Tara Cowley, who has 18 years’ experience and has led Strutt & Parker’s Planning team in Scotland team for close to four years, specialising in the rural sector, takes on a new mandate with the commercial business at BNPPRE. In her new role, she will lead a new team to offer expert planning and development advice across key real estate sectors including commercial, industrial, logistics, healthcare, hotel & leisure, and residential including BTR schemes, purpose-built student accommodation and senior living. Tara is joined by Jay Skinner, Senior Planner, who has six years’ experience in the private and public sector.

Tara’s team forms part of BNPPRE and Strutt and Parker’s national planning and development divisions led by Caroline McDade and Simon Kibblewhite respectively. Tara and Jay will continue to work closely with Strutt & Parker’s rural business team in promoting strategic land and diversification opportunities as part of their role.

Gary Cameron, head of Scotland, BNP Paribas Real Estate said: “With shifting requirements for full service strategic consultancy from the pre-planning phase through to delivery, and for the repositioning and repurposing of assets across Scotland, we are strengthening our offer with this expert team from our Strutt & Parker business. They take on this new mandate at a pivotal time as we expand the Edinburgh business, and bolster our offer to clients.

“Despite conditions of the past two years, property development in Scotland has remained resilient with numerous new commercial, mixed use and residential schemes being delivered in the Central Belt. Scotland has always been high on the list of places to live and do business, and we are seeing ever increasing demand for land and assets from developers and investors, and overall the market is looking buoyant.”

Tara Cowley, head of planning (Scotland), BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: “We are hugely excited to join our BNPPRE colleagues at a critical time for the property industry – our expanded combined service offering to the market across all real estate sectors positions us as one of the leading agencies in the Scottish capital markets. We look forward to working with existing and new clients to offer best in class property services throughout the entire development lifecycle, across all real estate sectors.”

The new team will be based in the BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPRE) Edinburgh Office at 76 George Street, and join Allan Matthews who was recently appointed as director of agency & occupier solutions.