The United Kingdom’s property sector is experiencing a notable wave of executive movements, underscored by three prominent leadership appointments announced across regional agency operations, prime central London markets, and industry awards bodies. The latest personnel developments highlight a strategic shift among leading property firms as they reinforce their management structures, adapt to evolving macroeconomic environments, and prepare for shifting consumer demands within both residential sales and property technology spaces.
The appointments span a quarter-century company veteran stepping into a core sales directorship, a heavyweight prime residential specialist aligning with a globally recognized luxury brand, and an experienced industry figure taking the helm at one of the property sector’s most established awards organizations. These transitions collectively reflect an industry landscape where deep institutional knowledge, cross-sector expertise, and adaptability to changing transaction environments remain at a premium.
Romans Promotes Internal Candidate to Sales Director
Within the Thames Valley region, regional powerhouse Romans—operating as a core brand within the broader Leaders Romans Group (LRG)—has announced the internal promotion of Jonathan Hawthorne to the role of sales director. Hawthorne’s appointment marks a significant milestone, recognizing a career spanning a quarter of a century dedicated entirely to the same agency network.
Hawthorne first entered the property industry in 2001, joining Romans as a trainee sales adviser. Over the ensuing twenty-five years, he steadily climbed the organizational ladder through a series of increasingly responsible senior roles. His operational leadership experience includes managing the company’s busy Bracknell office from 2014 onward, before most recently serving as regional sales director.
In his newly elevated capacity as sales director, Hawthorne will assume overarching strategic and operational responsibility for sales functions across Romans’ extensive network of 27 offices. These branches operate predominantly throughout the Thames Valley, a highly competitive and economically resilient region within the wider South East property market.
Kevin Shaw, national sales managing director at LRG, emphasized the unique value of Hawthorne’s long-standing institutional familiarity. Commenting on the appointment, Shaw noted that after more than twenty-five years with Romans, there are very few individuals who understand the nuances, culture, and operational dynamics of the business as comprehensively as Hawthorne. The promotion signals LRG’s continued preference for cultivating and rewarding internal talent, ensuring continuity of service and deep regional expertise as the firm navigates ongoing market cycles and changing property transaction timelines.
Former Savills Executive Charles Lloyd Joins Forbes Affiliate
In the prime and super-prime sectors of the property market, high-profile talent continues to migrate toward specialized luxury networks. Charles Lloyd, a distinguished high-end residential specialist who previously headed Savills’ Mayfair operation, has formally joined UK Forbes Global Properties as a founder partner. Lloyd brings nearly four decades of accumulated experience within the elite prime residential market and will concentrate his efforts on high-net-worth buyers and sellers across Prime Central London and the surrounding Home Counties.
Lloyd’s professional pedigree includes a fourteen-year tenure at Savills, during which he was instrumental in establishing the firm’s influential Mayfair and St James’s operations, alongside playing a key role in launching the company’s Marylebone office. Following his time at Savills, Lloyd expanded his leadership portfolio by joining CBRE as a senior director, where he co-founded the firm’s dedicated Private Office. More recently, he established his own specialized venture, Charles Lloyd Real Estate, in 2025.
This strategic alignment comes at a juncture where estate agents throughout the UK are actively adapting their service offerings to meet shifting market conditions, characterized by extended transaction times and increasingly discerning clientele. The prestige associated with the Forbes name, paired with Lloyd’s decades-long track record in luxury transactions, positions the affiliate for further growth within the upper echelons of the capital’s property market.
Martin Bikhit, founder and CEO of UK Forbes Global Properties, welcomed Lloyd to the network by praising his distinguished professional background. Bikhit highlighted that Lloyd possesses an exceptional pedigree within the industry, having led significant business units, successfully managed some of the market’s most remarkable high-value transactions, and cultivated deep, trusted client relationships over decades of dedicated practice.
The ESTAS Appoints Amy Bibiris as Executive Director
Beyond corporate brokerage and regional agency networks, the institutional side of the UK property industry is also experiencing leadership renewal. The ESTAS—widely recognized as one of the property sector’s premier customer service awards programs—has appointed Amy Bibiris as its new executive director. The high-profile appointment comes ahead of the organization’s eagerly anticipated 23rd annual awards ceremony, which is scheduled to take place on October 16 in London.
Bibiris transitions to her new role after serving as commercial director at Smart Compliance. She brings more than two decades of comprehensive property industry experience, encompassing both traditional residential estate agency operations and the rapidly evolving property technology sector. Her extensive career foundation began at Romans back in 2004, where she achieved distinction by becoming the firm’s very first female branch manager, before subsequently spending four years contributing to Davis Tate.
Demonstrating an early openness to sector innovation, Bibiris transitioned into the proptech arena in 2019, broadening her understanding of how technological solutions intersect with day-to-day agency workflows. Beyond her corporate achievements, she has demonstrated a sustained commitment to industry mentorship and leadership development, having previously served on the board of Women in Estate Agency and actively collaborating as a mentor with Agents Together.
Simon Brown, founder of The ESTAS, underscored the breadth of Bibiris’s background when announcing her appointment. Brown noted that Bibiris understands the property industry from virtually every conceivable perspective because she has worked hands-on across nearly all of its facets. He added that her deep-seated appreciation for what constitutes exemplary client service, coupled with her empathy for the professionals on the ground delivering those standards, makes her uniquely qualified to lead the organization forward.
These three senior appointments underscore a broader period of strategic readjustment across the UK property landscape. Whether through the cultivation of long-serving internal stalwarts at regional firms, the recruitment of elite specialists into prime-market networks, or the bolstering of advocacy and awards organizations with seasoned operators, agencies and industry bodies alike are positioning their leadership teams to successfully meet the complex demands of today’s housing market.
