Stanhope director to retire after 25 years at firm

Stanhope director Henry Williams is retiring at the end of April after 25 years at the developer.

Williams has more than 40 years of experience in property development and is a senior advisor for office product and leasing at Stanhope, having joined the firm in 1999.

He specialises in the office development sector, providing input into the office product design and leading the marketing and leasing process of Stanhope’s speculative office schemes across its portfolio.

The firm’s chief executive David Camp described Williams as a “towering figure” amongst the development, leasing and design community.

“Henry will be a hard act to follow.  He has been critical to the success of Stanhope for a quarter of a century,” Camp said.  

“Henry has been a leader and mentor of the business and a loyal, supportive and congenial colleague to me and many others over the years.

“Henry is truly irreplaceable but he has built a strong team of colleagues alongside him who I am sure will carry the business onwards to even greater success and with the same humour and attention to detail.

“Everyone at Stanhope wishes Henry a happy, healthy and well-earned retirement - we will miss him.”

Early in his career, Williams led the business space team for the development of Milton Keynes, a role he was given in his mid-20s.

“[It] was a huge responsibility that I am forever grateful for. I think it’s where the seeds were sown for my interest in design, challenging convention, leading change and creative thinking to problem solve,” he said.

This was followed by development director roles at The Carroll Group and Trafalgar House before joining Stanhope to help create the 12-block, RSHP-designed Chiswick Park scheme in west London.

Williams said: “It’s been a huge privilege and honour to have had the experience of working with some of the leading Design Professionals in their field, not forgetting the lawyers and agents!”

“When I look back, we have delivered some really special office developments which have secured international recognition. In office development it doesn’t get much better than that.”

He added: “Over the years I’ve had some great mentors and I would also like to thank them for their generous help and guidance and I hope that I, in turn, have been able to pass a lot of that knowledge on to my colleagues who will be taking the business forward.”

Stanhope’s latest major office project is its revised plans for 1 Undershaft in the City of London, which were submitted for planning last month. The tower would be the tallest building in the Square Mile and the joint tallest in the country with the Shard if approved.