Rupert Visick and Andrew Gent quit JLL and DTZ to form own firm
By Angela Monaghan and Simon Creasey

Rupert Visick and Andrew Gent, two of the biggest names in industrial agency in the north of England have quit their firms to set up on their own. Visick, national director of industrial at Jones Lang LaSalle’s Leeds office, left on Friday to join Gent, associate director at DTZ, who left his Leeds office the previous week.

Property Week has learnt that the pair are set to announce details of their industrial practice within the next few weeks, but they declined to comment. The departure of Visick has left JLL without a senior qualified industrial surveyor in the Leeds practice. It comes at a time when several other heads of departments have been leaving the firm, most recently James Welch, national director of leisure and outoftown retail based in London, who is also setting up a niche practice.

Visick was behind some of the north’s largest industrial instructions during his nineyear spell at JLL, including the largest distribution scheme in the region, Amec Development’s 3.5m sq. ft. Wakefield Europort in West Yorkshire.
Gent, who was at DTZ for 20 years, also completed some important deals, including advising Teesland and Clungston on the sale of an 800,000 sq. ft. shed to Kingfisher’s DIY business, B&Q, at the Redhouse Interchange scheme near Doncaster.

Alistair Russell, JLL’s European director in charge of the Leeds office, confirmed that Visick had left he firm and been put on garden leave. Rob Trevor, associate director based in Manchester, will take over responsibility for the northern England industrial business, until a replacement is found.

“He (Visick) has decided to go on and pursue his own business interests,” said Russell. “As far as we’re concerned, we have got an industrial business and clients to service, but we wish him well.”

Murray Lloyd, director at DTZ and head of industrial in the Leeds office said “Andrew has had 20 good years at DTZ and made a name for himself in the local market, but it got to the point where he felt it was time to pursue different
opportunities.”

DTZ’s Leeds office is left with Lloyd heading the industrial business and Alistair Gill, a senior surveyor. Lloyd said the recruitment had begun and he would be appointing someone at a more junior level.