Rural Property Firm Appoints New Valuations Team Leader
A rural property firm with offices in Penrith and Kirkby Lonsdale has appointed Fran Barrigan to lead its valuations team.
Barrigan has joined GSC Grays as the firm's new valuations team leader, succeeding Rachel Morris, who is relocating to New Zealand. Her appointment brings extensive experience to the role as the business continues to develop its rural property services.
Barrigan has more than 20 years of experience in rural property valuations. Her professional background covers a range of specialist areas including secured lending, taxation and estate work, giving her experience across several important aspects of rural property.
Her new responsibilities will include leading the valuations team while also contributing to wider strategic and management responsibilities within the firm. The role places her at the centre of the business's valuation work and its ongoing development.
Barrigan has also maintained an active involvement with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. She participates in RICS working groups, providing her with continued engagement with professional issues and developments affecting the surveying sector.
She has also recently completed her term as chair of the Country Landowners Association's North East branch committee. The position provided further involvement with landowners and the wider rural property community.
Her experience across valuation, surveying and rural property organisations provides a broad professional background for her new position. It also complements the firm's existing work advising clients across rural property and related professional services.
GSC Grays operates across a network of nine offices and employs more than 120 people. The firm provides specialist services to clients connected with rural property, land and estates across its operating areas.
Chief executive Guy Coggrave welcomed Barrigan's appointment and highlighted her experience within the rural property sector. He said her technical knowledge, leadership and focus on client service would support the valuations team during its next stage of development.
Barrigan's appointment follows the departure of Rachel Morris, who is moving to New Zealand with her family. Morris previously played an important role in developing the firm's valuation services during her time with the business.
Coggrave also thanked Morris for her contribution to the firm and its valuation operation. He acknowledged the work she had carried out in developing the service and wished her and her family well as they begin their new life overseas.
The transition provides continuity for the valuations team while bringing a new leader with more than two decades of specialist experience. Barrigan's background includes work involving secured lending, taxation and estate valuations, all of which form important parts of rural property advisory services.
Valuation work can involve a wide range of requirements depending on the purpose of an assessment. Rural properties may need to be valued for lending, taxation, estate planning and other professional or commercial reasons, requiring detailed knowledge of land and property markets.
Barrigan's experience across these areas gives her a broad foundation for leading the team. Her involvement with professional organisations also means she remains connected to wider developments within the surveying and rural property sector.
The appointment comes as GSC Grays continues to operate across its regional office network. Its presence in Penrith and Kirkby Lonsdale gives the firm an established base in Cumbria alongside its other offices across the wider region.
The valuations team will continue to provide specialist advice to clients while Barrigan takes responsibility for its leadership. Her role combines day to day management with wider strategic responsibilities within the business.
The change also marks the beginning of a new stage for the firm's valuation service following Morris's departure. Barrigan's appointment is expected to provide leadership and continuity as the team continues its work with rural property clients.
With more than 120 employees across nine offices, GSC Grays has a substantial regional operation supporting clients across rural property and related sectors. Barrigan's appointment adds further senior expertise to that structure as the firm develops its services.
The firm will now move forward with Barrigan leading its valuations team, drawing on her extensive experience in rural property valuation and her involvement with professional and landowner organisations.
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