Ashleigh Hamilton Joins Ascend as Head of BTR Leasing

New arrival part of firm’s wider investment in senior talent for further growth plans

Ascend, the UK’s largest third-party operator of single-family build-to-rent homes, has recruited Ashleigh Hamilton as Head of BTR Leasing.

In her new role, Ashleigh will be overseeing Ascend’s BTR leasing operations, managing the lead to lease process across over 7,000 single-family homes nationwide, and further driving its commitment to producing optimum results for investors’ portfolios whilst giving residents a superior customer experience. She will also be assisting with the mobilisation and launch of a significant pipeline of developments, in partnership with both existing and new investor clients, as they go live over the next 18 months.

In the past 12 months across its BTR operations, Ascend has launched 36 developments, secured new residents for 2,950 homes and negotiated lease renewals for a further 4,550.

Ashleigh joins the Ascend Senior Leadership Team to continue development of its market-leading leasing platform, in which it has already made significant technological investments and advances through the development of proprietary tech platforms and systems that are exclusive to its clients.

Ashleigh is the latest senior appointment at Ascend, following Paul Borrmann joining as Managing Director in November 2023, Lee Hill as Commercial Director in January and Maxwell Guthrie as Head of Experience & Product last month. Her arrival further supports the expansion of Ascend’s third-party operator capabilities in both single-family and multi-family assets as it continues to create a best-in-class BTR operating platform.

She joins from Dandara Living, where she was appointed Head of Leasing over five years ago as one of the first members of the team. Ashleigh was tasked with designing the overall leasing process, strategy and customer journey ready for the business to launch its initial c. 2,000 homes across Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham. While in the role, she oversaw the launch activities, lease-up and stabilisation of Chapel Wharf in Manchester – with 995 homes, the largest urban BTR project outside of London – which was named by HomeViews as the number one BTR development in the UK in its first year of operation.

Ascend holds mandates for over 7,000 single-family BTR homes nationwide, around two thirds of the entire UK asset class, with its multifamily and buy-to-let portfolio instructions bringing its total units under management to more than 10,000. Ascend oversees platforms for many of the sector’s leading investors, with clients including The PRS REIT plc, Sigma Capital Group, TPG Real Estate Partners, Gatehouse Investment Management and the Kuwait Investment Authority. Investment in proprietary technology and management processes has established Ascend as the foremost operator in single-family BTR, with the firm looking to apply these tools to further multifamily assets as it expands its reach into the sector.

Paul Borrmann, Managing Director of Ascend, said: 

We pride ourselves on the effectiveness of our market-leading leasing platform, and Ashleigh’s arrival represents a significant strengthening of our capabilities in this area. Her experience and expertise will prove hugely valuable as we look to further expand and improve the service both our clients and residents receive, and will reinforce Ascend’s position as the leading third-party operator of institutional BTR.