Edwards & Co starts investment team

Martin Hamer has resigned from his role as divisional director at Capita in Manchester and will move to Edwards & Co next week as investment director.

Hamer's appointment marks the start of a dedicated investment team, although Edwards & Co has offered investment advice to clients from surveyors as part of broader remits including letting commercial space.

Hamer has 15 years' investment experience in the North West market. He joined NB Real Estate from Colliers in 2008. NB Real Estate was acquired and rebranded by Capita in 2010.

In the past, Hamer has acted on behalf of a variety of institutions, property companies and private individuals and clients including C2 Capital, CCLA, AXA REIM, CBRE Investors, Frogmore, Threadneedle and Greenridge.

Andrew Timms, director and head of the transactional team at Edwards & Co, said: "We are delighted to now offer a dedicated investment service. As a North West property specialist it was important for us to find the right person for this role to work with the team and capitalise on the opportunity across all sectors. Our expertise and depth of knowledge in the region coupled with Martin's relationships with institutional investors and private individuals consolidates our offering and creates a valuable service for our unrivalled client base."

Hamer added: "Edwards & Co has a unique offering which really appealed to me: a very strong and respected brand, a high frequency of transactions and a breadth of expertise and knowledge base across all sectors which is second to none. Consequently this creates a very exciting opportunity.

"Recently Manchester has been a hotbed for investment. It's strength, stability, and global brand continues to underline its position as the UK's second city, attracting significant investment into the region from UK and overseas investors. Indeed, over the last two years nearly £5bn of property transactions have taken place in the North West, with over £3bn in the last 12 months and a significant proportion of that in Manchester city centre."