Our People

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.