Wood exits Knight Frank to form consultancy
Graeme Wood, head of Knight Frank in the North West for the past eight years, has left to set up his own property development and investment consultancy business called Stratos PDI Consultants.
Stratos PDI opened on 1 November and will specialise in commercial, industrial and mixed-use development and investment advice.
Wood said in a statement: "Having the opportunity to spend 100% of my time servicing clients is a driving force behind my decision to set up my own consultancy. Running and building a regional office in a global business inevitably means that less and less time is spent hands on with client work.
"I'm looking forward to embracing the challenge and providing high quality advice against the backdrop of my longevity in the market."
Under Wood, an office agency specialist, Knight Frank opened a Liverpool branch office to complement the Manchester presence and his recent deals include the acquisition of 50,000 sq ft of offices for HBOS at 40 Spring Gardens in Manchester city centre, the sale of Victoria Warehouse to Howard Holdings in Old Trafford for a 500,000 sq ft new mixed use development and advising Langtree Group on the acquisition of Kingston House in Liverpool for a new 100,000 sq ft office building.
A statement from Knight Frank said: "Knight Frank thanks Graeme for everything he has done over the last eight years in growing the North West business and wishes him well with his new venture.
"David Porter and David Roper, who are both based in Manchester, and Charles Ardern, who is based in Liverpool, have been promoted to a senior management team with responsibility for the growth and expansion of the business. Clive Betts remains proprietary partner in the North West, based in Manchester, and will continue to focus on recruitment to further strengthen its teams."
Stratos PDI Consultants will be based in offices in Manchester city centre's commercial district.
Wood's move follows the departure of Dean Young, head of industrial at Knight Frank, who recently joined Preston-based Bailey Deakin & Hamiltons as an equity partner.
