Developer lures agency man to head development team

Privately run developer Bride Hall has recruited Rapleys’ partner Alun Jones to head its development team.

Jones will join next month as development director. His appointment follows the departure of Alistair Shaw last year.

Bride Hall, which is run by managing director Nigel Desmond, has several development schemes in the pipeline such as Cardiff Peninsular retail park, Evesham shopping park with British Land and a 40,000 sq ft office scheme in Richmond, which it bought last year.

Bride Hall was founded by existing chairman Danny Desmond in 1983 and is mainly a trader-developer.

Desmond’s son, Nigel, is managing director. His other son, Nick, joined the company in 2002 from Hammerson and is managing director of Bride Hall Holdings. Rather than buying sites for development, Bride Hall Holdings invests in existing schemes where there is potential for redevelopment.

Jones will be involved with new business, working alongside Nigel Desmond and a team of five in the development team, including Huw Williams and Ben Dormer. He will work on several deals to secure new schemes for Bride Hall.

Bride Hall has a development agreement with Warner Estate Holdings, where it works as a development partner on several retail schemes. Warner purchased a 25% stake in Bride Hall in September 2004.

Last year the pair opened the extension of a 200,000 sq ft scheme, Bouverie Place, in Folkestone, Kent.

They are also working on the Hale Leys shopping centre with Aylesbury Vale District Council for the development of 265,000 sq ft of retail.

Jones is an equity partner and heads the development team at Rapleys. He joined the company 10 years ago from Railtrack, after nine years in its development team.

He has worked across all sectors as part of Rapleys development team, from land disposals to acquisitions across offices, industrial, retail, residential and mixed use.

Jones follows Shaw who also came from an agency background to join Bride Hall.

‘Now the market is changing, the true developers can come out of the woodwork and get their teeth into some great schemes,’ said Jones.

‘I inevitably will be stepping into some existing projects with Bride Hall but I will be working mainly on new business using my agency background and contacts.’

Nigel Desmond said: ‘Alun joins with a development bias and an agency background and he joins in a senior position as a deal generator.’