Justin Garnett moves into MD role at The Ogden Group

Tim Garnett, who will remain on the board, has handed over the reins of the Harrogate-based business to his son, Justin, after 48 years.

Justin said the company was seeking development and investment opportunities across Yorkshire and the north of England.

Justin, who joined The Ogden Group from Jones Lang LaSalle in 2006, said he was looking forward to making the most of a “fantastic opportunity and an exciting challenge”.

“Property is in my blood. After graduating, I joined DTZ in Leeds in 1994, before moving to JLL four years later and leaving as director in 2006,” he said.

“This is a tremendously exciting opportunity and challenge for me. Having been with the Ogden Group for nearly 12 years, I know the company, our ethos and our developments extremely well”.

He added: “Despite fears that Brexit would disrupt the property market, the sector is proving remarkably resilient. We will continue to look at investment and development opportunities across Yorkshire and the north of England.

“We also have a presence in London’s Docklands and the City and are looking at other opportunities in these markets.

“This is a great time to be stepping up. I look forward to working with all of the many contacts I have made within the Yorkshire property industry over the past 20 years to ensure that the Ogden Group remains one of the leading property development companies in the north in the coming years.”

A leading Yorkshire property personality commented: “Justin is the perfect person to take over the reins at the Ogden Group. He’s hard-working, charismatic and intelligent and knows the property industry inside out. These are challenging times for the UK property market, with the uncertainty caused by Brexit, but Justin will see the positives and the opportunities in the market, rather than be weighed down by the negatives.”

Chairman Sir Robert Ogden said: “The baton has now passed on to the younger generation. Justin is highly experienced with an extensive knowledge of the commercial and residential property market in Yorkshire and the North of England. We have every confidence that he will make a great success of his new role.”

The Ogden Group has carried out numerous office, industrial, leisure and in-town retail projects in many parts of the country over the past 40 years. Many of these completed projects have been retained within the group’s investment portfolio, all of which is managed in-house.

The Ogden Group was founded in the late 1950s by Sir Robert Ogden, concentrating mainly on quarrying, property and coal mining.

Sir Robert Ogden severed his last link with coal mining in 2006 when he sold his coal washing and processing business A Ogden & Sons to ATH Resources, the Doncaster-based open cast coal miner, for £25m.
For 20 years the Ogden Group was based at Boston Hall in Boston Spa. The grade two-listed Georgian house, which was built in 1807, was sold to the Yorkshire and England cricket legend Geoffrey Boycott in 2013 and the group moved to offices in the centre of Harrogate.