High Speed 2 Ltd (HS2) has appointed national property consultancy Carter Jonas to deliver asset management services across its wide range of property and land assets acquired for the development of the UK high speed rail network.

Following a competitive tender via the CCS procurement framework, Carter Jonas is appointed on a five-year contract. The portfolio comprises over 1,500 assets across the route including residential and rural property as well as significant commercial assets including central London offices and a large multi-let industrial estate in Birmingham. The firm will provide a core property management and accounting service alongside additional landlord and tenant, acquisitions, disposals, planning, rating and building surveying advice.

Chris Hodson, HS2 Ltd’s Head of Property Management, said: “We are determined to deliver value for money for taxpayers during the construction of Britain’s new high speed railway. That’s why, if the properties we buy through our many compensation schemes aren’t immediately required for construction, we aim to rent them out. This helps offset costs and avoids having empty homes in our communities. Carter Jonas has a strong track record of managing varied and complex property portfolios like this, and I’m pleased to welcome them to the team.”

Mark Hall-Digweed, Head of Infrastructure, Carter Jonas, said: “Having worked with the HS2 team for over 13 years, our appointment on this new mandate is testament to our proactive approach as a trusted consultant, and our commitment to investing in our highly skilled and rapidly growing team. Drawing on the expertise from across our extensive network to deliver a multi-disciplinary range of services will provide ample opportunity to demonstrate the value that we can add for our clients, whilst focusing on improving relationships with customers and stakeholders.”