By Powerscourt on 26/05/2022
SIMON PETAR JOINS POWERSCOURT TO BOLSTER BUILT ENVIRONMENT CREDENTIALS
Powerscourt is pleased to announce the appointment of Simon Petar as a Director. Simon has two decades of experience advising clients on the built environment – covering real estate, house builders, developers, retailers and logistics.
His recruitment comes after two years of strong growth, demonstrating the resilience of Powerscourt’s business model during challenging times. Powerscourt has experienced strong demand for its existing services and successfully integrated new teams in Political Affairs, Sustainability and Healthcare. Since January 2022, Powerscourt has welcomed a total of 14 new colleagues to support its business expansion.
Simon will join the Political Affairs team and will also work with other teams helping clients in the built environment. He has worked for two decades in the built environment sector, advising on public affairs, media relations and corporate communications both as a consultant and in-house. Simon has supported several internationally renowned organisations facing regulatory threats and real estate and development challenges. He was previously a spokesperson for Tesco, where he was often heard and seen on local radio and television. Former clients include Amazon, Apache Capital Partners, Areli Real Estate, London Square, NHBC, Pocket Living and The Hyde Group.
Powerscourt’s Political Affairs team is led by Mark Leftly, a former Press Secretary to Sir Vince Cable when leader of the Liberal Democrats and political journalist for several publications, including the Independent stable of newspapers. Mark established his own built environment credentials early in his career, having previously worked at Building magazine and Property Week.
Simon’s appointment follows the recent hire of Russ Lynch from the Daily Telegraph, where he was Economics Editor. Russ was previously Deputy Business Editor at the Evening Standard, writing extensively on property, and started his career at Construction News.
Mark, Simon and Russ will work closely with Powerscourt’s Housebuilding and Real Estate sector team which has a highly successful track record in advising a wide range of public and private clients across the firm’s service areas, often with fully-integrated briefs. Clients include Landsec, The Howard de Walden Estate, TOG (The Office Group), Travis Perkins, Unite Students and Vistry Group.
Simon Petar said: “I am excited to be joining Powerscourt, a company I have long admired. The chance to advise its ever-growing roster of clients on their political and policy challenges in the built environment was too good to pass.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that the development sector is under the spotlight from regulators and politicians like never before. This creates both threats and opportunities. Companies need to navigate local, regional and national political challenges, often through the prism of sceptical media. Our job, when done right, helps organisations not just land in the local community in the right way, but build lasting political relationships at all levels.”
Rory Godson, Founder and Chief Executive commented: “Simon is a hugely experienced figure in the rapidly evolving world of public affairs and the built environment. We are thrilled he has joined us to help develop both our political and sector specific services. I am confident that he can add significant value to many of our clients, so they are better understood by their complex stakeholder communities.
“Powerscourt has thrived during and post the pandemic as our people rose to the challenges of this unique period. We continue to capitalise on further growth opportunities while remaining committed to our values by successfully developing new services and sectors, most recently in Sustainability and Healthcare. We will continue our unwavering focus on doing our very best for clients and our people.”
