia. Sabina holds a BSc in International Hospitality Management from the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland and is an active member of the AICR hotel manager association and EHL alumni.

Having started his career in the hotel industry, Simon Hughes moved into the property sector more than 20 years ago and joined Christie + Co in 1987. Originally employed as a hotel sector specialist, Simon has worked with a broad range of clients over the years — from independent hotel owners through to some of the most recognisable operators, including Hilton, Whitbread and Marston Hotels.

Initially based in the Nottingham office, Simon subsequently spent periods working in the Glasgow, Bristol and London offices, where he developed a full understanding of Christie + Co’s service offerings and a broad knowledge of all our specialist sectors. Having successfully managed the London operation for a number of years, he was appointed UK Managing Director in 2005. Simon now has overall responsibility for Christie + Co’s full range of agency and advisory services activity across the network of 14 regional offices. He is also responsible for directing the activities of Christie + Co’s sister company Christie Finance.

Simon continues to take an active role in client projects, most recently focusing on the development of business in the retail sector, where he has been instrumental in Christie + Co’s expansion into the forecourt and pharmacy markets.

Simon joined Christie + Co in 2004 with extensive specialist knowledge of the UK hotel sector. His career started in 1982 in the South West, subsequently joining Savills and latterly became a Partner at Knight Frank, where he headed up their hotel business in the North of England.

Simon represents Christie + Co’s Corporate Hotels Team providing “added value” to both private and corporate clients throughout Southern England. He works closely with our regional hotel teams in our Exeter, Bristol, Winchester, Maidstone and Milton Keynes offices. Simon’s client base includes a number of private groups & investors, corporate owners and operators including:- Andrew Brownsword Hotels, Brend Hotels, Bannatyne Hotels, Crest Hotels, Hallmark Hotels, Legacy Hotels, Lester Hotels and Swire Hotels.

Stephen Jacobs has more than ten years experience in the property sector joining Christie + Co in March 2007 as a Pub and Restaurant Negotiator.

In December 2009 Stephen was made an Associate Director and now works within Christie + Co’s dedicated Bank Support & Business Recovery Unit coordinating resources with the requirements of clients, banks and insolvency practitioners.

Stephen joined Christie + Co in January 2008. With approaching 30 years’ experience in the licensed and leisure sector both in private practice and working for corporate operators, Stephen is Head of the Valuation and Advisory team in the Corporate Pubs, Bars and Restaurant sector. Stephen is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and is also on the RICS Panels of Arbitrators and Independent Experts who are called upon to resolve rent review disputes.

Teresita Leibenfrost’s employment history comprises various assignments in the high-end hotel segment, such as at the five-star Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich and the DO & CO Hotel in Vienna, as well as in the property business. She worked for some time at Pramerica, an international property investment company in Munich and, most recently, at luxury hotel and resort developer Kneissl Star Resort. Teresita has a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University in Ithaca/NY, USA.

Steve is a Director and Head of Retail at Christie + Co. He is responsible for coordinating retail brokerage, valuation and advisory services across Christie + Co network. Prior to his current role, Steve successfully developed Christie + Co’s Bank Support and Business Recovery function and was instrumental in developing important relationships with the turnaround and restructuring world, as the credit crunch and recession took hold.

Steve is a Chartered Surveyor with extensive hospitality sector experience and has worked in the business property field since graduating with a degree in Estate Surveying in 1995. He joined Christie + Co at the beginning of 2008, originally recruited to the Corporate Hotels Team.

Tony has a degree in Urban Estate Surveying and joined Christie + Co’s Nottingham office in August 1988, having previously worked for a national firm of estate agents. He spent periods managing, the Bristol and Winchester offices during the late ‘90s and was made a director of the company in December 2002.

Tony has successfully expanded in line with the company’s increasing brokerage and advisory activity. Today, Christie + Co has an established reputation within the retail industry and works on a wide variety of projects in the convenience, CTN, off licence, forecourt, post office and pharmacy sectors.

Valérie joined the Marseilles office of Christie + Co in September 2006 and was appointed as Location Manager in January 2008. She previously worked for 6 years as Office Manager for VVF Vacances in Marseilles. Prior to this, she spent 5 years working for Mer Montagne Vacances - a company specialising in club-hotels - where she was responsible for dealing with foreign tour operators, French Companies and town halls. She is a graduate from Marseilles’ Euromed Business School and has extensive experience in tourism, hotel property and sales development.

After graduating from a French business school, Yves spent five years gaining extensive experience in the tourism and property markets. He joined Christie + Co to work from the Paris office in June 2005 and has been integral in the development our client base in the west of France.

In January 2008, Christie + Co opened its third French office, in Rennes, and Yves was appointed as the Location Manager to oversee all of the company’s activity in the west of the country. His successes in the region include the sale of the Ibis Quiberon, hotel F1 Saint Malo, La Reposée , Le Logde La Valette in Rennes and l’hôtel Akwaba.