Customer Relationship Team

[Email Me]	Peter Ashdown
Peter qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1981 following training throughout the 1970s at The District Valuer's Office ( part of The Inland Revenue ). During his time here he was actively involved in rating and compensation work, particularly linked to Compulsory Purchase Orders linked to town centre redevelopment schemes and the construction of the M23 and M25 motorways. During this period Peter was based at Redhill, Walton-on-Thames and Wimbledon. In 1981 he joined Bridgers, a Surrey and Sussex based professional private practice, specialising in surveys and valuations of residential and commercial property. He became a partner in 1984 with overall responsibility for the professional services division within this 17 office firm. In 1986 Bridgers were acquired and merged with several other well known regional practices such as: Messenger May Baverstock, Hamptons, Levens, Dixon Porter, Giddy and Giddy, Pocock and Drewett, Lear & Lear and Lambert Smith. The new group was rebranded under the Hamptons banner and Peter was appointed Managing Director of the Professional Services Division and had over 100 offices within his area of operation. In 1990 Peter, with co-director and long-standing friend, Jeremy Lyons, decided to leave Hamptons and set up Ashdown Lyons. They opened the first office in Wimbledon village together. A second followed in the same year at Leatherhead. These two offices formed the successful platform for the growth that followed. Peter says "that the company has enjoyed steady growth since 1990 and now undertakes over 70,000 surveys and valuations every year... but we have our sights on 150,000" The company acts for over 100 lending institutions, covering London and the Home Counties, and now employs close to 150 staff. Peter still finds time to carry out surveys himself for he "finds them enjoyable and testing." He is also a member of The Lord's Taverners and the MCC. He can often be found at Twickenham, The Oval or Lords depending upon the season.
[Email Me]	Jeremy Lyons
Jeremy moved from the rugged Lake District to the south to start his professional career in The District Valuer's Office at Redhill. Whilst here he was regularly involved in the valuation of a wide variety of properties including: mushroom farms, petrol filling stations, pubs and, of course... houses. Jeremy qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1978 having obtained an honours degree in Estate Management at Reading University. In the late 1970s he entered private practice with the well known firm of Fuller, Moon and Fuller, in Croydon. Whilst here he carried out structural surveys and valuations throughout south west London, Surrey and Sussex. He moved on to the Worcestershire/Herefordshire borders and spent a brief period combining his favoured surveying duties with estate agency. However, he missed the challenges of London and the busy south east and quickly returned. He joined Bridgers based in Surrey. Jeremy subsequently became a Regional Director of the reformed Hamptons group and was responsible for professional services throughout London, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. He left Hamptons in 1990 to form Ashdown Lyons with Peter Ashdown. Jeremy enjoys being involved in the exciting growth and management of the company. He is still involved in day to day surveying and valuation and specialises in unique and high value properties. Jeremy is a keen football supporter and former player (but having hung up his boots now ) tends to concentrate on his other passions - golf and skiing.
[Email Me]	Andrew Nichols
Andrew is the company's Business Development Director and has a diverse professional background. He began his professional career in accountancy and qualified as a Chartered Surveyor during the mid 1970s. He spent 17 years in estate agency, at senior managerial and director level, with well known firms in Kent, Sussex, Surrey and London. He was also a financial adviser for over 20 years combining his accountancy knowledge with his property skills. More recently, during the 1990s, Andrew was responsible for the London operation of Countrywide Surveyors. At the start of the new millennium Andrew joined Ashdown Lyons to major upon business development and strategy. He has been responsible for implementing the company's very successful expansion into Kent and has also been a strong force in reviewing the company's operational procedures and resources. He is always involved in our many Key Projects. For the past 30 years Andrew has lived and worked in the London and south east region and has an extensive knowledge of local architecture, construction and repair techniques as well as conservation methods and local values. Throughout his colourful career he has sold, surveyed and valued all manner of property from houseboats to castles as well as arranging mortgages and pensions for well known public figures. Horses and cricket are his passions... as well as his work.
[Email Me]	Philip Walker
Philip is an experienced Chartered Surveyor with a diverse surveying and valuation background covering nearly 30 years. He started out in estate agency and also spent a few years on The Isle of Wight. Originally based in his native Yorkshire, Philip moved to London many years ago and has been surveying properties in East London, Herts and Essex for more than 10 years. He joined Ashdown Lyons in the 1990s and heads up the company's strategic expansion into East London, Essex and Hertfordshire. Philip is the Business Development Manager for our Eastern Region and is still very much actively involved in day to day surveying and valuation tasks as well as being a key member of our Strategy Team. You will also often find him at the many exhibitions that we attend each year as well as at Premier League and European football matches. As a resident of Bishop's Stortford, Philip has a detailed knowledge of the varied vernacular styles, values and construction methods to be found in Hertfordshire, and Essex... and his knowledge of East London is unmatched.
[Email Me]	Marilyn Connell
Marilyn is the company's Client Liaison Executive and a key member of the Customer Relationship Team. She hails from Leicestershire and, following the completion of her education, joined a large consumer finance company. She was responsible for the underwriting and processing of secured and unsecured loans. Having learnt the trade Marilyn moved onto a brokerage house and soon became a director with responsibility for the day to day running of the company. She then moved to Cambridgeshire and joined a well-known High Street lender, which broadened her knowledge of the property and finance industries. Marilyn's strengths are her communication skills. It is so hard to say no to her. Throughout her career she has majored upon customer communication and has liaised with surveyors, lenders, brokers, solicitors, estate agents, captains of industry, politicians, celebrities and customers. Marilyn became a mother in 2000 and juggles family life with the joy of working for Ashdown Lyons very successfully.
[Email Me]	Linda Murray
Linda was born and bred in Doncaster and before joining us in 2002 enjoyed a glittering career in the Financial Services industry. She worked for 7 years at Midland Bank in branches all around the country and in 1990 joined Abbey National in a managerial role. For 10 years Linda managed various head office departments for Abbey National whilst based in London. At the beginning of 2000 Linda was tasked to set up Abbey’s Survey Centre to cover the south of England and Wales. This involved the management of 54 staff, the introduction of new IT and management systems as well as coping with 80 surveyors reporting into the office. Linda’s functions at Ashdown Lyons include: the introduction and management of IT systems both internally and, more importantly, externally with our customers who are now benefiting from her expertise in this field and the provision and review of management Information for our clients and internal operations. She also has responsibility for the implementation of staff incentive schemes. Linda is a valuable and integral member of the Business Development Team and enjoys travel.
[Email Me]	Rosemary Gill
Rosemary's experience of the property industry began after college as a legal secretary with solicitors based in the City of London. Here she specialised in conveyancing, property and company law. Then, after a spell at home producing four beautiful daughters, she resumed work with Furlongs Estate Agents in London. This brought Rosemary into contact with residential estate agency. She moved to the Commercial Survey and Agency Division in the late 1980s. Furlongs were eventually acquired by the Countrywide Group and Rosemary moved into the Residential Survey Division, renamed Countrywide Surveyors. Rosemary joined Ashdown Lyons in 2000 and is thoroughly enjoying her role assisting Andrew to achieve the same degree of success here. She is thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the residential surveying industry and, in particular, our customers’ detailed requirements. Rosemary's family absorbs most of her leisure time but after thirteen years as a school governor, she still somehow finds time to help organise a competitive dance festival with over 1300 entries each year, and to run workshops for aspiring dancers.

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