Personal Profile

Name: Charlotte Mortimer

Office: Ayr & Bury St Edmunds

Department: Strategic Projects

Background

I recently graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture from SRUC. For my third year placement, (which was designed to be on a farm) I was fortunate to undertake it at Savills instead. From that placement, I gained great insight into an industry which I thoroughly enjoyed. Now I am back as a graduate!

I am from a rural background, growing up between the East Coast of Ireland in North Co. Wicklow where I focused on riding horses, and the family farm in Argyll, where I helped with farm work. Due to an intense passion for all things equestrian, I ended up in Wiltshire as a scholar in a super horsey school, traveling between England, Ireland and Scotland regularly and competing young horses. 

As a result, I then qualified with the British Horse Society as an instructor and taught a range of clients from a young age. This was great experience and helped develop my independence after school. However, my heart was calling me to the farming life so I decided to focus on agriculture primarily. 

SRUC was the natural progression and a truly fantastic one. Alongside the agricultural opportunities, I also got heavily involved with the student association and chaired the agricultural society for a number of years. This included instigating, planning and implementing a variety of events from large to small, which I loved doing. 

TYPICAL DAY

It’s hard to describe a typical day, as everyday there is something new. Mostly, I work with utility companies; conducting land referencing and producing grantor schedules and plans, or reviewing existing Servitude, easement and Wayleave agreements. My work also involves identifying any invalid land rights and any new rights which need to be secured in order to bring records up to date. On occasion, the job requires carrying out site visits which includes meeting with landowners or managers, and potentially third party contractors.  I liaise with all these different parties to explain project works, agree access routes, and highlight specific site requirements and risks to the wider project team. As a graduate, training is key, and much time is spent on working towards obtaining my RICS accreditation and APC in order to become a chartered surveyor. This involves hours of reading, studying, lectures and producing marked assignments, which leads up to a formal interview assessment. 

BEST THING ABOUT your role?

My team! There are so many benefits I could talk about, but the people I work with and learn from really stand out the most. What strongly drew me to Savills during my placement was how approachable everyone was and the fact that my opinions were not only valued, but sought, even when the rest of the room was filled with people who had vastly more experience and knowledge. 

The other great thing about my role is being able to work in rural areas, speak to landowners and make site visits. After having grown up in rural areas and spent a lot of my life outside, being able incorporate this into my work is great. Combining this with the technical side of using GIS, which is just one of many areas of training I have completed, keeps the role interesting, and varied. 

Finally, the amount of training, research, mentoring and knowledge gained for any Savills graduate is second to none. It’s extremely inspiring studying alongside other motivated individuals and directly from such fantastic industry professionals. 

OUT OF OFFICE

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time on the farm, where I have some rescue dogs and horses, and a manageable amount of husbandry. I recently also joined a local clay shooting club which has been great fun and I hope to continue with.

What do you think of Savills as a learning environment?

Through my time at Savills I have already learnt so much in a short space of time. The topics covered so far include, GIS, land referencing, wayleaving and compliance. Every area as mentioned in my typical day from obtaining Wayleave agreements to liaising with grantors, to specific site requirements and more. 

I have also had the opportunity to attend conferences, APC workshops, computer based training, procedures and systems, touching on estate management, utilities, agriculture and preparing for my own research into soil health, bio diversity and carbon sequestration. 

Savills do put a lot of focus on training, and the modules available on our training portal are ideal for improving your knowledge of the industry. This is really useful, since my previous area of study was in agriculture, so having extensive industry specific resources available to access makes my day more efficient and enjoyable. I absolutely believe that Savills provide the best standard of graduate training available.

future aspirations

I have chosen the postgraduate degree MSc Real Estate Management & Investment with Edinburgh Napier, in order to gain RICS accreditation and progress through the APC to become a Chartered Surveyor. This will lead me into the industry with the best set of qualifications, experience and knowledge available. Alongside this my postgraduate project is in carbon sequestration and biological diversity, which will help combine both economic growth with positive environmental practices. This is an exciting time for our industry, but the key will be how we sustain a healthy financial outlook alongside a healthy environment.