Comings & Goings

Bidwells strengthens planning team with two partner hires

Bidwells has appointed two new partners to its London planning team as it expands its presence in the capital.

Matthew Pigott and Tim Sturgess bring more than 30 years’ combined experience in complex planning and will both be based in the firm’s London office.

The appointments form part of a broader push to grow Bidwells’ planning capability in London, with a focus on residential, commercial and mixed-use development.

Sturgess joins as group partner and will lead the firm’s outer London and South East planning work. He has nearly 20 years’ experience in residential-led mixed-use schemes and strategic site promotion, including urban extensions, estate regeneration and employment-led development.

Pigott joins as partner, focusing on projects across central and wider London. His experience includes commercial development, office refurbishment and retrofit, as well as mixed-use schemes, tall buildings and high-density urban projects.

Chris Pattison, head of planning at Bidwells, said: “These appointments signal that Bidwells is substantially growing its presence in the capital. We are delighted to welcome Matthew and Tim to our growing London Team.

“These are experts who have spent years working through technically demanding schemes and know how to find a route through for our clients.”

HLPartnership appoints Jon Cooke as board adviser

Jon Cooke has been appointed as a board adviser at HLPartnership.

Cooke has over 30 years of experience in estate agency leadership, growth strategy, and mergers and acquisitions. He founded Fine & Country in the early 2000s, helping it expand to more than 300 licensed offices, and served as a non-executive director at The Guild of Property Professionals. He was involved in the 2024 transaction that brought both brands under The Property Franchise Group.

Cooke has also held roles in property technology, including as chief executive of nurtur.group, and non-executive positions at investment-backed property businesses such as Lomond and iamproperty. He previously served as managing director of Your Move and is a non-executive director at BetterHome Group

Cooke said: “The property transaction process can take longer than it should, particularly where progress depends on multiple parties and multiple handovers. There is a real opportunity to improve how the chain operates by strengthening partnerships between estate agency firms and mortgage advice firms, so information is captured earlier, communication is more consistent, and avoidable delays are reduced.

“HLPartnership is an innovative mortgage and protection network with the scale, infrastructure and ambition to improve the property transaction process. What also stands out is the strength of its technology platform and its commitment to continued development. I look forward to supporting the board and leadership team as they strengthen the connection between the network and the estate agency community, helping customers access regulated advice at the right time and move through the process more efficiently.”

Christopher Tanner, chief executive of HLPartnership, commented: “Jon brings a rare combination of estate agency leadership, M&A and technology-enabled growth experience. His insight will support the board as we strengthen links between the estate agency community and our network, improve efficiency across the house-buying chain and deliver good consumer outcomes.”

Frederic Benisty joins Nodalview as managing director

Frederic Benisty has joined Nodalview as managing director to lead the company’s expansion into the UK market.

Benisty brings experience from both high-growth proptech and traditional estate agency sectors. He was the first commercial hire at Giraffe360, where he built and led the commercial function as the company grew, and has also held a sales negotiator role at Foxtons.

The appointment establishes Nodalview’s first dedicated commercial presence in the UK, as the firm targets more than 20,000 estate agency branches across the country. Benisty will be based in the company’s upcoming London office.

Benisty said: “I’ve been following Nodalview since first coming across the team at RENT Expo in Paris in 2020. What struck me early on was how clearly they saw the role AI would play in property marketing, and how they’ve continued to build on that year after year.

“Since then, the market has moved in that direction, with agents increasingly focused on speed, consistency and simplicity in how they bring properties to market. Nodalview has been at the centre of that shift, and its move into the UK brings a model that is already delivering for agents across Europe.”