Knight Frank Appoints MD to Run Expanded FM Business

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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

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

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