Watson Day Chartered Surveyors has appointed a new partner.

Richard Turnill, considered one of the leading agents in the region’s commercial property market, has joined the firm from Glenny LLP, where he has led its south-east London and Kent team since 2012.

The former Maidstone Grammar School alumni, who graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2005, qualified as a chartered surveyor in 2007 while working at Cluttons.

He bolsters the team at Chatham-based Watson Day, which includes partners Nick Threlfall, Ian Gutteridge, Julian Scannell and Kevin Dempster. The four founded the firm in 1989.

Mr Turnill, who lives in Bearsted and is married with two young boys, will look after agency development, management and professional matters at the firm, which commercial property magazine Estates Gazette named the most active agent in Kent in 2014.

"We have plans to expand but it’s going to be evolution, not revolution...” - Richard Turnill, Watson Day Chartered Surveyors

Senior partner Mr Threlfall said: “Richard is a first class agent, a heavy-weight with considerable experience of this highly specialised and complex area of the business. He has an excellent background and as our newest partner we are confident he will make a huge contribution to our business.

“We are long-time admirers of his work. Richard shares our values and ethos and is a perfect fit for Watson Day. The partners are delighted he has joined, and he has a vital role to play in taking the business forward as we enter a new and exciting era of growth.”

Mr Turnill said: “I’ve known the partners for many years, both in a professional and private capacity, and in a way they have mentored me since the early days of my career.

“I’ve always been a big admirer of how the partners run the business, and how they have developed and maintained a reputation for excellent customer service.

“The partners want me to play a major role in taking the business forward and I’m determined to repay the faith they have in me. We have plans to expand but it’s going to be evolution, not revolution.”