Knight Frank has promoted Sophie McCarthy to head of sales at its Islington office, where she has worked since the branch opened in 2012. McCarthy, a partner at the firm, has spent 17 years with Knight Frank.
She began her career in St John’s Wood before joining the Islington team. In her new role, she will oversee the office’s residential sales operation and work alongside regional partners and Knight Frank’s wider London network.
McCarthy’s pride in leading the team
“Having been part of the Islington office since it first opened, I am incredibly proud to now be leading the team,” McCarthy said. “I look forward to building on the fantastic work already being done by the team while continuing to deliver exceptional service and outstanding results for our clients.”
Jon Reynolds, regional partner at Knight Frank, said: “Throughout her career at Knight Frank, Sophie has built an outstanding track record for winning new business, developing long-standing client relationships and delivering consistently strong results. She knows the Islington market inside out and is ideally placed to lead this important office.”
Vistry partnerships chief to retire
Vistry is preparing for another senior leadership change, with partnerships chief Stephen Teagle set to retire after four decades in the housing sector. Catherine Raynsford, currently managing director of major stock acquisitions at Legal & General Affordable Homes, will succeed him as group partnerships director.
Raynsford will join Vistry on 1 January 2027. Teagle will remain with the housebuilder during the first quarter to oversee the handover before leaving at the end of March. Vistry said Teagle had signalled his intention to retire earlier this year and described the appointment as part of a planned succession process.
Leadership changes at the housebuilder
The move follows a series of leadership changes at the £4bn-turnover housebuilder. Rob Woodward became chair in March, while Adam Daniels took over as group chief executive in April. The latest change also follows a difficult financial period for Vistry, which reported a £660m loss in its most recent results.
Teagle joined Galliford Try in 2006 following 20 years in the housing association sector. Bovis Homes acquired parts of Galliford Try’s housing operations in 2020 before the enlarged group became Vistry.
“Having spent 40 years in the sector, across both the not-for-profit and plc sectors, it has been a privilege to have played a part in creating an industry-leading partnerships business,” Teagle said.
Raynsford brings extensive experience in affordable housing and partnerships. Before joining Legal & General Affordable Homes, she held a director-level position at The Hyde Group.
Vistry chief executive Adam Daniels said: “Stephen leaves an outstanding legacy and, on behalf of everyone at Vistry, I would like to thank him for his exceptional contribution and dedicated service.” Commenting on Raynsford’s appointment, Daniels added: “She brings significant experience of the affordable housing sector, a deep understanding of our partners and a strong track record in investment and partnerships.”
Conveybuddy hires NatWest veteran
Conveybuddy has appointed former NatWest national account manager Luke Christodoulides as its first head of distribution. Christodoulides joins the conveyancing distributor after more than 22 years at NatWest, where he held several broker-facing roles, including field area sales manager, corporate account manager and head of corporate accounts. Most recently, he worked as national account manager.
In his new role, Christodoulides will develop relationships with mortgage networks, clubs, larger advisory firms and other industry partners. He will also oversee new commercial partnerships as Conveybuddy looks to expand its reach across the mortgage intermediary market.
The newly created position comes two years after Conveybuddy launched in September 2024. Since then, the business has expanded its conveyancing panel and added survey instructions. It has also launched an all-inclusive remortgage proposition. The company said more advisers were using its platform for conveyancing and survey instructions, although it did not disclose numbers.
Conveybuddy has also promoted Rachel Payne to sales manager following her return from maternity leave. Payne will manage the account management team and oversee day-to-day relationships with broker users.
Harpal Singh, CEO of Conveybuddy, said the appointment reflected the company’s plans to expand its distribution. “We have reached a point in Conveybuddy’s development where we want to build much broader relationships across the intermediary market,” he said.
Singh added that the business wanted more mortgage advisers to view conveyancing as part of their client service rather than something outside the mortgage advice process. “Luke understands how networks, clubs and intermediary businesses operate,” he said.
Christodoulides said: “Conveyancing is an integral part of the property transaction and there is a real opportunity for advisers to remain much closer to that process.” He added that this could help clients make informed choices about conveyancers while giving advisers greater visibility once a case is underway.
