Property consultancy Vail Williams has made a strategic appoint in its Thames Valley Valuation team as business continues to grow.

Luke Kemp, who has joined at partner level from Daniel Watney Partnership in London, has also worked at Savills, Knight Frank, BNP Paribas Real Estate and Cushman & Wakefield.

He is based in Reading and Oxford where he provides property valuation advice to clients across the firm-s Western Corridor – Reading, Oxford and the wider Thames Valley, as well as nationally.

A RICS Registered Valuer with more than 20 years’ post-qualification experience, he advises a wide range of clients, including fund managers, banks and other lending institutions, investors, developers and property owners.

Luke has extensive experience in commercial property valuation, residential property valuation, portfolio valuations and development appraisals.

He provides valuations for a variety of purposes, including secured lending, financial reporting and accounting, pension planning, and tax planning including Capital Gains Tax.

Drawing on his knowledge of the Thames Valley property market and wider regional and national market trends, Luke provides clients with robust, commercially focused valuation advice to support property, investment and lending decisions.

Luke also has particular expertise in the purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) sector.

Having specialised in student property valuation from 2013, he has advised on the valuation of major student accommodation portfolios for clients including Scape Student Living, The Mansion Student Accommodation Fund, the BlackRock Student Housing Trust and Unite.

Before specialising in PBSA, Luke worked as an investment portfolio valuer, overseeing the valuation of billions of pounds of property assets on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.

More recently, his work has included valuations of mainstream commercial property, including London landed estates for accounting purposes, as well as office and retail properties for pension planning, tax planning and Capital Gains Tax purposes.

Luke said:

 “I am excited to have joined such a forward-thinking firm as Vail Williams where the business ethos matches mine completely."

“I hope that my skill sets will enable me to play a big role in the ambitious growth programme set for this progressive, professional and exceptional firm.”

Thames Valley regional managing partner David Barden said:

“We welcome Luke as someone whose broad valuation experience, combined with his understanding of the Thames Valley property market, enables him to advise on individual properties, development opportunities and complex property portfolios across a range of sectors."

“He has hit the ground running and has already become an integral part of the team. We have high expectations of him, particularly around the student accommodation sector, which, obviously is particularly important in Oxford and Reading which both have huge student populations.”

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.

Photo: Strategic Appointment: Luke Kemp, second left, who has been appointed at partner level in the Valuation team at property consultancy Vail Williams in the Thames Valley region, is pictured with colleagues, from left, associates David Grove and Laura Tidder, and Thames Valley regional managing partner David Barden