CB Richard Ellis is about to launch its next expansion drive this time into the leisure sector.
Jeremy Simmons, co-founder of leisure specialist Berkeley Simmons Davis, is joining CBRE from Erinaceous’s Dunlop Haywards as a senior director charged with expanding CBRE’s leisure business.
Other members of his team have also been approached by CBRE and are expected to join him.
The expansion is being driven by retail head Malcolm Dalgleish, who sold his business to CBRE in September 2005.
“I want to create a business that specialises in every part of the leisure sector, whether it’s Gordon Ramsay-type restaurants or a roadside development,” said Simmons.
Simmons also plans to take UK operators into Europe.
Simmons and Emma Davis sold Berkeley Simmons Davis in August 2004 to Hercules, which was subsequently bought by Erinaceous and rebranded under the Haywards banner.
Davis left earlier this year to pursue leisure investment.
Simmons said: “Dunlop Haywards wasn’t the right platform for us.”
Another part of Dunlop Haywards is under investigation for suspected fraud, relating to valuations carried out in the City office.
References: EGi News 10/07/06
