Property consultancy Vail Williams has bolstered its valuation team in the Gatwick region with an experienced new hire as business demand grows.

Natalie Wade has joined as an associate based in the Crawley office after a decade at Knight Frank in London. Her strategic role will be to use her depth of experience regarding secured lending valuations in the Sussex/Surrey/Kent regions as Vail Williams expands its service capacity.

Natalie, who specialises in valuations of investment assets and developments, is also tasked with broadening her skill set by valuing a wider range of commercial and residential properties.

Prior to joining Vail Williams, her 10 years at Knight Frank saw her specialising in undertaking commercial valuations in central London for a variety of purposes. Her role focused primarily on office and retail assets. She prepared valuations on behalf of a number of banks for secured lending purposes.

As well as secured lending valuations, Natalie undertook regular valuations on a quarterly, bi-annual and annual basis for landlords and funds, particularly on London office and retail, the assets ranged from individual investments to large, complex estates.

Honours graduate Natalie also coordinated the valuation of a North London commercial estate for secured lending purposes on behalf of a syndicate of lenders, assisting in the compilation of valuations for multiple assets and liaising with multiple stakeholders throughout the process.

She also worked on behalf various landlords and funds in undertaking regular valuations. Key to successfully undertaking these valuations is communicating with key parties including investment and asset managers to accurately understand recent and upcoming events within a portfolio, as well as having a thorough understanding of the market. She said:

“I was seeking a new challenge and the opportunity at Vail Williams came up at exactly the right moment for me both professionally and personally. I am elated to have joined such a go-ahead and people-centric firm and grateful at the trust shown in me to maintain the excellent results and customer service for which Vail Williams is renowned.”

Suzanne Holloway, the firm’s Gatwick regional managing partner, said:

“We have high hopes for Natalie whose skill sets will be vital as we continue to drive sustainable growth right across the region under our new three-year business plan aimed at further innovation and service excellence.”

Nigel Whitehurst, Vail Williams partner who heads the Gatwick regional valuation team , said:

“We welcome Natalie as an experienced all-rounder who has hit the ground running, fitting in seamlessly with colleagues and already contributing a great deal to our service offering.”

Vail Williams is this year celebrating 30 years as a property adviser in Crawley. The firm’s first office in the town was opened in 1995 with just three staff. Today the rollcall is more than 20 at the firm’s office in Peverill Court.

The firm is based across 12 offices in the Midlands and south of England, also including Brighton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Southampton, Birmingham, Woking, Heathrow, Leeds, London, Reading and Oxford.

Awarded the prestigious Investors in People (IiP) Gold accreditation, the firm continues to publish its annual carbon emissions report on a journey towards net zero by 2030.

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: Valuation Team: Vail Williams’ Gatwick regional managing partner Suzanne Holloway, left, with the regional valuation team, from left, Peter Sudworth (partner), Jason Morris Kidd (partner), Natalie Wade (back, associate), Karen James (front, project coordinator), Matt Wakeman (associate), Nigel Whitehurst (partner) and Matt King (surveyor)