Richard James has moved into a new role as the National Director of Retail for Colliers and will draw on his 25 years of experience in the property sector to work alongside the company’s key clients on their retail developments and asset enhancement throughout the country.
Having joined Colliers in 2013, James was most recently the National Director of Real Estate Management Services where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the firm’s asset management teams and the Retail Leasing division.
During his time with Colliers, he has driven substantial growth within the Real Estate Management Services business with a vast increase in assets under management and the scope of services offered to clients.
The team manages over $6 billion in commercial and retail assets and is the single largest manager of retail centres across New Zealand.
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This strategic move will give James more capacity to advise organisations regarding their long-term masterplanning, while also creating new project pipelines across the country.
He will continue to manage the Retail Leasing team at Colliers that includes large format retail specialist Leroy Wolland and Helen Hollis, who was the central figure for Colliers in the leasing of Mānawa Bay shopping centre near Auckland Airport. James will be undertaking transactional work as part of his new role.
Some of the current projects James is working on include retail developments in Kinloch, Queenstown, and the Kāpiti Coast, alongside repositioning projects in Palmerston North and Christchurch.
He recently helped deliver Mānawa Bay and has been involved in the new-build retail assets of Silverdale Mall, Invercargill Central, and Ormiston Town Centre.
Across his career he has worked on over 25 major retail projects that include redevelopments, new builds, or the strategic planning of an asset. He has also worked on the day-to-day management of many more retail properties across the country.
This move sees Jarrod Reilly promoted to Senior Director of Asset Management, running Colliers’ asset management arm.
Key appointments made earlier in the year have contributed to the depth of talent in the Colliers Real Estate Management Services team with Finance and Systems Director Tony Radley and Director of Commercial Asset Management Duncan Christie holding key roles.
James says he is looking forward to the opportunity to further grow Colliers’ market-leading presence in the retail space across the country and collaborate with clients to assist them with expanding their strategic planning and delivery of assets.
“As the economy continues its recovery, now is the time for developers and retailers to be exploring new opportunities,” James says.
“Those with a long-term view will recognise that an up cycle is on the way and I am looking forward to further connecting with our clients from across the industry.
“Colliers is unrivalled with the full-service offering that we can provide our clients from inception and advisory through to project management, leasing, property management, and brokerage services.”
Gareth Fraser, CEO of Colliers New Zealand, says these personnel moves will translate to an enhanced level of service for the company’s clients.
“It is hugely exciting to be able to give Richard the opportunity to provide our valued clients with a more personalised level of service and they will benefit hugely from his extensive experience, underpinned by a track record of assisting with the delivery of market-leading developments across the country,” Fraser says.
“We have some exceptional people across the Real Estate Management Services team and know it is in good hands as Richard takes on this new role. He will remain involved in the management of several existing developments for key clients across New Zealand.”
- Supplied by Colliers
