A quartet of leading retail agents, including the co-founders of niche occupational retail agency Robinson Webster, have joined forces to launch a practice called Forge.
Ian Webster and Adam Robinson have set up Forge alongside former Fawcett Mead equity partner Jonathan Mills and ADS Real Estate Advisors director Joe Baio. All four are equity partners in the new venture.
The agency said the business is called Forge to represent “the symbiotic nature of bringing a highly experienced team of commercial real estate experts together”, as well as a “commitment to strong partnerships and a progressive, forward thinking business culture and outlook”.
The business will be based at St Christophers Place, W1. It will advise on a range of investment, agency and professional matters, including acquisition and disposal consultancy advice, asset management and lease advisory, as well as offering a full range of professional services.
Robinson Webster was formed in 2016 after the founders held senior director positions respectively at Jackson Criss and CBRE.
Their clients range from major institutional funds and property companies to family offices, and their client list includes DTZ Investors, CBRE IM and NFU Mutual.
Since inception, the duo has leased more than 2m sq ft of retail and leisure of space across the UK.
Mills and Baio will lead a new investment department at Forge, advising on end-to-end matters for clients from initial acquisitions to asset management and strategic disposals.
Mills, who also previously worked at JLL, has advised across a range of high street, shopping centre, food store and portfolio assets. His deals have included the circa £140m acquisition of Clapham Junction’s ShopStop in 2018, working with Robinson Webster on the occupational side.
He has advised on transactions across geographical markets including Bath, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Guildford, Cambridge and Oxford.
Baio previously worked with Mills at Fawcett Mead as associate director, until moving to ADS in 2022. He has advised on deals involving a wide variety of assets including hotels, retail warehousing, food stores, leisure and high street assets.
Together, the pair has advised some of the largest UK institutions and property companies on their retail investment strategies, including CBRE IM, DTZ Investors, Legal & General, M&G, Redevco, LondonMetric Property, Columbia Threadneedle, Savills IM and Wittington Investments.
The remaining Robinson Webster team joining the new firm consists of directors Chris Ward and Liam Jones, along with graduate surveyor Harry Hill.
Robinson said: “After six very successful years trading as Robinson Webster, we felt that the time was right to join forces with Jonathan and Joe, two of the most reputable investment agents in the market.
“We are already experiencing the benefits of the synergy between the teams and, in time, we hope to create a brand that will be viewed as one of the pre-eminent retail and leisure advisors in the market.”
To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews
