Blog

​Ex-Properties England boss Nick Walkley employed by consultancy | Information

Nick Walkley-HomesEngland-Portrait-B-HiRes098

Nick Walkley was hired by global real estate services company Avison Young.

The former CEO of Homes England will take up his new role as Principal and President of Strategic Advisory in the UK for the £ 134million company in September.

Walkley will be tasked with expanding Avison Young’s advisory and advisory capabilities and leveraging its experience in executing large-scale refurbishment and transformation projects to “unlock great infrastructure, investment and development opportunities for its customers.”

Walkley led Homes England for four years starting in 2017, managing the agency’s estimated £ 20 billion portfolio of loans, grants, infrastructure and land. He suddenly left the agency in February, citing unspecified personal reasons, amid rumors of a disagreement with Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

Jason Sibthorpe, Principal and President UK at Avison Young, said Walkley’s “success in building lasting relationships with customers and delivering leading public-private partnerships speaks for itself”.

Avison Young operates as a real estate agent, planning consultant, development consultant and project manager for property developers across the UK.

Sibthorpe said, “This is all about where regeneration and free space meet investment, and I have no doubt that Nick’s unique talents will vastly improve our full-service offering for public and private customers.”

Walkley oversaw the creation of Homes England in 2018 from its predecessor, Homes & Communities Agency, and was responsible for delivering 150,000 homes by the time he left earlier this year.

In 2018, he shifted the agency’s focus to strategic partnerships, in which housing associations sign a multi-year contract instead of applying for funding on a program basis. Homes England announced in February that it had signed 23 partnerships with 27 housing associations to deliver 40,000 additional homes.

Prior to Homes England, Walkley served as chief executive of two local government agencies, the Barnet Council from 2008 to 2012 and the Haringey Council from 2012 to 2017.