CWM’s out-of-town business relaunches as new firm

CWM’s out-of-town business has launched a new real estate advisory firm called Xprop, distancing its operations from the main agency. The venture, which comprises a ten-strong team of partners and associates, will offer advice to out-of-town owners and operators on alternatives such as logistics, leisure, roadside, self-storage, senior living and residential development, in addition to consultancy services on retail space. CWM Out-of-Town has always run as a separate entity to the CWM retail agency business. Under its new branding, Xprop will asset manage more than 140 retail warehouse schemes on behalf of institutional clients, as well as advise operators on occupational matters. Xprop said its launch marks “a natural progression for the team as it seeks to assert independence for clients and provide a partner-led service dedicated exclusively to the out-of-town sector”. Shirin Elghanayan, senior partner at CWM, added: “We are very sad to see the OOT team separate off after all these years but, as with most businesses, we are all evolving and adapting to a new era. We wish them all well in this new venture, having shared many fun times together over the years.” Mark Powell, investment partner at Xprop, said: “This is a challenging yet exciting time for out-of-town, but we continue to strongly believe in the potential of this versatile asset class and have adapted to the changing needs of clients with a dynamic new multi-skilled consultancy. “Our CWM Out-of-Town heritage is something we are all extremely proud of but the time is right for a fresh approach, as we’re increasingly required to extend our capabilities beyond pure retail uses and into applicable alternative uses for the evolving out-of-town sector.” Mark Thompson, agency partner at Xprop, said: “The out-of-town sector is experiencing its most rapid rate of change in history – and Xprop is strategically and uniquely positioned to reflect the new market conditions.” To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette Image © Xprop