The Leading News & Information Service For The Facilities, Workplace & Built Environment Community

Knight Frank Appoints MD to Run Expanded FM Business

Knight Frank Appoints MD to Run Expanded FM Business
09 February 2021
 

Anthony Watson will head up Knight Frank’s newly expanded PROMISE, their facilities management business.

PROMISE is to be expanded to manage residential as well as commercial assets, under a single management board. The move comes as landlords are increasingly focused on the workplace or residential experience for their occupiers and the levels of customer service they deliver.  

The combined business will have over 300 staff and operate across Knight Frank’s network ten regional offices, sitting alongside Knight Frank’s Property Asset Management team.

Knight Frank PROMISE, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Knight Frank LLP, manages residential assets across 25 sites, including over 100 residential buildings.

 

“Facilities management today is a much more complex set of services than it has been in the past, with sustainability, flexibility, design for management and customer service all vital parts of a modern FM offering."

 

– Anthony Watson

Managing Director, PROMISE at Knight Frank

 

Anthony Watson

Picture: a photograph of Anthony Watson

 

Anthony Watson to Lead PROMISE

 

Anthony Watson will lead PROMISE as Managing Director, having been a Director and Head of Design for Management for commercial assets at Knight Frank since 2016. Anthony was a senior manager in the hotel industry before moving into property management and his hospitality expertise will help Knight Frank to deliver best in class customer service and experiences for tenants.

Michael Lewis, Head of Property Asset Management at Knight Frank, commented: “By bringing our residential and commercial experts together into a single PROMISE business we can deliver the very best innovation and services to landlords and their tenants. 

Real estate has evolved far beyond the bricks and mortar of buildings and is increasingly a people-centric and service led industry, where the end-user experience is everything. Anthony’s background in the hotel industry and across property management will bring a unique perspective and allow us to develop and grow our facilities management offer.”

Anthony Watson, Managing Director of PROMISE at Knight Frank, added: “Facilities management today is a much more complex set of services than it has been in the past, with sustainability, flexibility, design for management and customer service all vital parts of a modern FM offering. 

“With the projected growth of PRS and as flexible and remote working becomes standard for office workers, PROMISE will focus on helping landlords to deliver the high-quality services that end-users increasingly expect in the digital age. I am looking forward to bringing our fantastic teams from across the Knight Frank business together into an exciting and compelling new offer.”

Knight Frank’s total assets under management in the UK have increased from £1.7 billion in 2016 to almost £3 billion. Knight Frank’s Property Asset Management team manages 3,000 properties across the UK and has over 280 staff members. 

Picture: a photograph of a tall, sky scraper style building

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 09 February 2021

Share



Related Articles

Stiles Harold Williams Appoints Head of FM and Sustainability

Stiles Harold Williams Partnership has appointed Tarniah Thompson as its Head of FM & Sustainability. Based in the London office of Stiles Harold Williams...

 Read Full Article
Cluttons Promotes Its Youngest Equity Partner

Cluttons has promoted its youngest equity partner, Nicholas Potter. At 38, Nicholas is the youngest equity partner (EP) and he is also the first person in a non-fee...

 Read Full Article
David Cooper MBE Named CIBSE President Elect 2025/26

The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers has named David Cooper MBE as President Elect. David has 40 years of experience in the lift and escalator...

 Read Full Article
ISS Promotes Graeme Cameron to Chief Operations Officer

Graeme Cameron has been promoted from Commercial Director to Chief Operations Officer of ISS UK & Ireland’s operations performance function. “I stand...

 Read Full Article
Jason Smithies Joins Novus Property Solutions

Maintenance contractor Novus Property Solutions has appointed Jason Smithies as Head of Operations for Scotland and the Northeast. Jason started his career as a Tenant...

 Read Full Article
Simon Ball Joins NG Bailey’s Facilities Team as Work Winning Director

NG Bailey has appointed Simon Ball to its facilities services team as Work Winning Director. He will be responsible for driving innovation, customer experience and...

 Read Full Article
Bob Taylor Appointed as Managing Director of Public Sector FM at OCS

OCS has appointed its Chief Customer Officer, Bob Taylor, to Managing Director of Public Sector FM.  Bob has been at OCS for over a decade, holding roles such as...

 Read Full Article
New Appointments in Facilities Management – April 2025

Take a look at the latest appointments in the world of FM, commercial real estate and the built environment, including appointments at Sodexo, ISS, Apleona and...

 Read Full Article
Pinnacle Appoints Former Army Sergeant Major as Chief of Staff for Service Family Homes Contract

Former Army Sergeant Major Paul Carney has joined Pinnacle Group to assist in the company’s contract managing 49,000 service family homes in the UK. Paul has...

 Read Full Article
Paul Eagle Named New Chair of BESA Technical Committee

Paul Eagle, Executive Board Technical Director at Dalkia UK, has been appointed as The Building Engineering Services Association’s new Technical Committee...

 Read Full Article