Savills has appointed Wesley Ankrah as Social Value director as the firm continues to expand its specialist energy and sustainability division, Savills Earth. Wesley joined on 3rd January 2023.
Wesley joins from Dominvs Group, the multi-sector real estate developer, where he led the social value team that delivered social and community value projects and strategies contributing to planning consents for projects in the City of London, Nine Elms, Stratford and Enfield. In that time, the Dominvs team delivered the award winning Gaia’s Garden at Holborn Viaduct, a project that repurposed commercial space into community gardens conceptualised by winners of The Culture Mile and Foundation for Future London’s prize and open to all.
Prior to Dominvs, Wesley founded SeerBridge, a social value and community benefit consultancy that worked with clients including Berkeley, Bellway, Galliard, U+I and The Earls Court Development Company.
David Jackson, head of Savills Earth, comments: “Wesley has industry recognition for his work in social value and we are delighted to welcome him to Savills Earth. His appointment will bolster our ability to ensure social value is embedded in projects from the earliest stage and thereby optimise the benefits derived from the S of ESG.”
Wesley comments: “My career path into real estate has not been a traditional one and I am driven by a commitment to improving communities by building in social and community benefits from the outset of any development. I’m hugely grateful for my time at Dominvs Group and I know that the team I put in place is very well equipped to continue the work we have started. I look forward through my role in Savills Earth to continue to work with them on a strategic level on projects such as The Meadows shopping centre in Chelmsford. The opportunity to join Savills with the scope of clients and projects the business advises on is career defining, I can see huge potential to generate impact for communities and stakeholders across the UK.”
Wesley was awarded ‘Social Value Creator of the Year’ at the inaugural 2021 Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREIIF). He sits on the Social Value UK Advisory board, which is the national membership body for social value, and is a trustee at the homeless charity The Care Pack.
