Currie & Brown loses old guard over new strategy

Currie & Brown is facing an exodus of bosses from its regional office network in the wake of a new management and strategy implemented at the firm over the summer.

Long serving managers from offices stretching from Edinburgh to Bristol have parted company with the firm in recent weeks and months, QS News can reveal.

The exodus was led by former international operations director David Mitchell, who left the firm in the summer. He was followed by West Country boss Frank Nicholson, who has since joined rival Davis Langdon’s Bristol office.

Others exiting the firm include: West End boss Muir Crichton, who will join Gardiner & Theobald at the end of next month; Myles Cameron from the Edinburgh office; Manchester head Bill Booker; and Newcastle boss Ian McCallum.

Sources close to the firm claim there has been a culture clash between the new management, led by new chief executive Euan McEwan, and the old partners at the firm. McEwan is believed to want to grow the firm’s global operations in PFI and PPP advice as well as management consultancy.

Quantity Surveying is and will continue to be a core part of our business

Statement from C&B

One source said: “There is a disconnect between the new bosses and the old guard. The old partners didn’t buy into the new way at the firm.”

Sources claim that the new management wanted to move the firm away from core QSing. One source said: “QSing is a bad word now, which has made a lot of people think about their futures.”

Insiders at the firm disputed this view however. One said: “Just because McEwan is targeting other areas for growth doesn’t mean the firm is moving away from cost management.”

A statement sent to QS News on Wednesday by the firm said of the departures: “There is a degree of natural churn in any business. C&B has a high retention rate and in recent months a small number of individuals have left the business – this represents nothing more than any business experiences over the course of time.”

There is a disconnect between the new bosses and the old guard. The old partners didn't buy into the new way at the firm.

Source close to C&B

The statement added: “Quantity Surveying is and will continue to be a core part of our business and crucial to its continued success. This is reflected in the large numbers of QS experts we currently employ, such as in Scotland.”

C&B is the latest firm to lose a swathe of staff members – Franklin + Andrews lost its head of London property and other regional staff members over the summer.

C&B also suffered the embarrassment of having plans to implement a new share option scheme for staff members being thrown out by shareholders last week. The shareholders voted against a proposal by the main board to bring in the new scheme at an extraordinary general meeting last Wednesday. The firm declined to comment on the EGM.

McEwan, 49, joined C&B in August, having formerly worked at contractors Carillion and AWG. He said he planned to expand the firm geographically and that the company was on the look out for potential acquisitions.

The firm also appointed a new operations director for its southern division, Jim Ratliff, last month. He joined from professional service provider Jacobs, where he was major projects director. Ratliff’s previous experience includes a stint at Carillon as an executive director of its design arm, TPS Consult.