Peter Leverett has quit niche retail adviser twentyretail, taking an eight-strong team with him to launch a new retail property consultancy, SPACE.
In a surprise move, Leverett and his eight colleagues left twentyretail on Friday. Leverett, who had spent the last five years at twentyretail will now head up SPACE as managing director.
Joining him from twentyretail are Kate Bevin, Phil Courtney, Gill Freer, Susan Harrison, Rob Palmer, Tom Quinsey and Lisa Young.
Courtney will be head of landlord and tenant at SPACE, supported by Natalie Hunt, while Harrison will head up out of town and shopping centre agency.
Palmer will be responsible for high street agency supported by Bevin and Quinsey, who will continue working on retained client agency and management instructions. The team includes seven fee earners and two support staff.
SPACE officially started trading on Saturday.
SPACE will be based in a new headquarters office in Enderby, Leicester and will have a national remit serving both London and the regions.
The new company has already been retained to act for a number of retailers and shopping centre landlords including, The White Company, Joules, Dr Martens, Land Securities, Ignis and Garden Park Investors.
Twentyretail was unavailable for comment.
Industry veteran Leverett has previously worked in-house for retailers including Bass, Next and Gap. He has built up a successful agency team working in the Midlands and London since leaving Jaeger in 2003 to work in private practice.
He said: “We’ve had a great experience working with Richard Wassell at twentyretail. We feel that there’s a big opportunity both nationally and across the Midlands. We’ve always had an office presence in the Midlands and we wanted to bolster that.”
SPACE will cover the whole of the UK market advising on retail and leisure agency, landlord and tenant, or restructuring and management work.
lisa.pilkington@estatesgazette.com
