Pictured above: Claire Bramhall

The Property Management Consultancy team at GVA's Birmingham office has appointed Claire Bramhall to the post of senior surveyor.

Having previously worked for BNP Paribas Real Estate and Chesterton's Milton Keynes office, Claire will manage a mix of industrial and office properties, as well as dealing with all aspects of property management, including rent and service charge collection and ongoing liaison with landlords and tenants.

Claire Bramhall said: "This is a really interesting time to be joining GVA's Property Management team. 2011 is panning out to be very much like 2010, but although there is higher inflation and the potential of rising interest rates later this year - coupled with public spending cuts and tax rises - we are still optimistic about seeing a slight improvement in market conditions next year.

"Average rental growth across all commercial property sectors is likely to remain suppressed below around 1.5 per cent during the year, so there is likely to be little change either to yields or rental values. Capital values should, therefore, remain fairly flat although we believe the appetite for prime assets will be keen, presenting us with a number of potentially fruitful opportunities."

Guy Thompson, director, Property Management Consultancy, GVA, said: "Over the last year, the property management consultancy team has grown by 20 per cent in order to service the considerable number of new client instructions that we have received.  This is a great indication of how we are adding value to our clients and defying the underlying market sentiment with sustained, strong growth statistics.

"Throughout her career to date, Claire has developed an outstanding level of experience in property management and I am extremely pleased to be able to welcome her to our growing team."

Claire's appointment brings GVA's Property Management Consultancy team - which handles accounts from some of the UK's largest investors, developers and public sector organisations - to 24.

Fuelling the unprecedented growth of the Property Management division was the recent expansion of GVA's contract with Royal Bank of Scotland. The Birmingham office now manages approximately 3,000 properties for the banking giant across its UK, Offshore and Ireland regions. Another key instruction that has contributed to the recent growth is the Max industrious property portfolio that comprises 1,200 commercial units, amounting to a total of 7.5 million square feet of predominantly industrial premises in 85 locations.  

The team has also recently been reappointed by Urban Splash to manage the service charge and utilities at its flagship Fort Dunlop building. GVA has also continued to provide comprehensive property management services to the Brindleyplace estate, following the acquisition by Hines Moorfield last year. GVA has managed Brindleyplace and The Water's Edge since its inception in 1994, and now equates to 92,000 square metres of office space and 9,290 square metres of retail, restaurants, bars, the Mint hotel as well as leisure attractions.