Expanding property consultancy Vail Williams has opened a new office in Oxford to meet growing business demand.

The office, forming an extension of the firm’s Thames Valley region, is headed by Richard Dawtrey, Partner and Head of Investment. Two new members of staff – experienced Partner Mike Watson and Surveyor Clark Tersol, have been recruited, both from Cluttons in Oxford.

Historic and listed building specialist Chris Bailey has been appointed to cover building consultancy and other hires are in the pipeline, including support staff. The Oxford team is being augmented by senior colleagues Guy Parkes (agency), Sarah Isherwood (planning), Dan Pearce (valuation) and Roland Browning (occupier advisory) all of whom are already active in the Oxfordshire marketplace.

Vail Williams will initially be located at New Barclay House in Botley and is offering a comprehensive, full-service proposition in Oxford. Managing Partner Matthew Samuel-Camps said:

“This further strategic growth is aligned with our Business Plan, enhancing our offer geographically and synergising perfectly with our current office footprint, particularly that of Birmingham, London and Reading."

“Richard, who had six years’ commercial property experience at a national firm based in Oxford before moving to Vail Williams, has kept in touch with his old client base and is clearly the perfect person to lead our city team."

“There is no denying that Oxford and Oxfordshire are significant growth areas and bringing in Mike was crucial to the process. He has worked in Oxford for 25 years, has a second-to-none reputation, knows the city’s property market inside out, is an expert on the city centre and, in particular, acts for a number of the colleges.”

Matthew added: “Oxford is a significant and world-renowned educational centre with a high growth wider region – including in Bicester, Abingdon, Banbury and Didcot where there has been substantial investment – and of course the significant business growth witnessed in the city itself allied to the university, especially in the life science markets."

“We already have a high quality, established client base in the region and will be seeking to build on our existing presence by offering a multi-disciplinary approach, as well as our expanding sector expertise in residential, energy and environmental and town centre re-purposing.”

Richard will also continue to act as Head of Investment, servicing clients in the south east and midlands regions and is also tasked with expanding the sector.

Vail Williams employs 175 people, of which more than 50 are partners, based across its 12 offices in the Midlands and south of England (Oxford, Birmingham, Crawley, Brighton, Woking, Heathrow, Leeds, London, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Bournemouth).

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.