Three of KPMG’s top UK real estate partners have resigned to join rival firm EY.
Richard White (pictured), head of UK real estate and real estate tax, Nicola Westbrooke and Richard Ross are departing.
White is to become head of real estate tax at EY, with Westbrooke and Ross both continuing as real estate tax partners. They are expected to have a period of gardening leave of around a year.
The trio have advised some of the world’s largest investment banks, private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds.
For White the move sees him return to the company and position in which he previously spent seven years until 2005.
Westbrooke is a REIT expert and was seconded to HM Revenue & Customs as part of the team that devised the introduction of REITs in 2006.
At EY White will take over as head of real estate tax from Russell Gardner, who was appointed head of real estate, hospitality and construction in May. Gardner replaced Dean Hodcroft, who left in January to become a founding partner of KIA-backed Cale Street Partners.
EY is looking to expand its capabilities in the booming real estate sector and has a team of more than 300 in the UK.
A spokesman for EY said: “This reflects our commitment to our real estate business both in the UK and globally, where we have made significant investments in the past 12 months.”
KPMG’s UK real estate business will now be led Andy Pyle, a partner in the real estate transactions team. Stephen Barter is UK chairman of real estate.
A KPMG spokesman said: “Real estate as a sector, and real estate tax within that, are priority areas for us where we have enjoyed substantial growth and have ambitious plans to progress further by accelerating our internal senior promotions process and by recruiting from industry and the external market.”
