Leading Chartered Surveyor firm, Bruton Knowles, has appointed Carl Kesterton as the newest Senior Associate within the National Building Consultancy Team in response to a growing divisional business portfolio.

Carl re-joins the firm following a brief spell at independent real estate consultants Hollis and brings extensive expertise – built up over 22 years of working in the construction sector – to the role.

He previously worked for Bruton Knowles for six years from 2016. Prior to this, Carl delivered remedial surveying services for insurance purposes on behalf of a disaster recovery firm, as well as for a number of local authorities across Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Carl specialises in project monitoring, party wall and dilapidation advice, and is highly experienced in delivering the full spectrum of building consultancy services to private and public clients. He is also adept at working with investors, developers, banks, funds and institutions, across all sectors, including industrial and logistics, commercial and residential.

His move to Bruton Knowles comes at a time when market demand for quality surveyors has once again peaked. According to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey, the shortage of talent across the labour market is viewed as one of the most significant challenges of the past five years.

This is also something Carl is seeing first hand as a RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) assessor. He believes staff and skills shortages are particularly prevalent across building consultancy specialisms, which he says is, in part, due to the stringent qualifications that surveyors operating in this sphere have to achieve.

Carl said: “Passing the APC in the building consultancy discipline is particularly challenging for candidates because of the breadth and depth of knowledge required. There are so many areas of building surveying which require incredibly detailed levels of expertise in themselves, and this can sometimes put candidates off.

“It is, of course, right that there is increased demand to prove competency in building control, particularly in light of Grenfell. Surveyors who choose to enter this field do so because it is a hugely interesting and immensely rewarding area to work in.”

As well as being a RICS Chartered Building Surveyor, Carl is also a member of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers, which makes him very well placed to deliver some of the more complex projects within Bruton Knowles’ business portfolio.

He has an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of legislative requirements, as well as the practicalities of compliance on real-life construction schemes. Carl also has a keen interest in project monitoring, due to the opportunities this offers to engage with a range of professionals working across site teams.

This interest was piqued at an early age, as Carl explains: “My family background was in construction, and so growing up, I became curious about surveying as a profession. I liked the idea of working alongside different people on site and to see the progress as buildings took shape.

“A career in building surveying is incredibly varied, with no two days being the same. There are so many development opportunities available within building consultancy to specialise in a particular area of interest, so it offers huge scope for those just starting out.

“Bruton Knowles is a great employer, offering career progression to anyone who wants it, as well as a flexible approach to working and learning. This positive organisational culture really sets the business apart from its competitors, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for that next step in their career.”

Ian Mulvaney, who heads up the National Building Consultancy Team, and to whom Carl reports, added: “We’re delighted to welcome Carl back to Bruton Knowles at a pivotal time for the business. Since our National Building Consultancy Team was officially launched just over a year ago, we have gradually expanded our portfolio across all client groups and in doing so, our delivery team on the ground.

“Carl is an excellent role model and mentor to our younger surveyors, and his APC expertise will ensure we can drive forwards our plans to complement the existing high calibre workforce with new talent from across the sector.”

Carl is located in the West Midlands and will work out of the Birmingham office; one of ten across the UK. Bruton Knowles employs over 200 staff and carried out a significant restructure in the wake of the first national lockdown and as a response to changing market needs to build up organisational resilience.

This saw the establishment of four National Teams in Utilities and Infrastructure, Building Consultancy, Commercial and Valuation. By re-focusing on these core growth areas, Bruton Knowles has now been instructed by more clients than ever.

As a one-stop-shop, the National Teams provide a point of contact to deliver an entire project to the exacting standards required. The approach has been significant for the business and has enabled Bruton Knowles to showcase its extensive expertise and in-depth market knowledge of local and national property markets throughout the UK. www.brutonknowles.co.uk.