Property consultancy Vail Williams has hired an experienced lease advisory specialist to bolster its Surrey and London regions as business demand continues to grow.

Frank Perri has joined the Lease Advisory team in the firm’s Woking and Soho offices at Partner level after more than six years at the Lorenz Consultancy in London. He is one of three new partners announced by Vail Williams.

Frank will focus primarily on working with clients within the Surrey and London market, working across all the major property sectors to provide clients with strategic lease advice. He also has a responsibility to exploring new business development opportunities for the firm.

Frank’s key specialisms include lease renewals, rent reviews, lease restructuring, acting as an expert witness in arbitration and independent expert disputes and also acting as an expert witness in court disputes. He commented:

“I am thrilled to have joined Vail Williams in Surrey and London and being part of such a progressive team in an area where there continues to be a tremendous amount of commercial property activity."

“There are exciting times ahead and I am aiming to play my full part in ensuring Vail Williams’ ongoing commitment to providing clients with a second-to-none service is fully achieved."

“Throughout my career, I have acted for a wide range of clients from a food manufacturer occupying more than 250,000 sq ft to a high-end fashion brand occupying less than 500 sq ft. Whoever the client, I enjoy achieving the best possible outcomes and lease terms for them."

Surrey Regional Managing Partner Geoff Fallon said:

“We welcome Frank as a great addition to our lease advisory team as business continues to expand. He is a hugely experienced operator brimming with exceptional ideas and I am expecting him to thrive in his new role."

“With 10 years’ experience supporting clients with their lease advisory needs, he is widely considered to be an expert in his field and has experience working across all principal sectors, including offices, medical, industrial, retail and leisure.”

 In London, Sarah Isherwood, who has been promoted from Associate to Partner, is hugely experienced in planning consultancy, and whose key projects have included healthcare facilities, town centre brownfield developments and suburban greenfield developments since joining Vail Williams as a graduate in 2014.

James Lacey, Vail Williams Regional Managing Partner for London, said:

“It is great to see the well-deserved promotion of Sarah. She leads a number of key client accounts and works closely with a variety of design teams with panache."

“Sarah continues to show commitment to her own personal development and of others. Also, the London/Planning team continues to grow with a variety of career opportunities on offer currently.”

 In Birmingham, building surveyor and project management specialist Craig Fillingham who has been promoted to Partner, has more than 20 years’ experience specialising in building, leading and managing multi-disciplinary project teams in the office, industrial and insurance claims management sectors.

Birmingham Regional Managing Partner Carole Taylor said: “Craig is an extremely experienced building surveyor who covers our patches in both Birmingham and the north of the country. He has gone from strength to strength since joining us."

“This promotion is richly deserved. He is a really good team player and provides an excellent service for clients who think of him highly, as well as having a mentoring role to support junior members of the team.”

Vail Williams’ full-service property advice includes commercial agency, investment and development advice, building consultancy, property valuation, planning, lease advisory, property asset management, business rates and occupier consultancy.