Real estate executive race picks up as Savills taps top Knight Frank team

The commercial property market has seen a race of new appointments amid expectations there will be more poaching in the next part of the cycle.

Knight Frank veterans Paul Roberts and Ben Schubert have been snapped up by British firm Savills

The pick-up in activity in commercial real estate is prompting executive reshuffles at the top of the industry with more changes tipped as new teams are set up.

In one of the largest moves, British firm Savills has tapped two Knight Frank veterans to take the helm of its firm.

Savills named Paul Roberts as its new chief executive for Australia and New Zealand, and he flagged that the company would look to sharpen its focus on growth.

The company’s previous chief, Paul Craig, left earlier this year and he is now an independent director for the responsible entity of the Charter Hall Retail REIT.

Mr Roberts had previously held roles with Knight Frank, Dexus and Lendlease and had worked with some of the largest investors and property owners in the country. He was involved in the $1.3bn sale of a 66 per cent interest in Mirvac’s 55 Pitt St in Sydney and the $630m sale of 201 Elizabeth St, also in Sydney.

Another Knight Frank veteran, Ben Schubert, has been tapped as head of capital transactions and advisory. He has experience spanning $15bn of deals nationally. As well as Knight Frank, he worked at GPT and other real estate firms, and he will take on a role in capital raising as well as direct property deals.

Knight Frank has responded by making key appointments in its capital markets business, with veteran agent Rob Sewell joining the firm as partner, national head of institutional sales. After a stint at McVay Real Estate he is now leading Knight Frank’s national office team.

Michael Kwok was also promoted to partner, national head of capital markets. He moved to Knight Frank after 5½ years at the boutique Archerfield Property Group, where he was in the role of executive director. Prior to that, he held roles at Dexus, Valad Property Group and CFS GAM.

Both will be based in Knight Frank’s Sydney Angel Place office. Firms are also picking up staff from investment banks. Former JPMorgan operative Adam Fairfax has also been appointed partner, institutional capital, at Knight Frank. Earlier this year, former Deutsche Bank investment banker Hugh Macdonald became CBRE’s head of Capital Advisors for the Asia Pacific. He started his role in Sydney, and has now relocated to Singapore.

Other firms are also active. Elders has appointed John Talbot as head of commercial real estate, marking a significant milestone in the company’s strategy to expand its footprint in the commercial property sector.

He joins Elders with 40 years of experience working in Sydney, Melbourne and internationally across capital markets, agency sales, and professional services. Until recently, Mr Talbot led the Asia Pacific Valuation Advisory and Consulting platform for JLL.

Originally published as Real estate executive race picks up as Savills taps top Knight Frank team