Chesterton Humberts’ international network expanding with launch of Moscow office

05 February 2010

Chesterton Humberts, one of the UK’s leading property consultancies, continues to expand the company’s international network, with a new office opening in Moscow in February.

Initially, the office will be conveniently located in the centre of Moscow, in the Smolensky area.

Headed up by Greg Thain, former Knight Frank chairman for Russia, the office will serve the increasingly complex property consultancy needs of Russian speaking clients seeking both residential and commercial property in the UK, Europe and Middle East.

In the first phase, the Chesterton Humberts Russia team will focus on both domestic and international residential property sales, evaluation, consultancy and investment work.  The second phase will see retail, commercial and industrial property work added to the portfolio.

Thain, widely respected within the industry, lived in Russia for 17 years (1992-2009) and was responsible for launching two significant property investment funds in Russia in the recent past and arranging the first international loan of any significance to a Moscow property developer in 1995.  He will be supported by a highly experienced team of multi-lingual property professionals.

The new Moscow office will work in close association with the established Chesterton Côte d’Azur office, covering the territory from San Remo to Nice, including Monaco.

The agency will be branded as Chesterton, which is the company’s international signature.

Chesterton and Humberts, two of the UK’s longest established and most respected property firms, merged to create a single, multi-disciplinary property business in January 2009. Chesterton has been serving the needs of the London property market since it was first established in 1805 and has a growing international network across three continents. Humberts also has a long heritage stretching back to 1842, with its roots in the countryside and is known for expertise in all types of rural property from cottages to castles. 

Thain comments:

“Over the last 17 years we have developed significant contacts.  Opening the Moscow office ensures that we can continue to improve the service we offer our clients.   We also expect to service the significant demand for international product by our Russian clientele, particularly in the south of France.

“I’m very pleased to be working with such an established and respected company, with an exceptional commitment to clients.”

Robert Bartlett, Chesterton Humberts CEO, adds:

“We are delighted to be adding Moscow, one of the world’s great and major cities, to our growing network of international offices.  We expect our profile and client base to expand dramatically in Russia over the next few years. Furthermore, the addition of Russia will significantly expand the service we can provide to our UK based clients.  Buyers from Russia will complement the already strong demand that we see arising from our offices in Abu Dhabi and Singapore. 

“Our Russian team are first class professionals with many years of experience.  Greg and the rest of the team will bring huge benefits to us and I very much look forward to working closely with them.”