Naylors Gavin Black
We are Naylors Gavin Black, your Commercial Property People for the North East. We are a highly regarded firm of Chartered Surveyors and Commercial Property Consultants based in Newcastle upon Tyne. We bring a fresh, dynamic approach to the property market striving to offer the best possible results for our clients.
With decades of market experience on our side, our advice is underpinned with a thorough understanding of the commercial property market from the inside out. Clients come to us for our knowledge and intuitive understanding of the region’s property sector, and we always deliver. Our solid reputation is built on the recommendation of happy clients.
You will find our straight forward, open and honest approach refreshing. Experts in our respective fields, we work together to provide a first-rate joined up service across all sectors and focus on building strong, lasting relationships with our clients. We are, above all, a people business – our client’s needs are of the first and utmost importance.
At Naylors Gavin Black we believe that people who are specialists give the best advice. That’s why our services are broken down into specific areas, with each service led by a senior Naylors Gavin Black expert. It’s this structure which allows us to offer a bespoke service providing solutions across all property types. Our services include Property investment, Industrial Agency, Office Agency, Building Consultancy, Asset & Facilities Management, Valuations & Lease Advisory, Rating and Development Consultancy.
We are regional market leaders poised for progressive growth, yet we are loyal to our roots. Based firmly in the North East, we are owned, managed and run from Newcastle, it’s our home, our passion and the place we know best.
Tyne and Wear, Durham, Northumberland, Yorkshire
Hadrian House, Higham Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8AF
Our Team
Angus White
Managing Partner
Angus is the Managing Partner of the practice and also Head of the Property and Asset Management Team, which he has built from a standing start to over 160 buildings in a portfolio that extends from Glasgow in the North to Workington in the west and Whitley Bay in the East. Angus also has extensive experience in providing a range of consultancy advice, from developers on PFI schemes to leading the professional team which recently secured planning consent on a 70-acre business park on the edge of Durham City.
Fergus Laird
Partner and President of The Commercial Property Network
Fergus has been with Naylors for all but one of its 32 years, having started his career in Norwich in 1989 and then working for Storey Sons and Parker in Newcastle.
Fergus is an Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) panel chairman for the RICS, as well as a trustee of Centrewest and the Beacon Partnership, both charities based in the west of end of Newcastle with a remit to improving the quality of life for the residents. He is a former governor for his local primary school.
Fergus is an investment specialist, having previously spent a large part of his career as an office agent acting on numerous high profile developments in the North East. He acts on behalf of national funds, property companies and high net worth individuals in buying and selling property investments. Further areas of expertise include strategic asset management and joint ventures.
Fergus and the team are active in disposal of assets for clients across a range of sectors and geographies, whilst also having a strong reputation for successfully sourcing off market opportunities.
In October 2020, Fergus was appointed president of The Commercial Property Network of which Naylors Gavin Black LLP is an active member. CPN is a network of niche independent firms across the UK allowing access to detailed market information and opportunities in all parts of the country.
Fergus is also a member of SIOR –the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. His membership will allow him unrivalled access to overseas investors.
Katy Clark
Partner - Property Management
Katy joined the Management department of Naylors Gavin Black (formerly Naylors) as a senior surveyor in August 2017, having previously worked for the firm for three and a half years between 2011 and 2014.
In the intervening years, Katy worked for LSH and Capita Property & Infrastructure, where she undertook a range of roles including agency, lease advisory and property management.
Katy graduated from Northumbria University in 2009 and became a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in October 2011.
Katy has been involved in the management of a wide range of properties and embraces the challenges they present. She leads on all assets including rent collection and service charge management.
In her spare time, Katy enjoys being active, spending time in nature and watching movies with her family on their outdoor garden cinema projection screen. Her favourite downtime is spending time with her cat, Toulouse.
Scott Clarke
Building Consultancy Lead
Scott is an experienced Chartered Building Surveyor with a proven track record working in both the Commercial and Residential sectors. Skilled in AutoCAD, Contract Administration, Project Management, and a range of Professional Building Services, Scott re-joined Naylors in 2019 after gaining experience at firms such as Malcolm Hollis, Capita and McBains Cooper.
In 2012, Scott graduated with a 2:1 Bachelor of Science (BSc) Hons focused in Building Surveying from The Nottingham Trent University.
Duncan Christie BA (Hons) MSc MRICS
Associate Partner
Duncan joined Naylors Gavin Black in Summer 2017 and specialises in industrial agency.
He graduated with an undergraduate degree in Business Studies in 2013 and worked in Leeds as a residential letting agent during his placement year. Upon graduating, he worked in residential agency for three years for a well-known national estate agency firm, rotating between several of their North East branches. The final two years of employment saw Duncan take up a branch management role as Valuation Manager.
In 2017, Duncan completed a Masters degree in Real Estate at Northumbria University, prior to gaining his professional qualification as a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2020. With over 10 years’ experience in the North East property market, Duncan is well placed to provide clients with sound advice.