A diverse mix of people with a diverse mix of ideas leads to better discussions, decisions and creativity in our business

Meet the Team

Contact our team for more information about Acorn Property Group and our developments.

Romy Summerskill

Executive Chairman

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Romy worked as an estate agent in central London for many years prior to forming Acorn in the early 1990s. Romy managed development projects, funding and sales at Acorn directly for many years until the team expanded. Romy is now Chairman of the Group and oversees development design, group management and expansion.

Melanie Omirou

Executive Group Managing Director

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Melanie has been at Acorn for almost 20 years. She has combined her previous experience in estate agency and banking to form her primary role to procure and manage funding for all site purchases and their development. In addition to this, she has managed new projects from their inception through to sales of the end product.

John Skok

Group Operations Director

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With over 30 years experience, John heads the acquisition team nationally and the vast majority of the group’s joint ventures both with landowners and other developers. He has extensive knowledge of all kinds of developments ranging from refurbishments, single luxury units, multi-storey residential blocks, commercial properties and multi-phased regeneration projects.

Julian Hampson BA (Hons) DipArch RIBA

Group Design Director & Acorn Green Ambassador

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Julian has been a qualified Architect for over 25 years and has extensive experience in urban design and regeneration as well as in residential development. He has worked with a number of high profile architects and urban designers as well as working for several leading residential developers. He was Chief Architect for Goldcrest Land from 2004-2007 and for Fairview Homes from 2007-2011 leading their design departments. Having worked on both the ‘client’ and ‘design’ sides he understands the benefits that the right combination of design and investment can bring to an area.

Duncan Rothwell MRICS MCIOB

Group Commercial & Project Director

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With over 30 years experience in building and civil engineering projects, Duncan prepares construction cost plans from feasibility to post contract stages. He liaises with consultants and authorities, advises on procurement options, contract amendments, warranties and guarantee’s, tender selection, appraisals and the appointment of the contractor. Duncan oversees the preparation of all contract documents, valuations, funders, bank drawdowns and agrees on final accounts.

Rickard Eriksson FCCA

Finance Director

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Rickard has worked at Acorn since January 2002 and laid the foundations for the financial control procedures and risk management at Acorn. He gained his ACCA membership in 2006 and became a Fellow in 2011. Rickard oversees the finance team involved in analysing our projects and is responsible for our Group-wide projections and Cashflow.

Mette Blackmore Assoc CIPD

Group HR Director

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As Group HR Director Mette is responsible for the implementation of Acorn’s human resource strategies and objectives across our regional offices. Having worked at Acorn for 20 years she has been instrumental in establishing our reputation as flexible and responsible employers, who support the growth and development of our team.

Melanie Omirou

Executive Group Managing Director

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Melanie has been at Acorn for almost 20 years. She has combined her previous experience in estate agency and banking to form her primary role to procure and manage funding for all site purchases and their development. In addition to this, she has managed new projects from their inception through to sales of the end product.

Julian Hampson BA (Hons) DipArch RIBA

Group Design Director & Acorn Green Ambassador

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Julian has been a qualified Architect for over 25 years and has extensive experience in urban design and regeneration as well as in residential development. He has worked with a number of high profile architects and urban designers as well as working for several leading residential developers. He was Chief Architect for Goldcrest Land from 2004-2007 and for Fairview Homes from 2007-2011 leading their design departments. Having worked on both the ‘client’ and ‘design’ sides he understands the benefits that the right combination of design and investment can bring to an area.

Dane Cummings BSc (Hons) MRICS

Head of Commercial Property

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Based in the London Head Office and a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Dane has worked with Acorn since 2006, initially working with the land and development teams in London. Dane’s knowledge, drive and enthusiasm have led him to head up commercial property throughout the Acorn portfolio and he works with each of the regional offices across the South of the UK.  He has extensive experience having managed wide range of commercial developments and investments dealing with acquisitions, developments, sales and lettings.

Duncan Rothwell MRICS MCIOB

Group Commercial & Project Director

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With over 30 years experience in building and civil engineering projects, Duncan prepares construction cost plans from feasibility to post contract stages. He liaises with consultants and authorities, advises on procurement options, contract amendments, warranties and guarantee’s, tender selection, appraisals and the appointment of the contractor. Duncan oversees the preparation of all contract documents, valuations, funders, bank drawdowns and agrees on final accounts.

Scott Collier BA (Hons)

Group Land Director

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Scott is a qualified town planner with 17 years of experience in town planning and inner city town planning issues having previously worked with Tower Hamlets.  He has worked in the private sector since 2003 dealing with all the aspects of the planning process and property acquisition. He is also a qualified PRINCE2 practitioner in project management. Scott manages the land team, advises the development team and liaises with architects and associated consultants ensuring the planning process runs as smoothly as possible.

Mette Blackmore Assoc CIPD

Group HR Director

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As Group HR Director Mette is responsible for the implementation of Acorn’s human resource strategies and objectives across our regional offices. Having worked at Acorn for 20 years she has been instrumental in establishing our reputation as flexible and responsible employers, who support the growth and development of our team.

Rena Makwana-Mistri BA (Hons)

Head of Interior Design

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Before joining Acorn, Rena undertook a variety of projects in the fields of both residential and commercial property for bespoke, individual projects and large-scale development. Rena captures the essence and trend of a development’s surroundings through the medium of design. Rena carefully considers every aspect and detail of the design, ensuring each specification is unique to the development and meets the demands and aspirations of the buyer. Whilst at Acorn, Rena has successfully designed award-winning interiors and continues to be inspired by the individuality of each Acorn development.

Kyla Campbell

Group Sales Director

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Kyla has worked for Acorn Property Group for 25 years. Kyla manages the Sales Team and is responsible for overseeing the delivery of Acorn’s new developments to the market. Kyla works with the Regional Sales Managers to look at sales projections and implement targets for all developments across the Group.

Gosia Medzia ACCA, MA

Head of Finance

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Gosia has a Masters Degree in Corporate Finance and Accounting and has completed her ACCA. She has worked at Acorn since 2007, with a prior two years of accountancy roles working for Renault, RCI Financial Services and Jupiter Asset Management.

Anca Ungureanu MAAT

Accounts Director

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Anca joined Acorn in 2010. Anca manages the Accounts team and deals with all aspects of VAT within the group. Anca holds a degree in Communications and Public Relations and is a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians.

Stuart Brereton BSc (Hons) MRICS

Regional Managing Director and Land Director

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Stuart spent three years working with Acorn Property Group in London and around the UK, transferring to Acorn Blue in 2006 to drive developments in Cornwall. Stuart’s role is to acquire sites for the company and manage them from acquisition through planning and construction and finally sales, making sure the project is run on time and on budget.

Duncan Powell BSc (Hons) MRTPI

Group Planning Director

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Duncan oversees planning issues across the Group from the inception of projects to completion, including everything from single high-value plots through to major strategic land promotions. With extensive planning consultancy experience, Duncan provides invaluable planning advice on acquisitions and steers Acorn’s proposals through the planning system.

Andy Blount

Regional Construction Director

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Andy attained a degree in Building Surveying and worked in private practise qualifying as a Chartered Building Surveyor. His career path then took him into Commercial Management with a PLC housebuilder before going back to a Consultancy working in both a building surveying and quantity surveying capacity. He joined Acorn Blue as a Commercial Manager, progressing to Commercial Director before being promoted to Regional Construction Director overseeing all construction activities in the Acorn Blue region.

Robin Squire

Regional Managing Director

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With 25 Years of residential development experience working in both technical and land buying functions, Robin has a very broad knowledge base of all aspects of the development process. He worked for architects and PLC house builders in Bristol before joining Acorn Blue in 2007 as Development Director.  In 2012 Robin returned to Bristol to head up Acorn Bristol, where he has successfully grown the region.

Dave Gittins BSc (Hons)

Regional Construction Director

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Dave joined the Acorn Blue team in the South West as Project Manager in March 2010 but relocated to Acorn’s Bristol Office in 2013 after being promoted to Regional Construction Manager. To progress his career Dave recently graduated with a degree in Building Surveying through The College of Estate Management. Dave works closely with consultants and contractors to deliver high-quality projects on time and within budget.

Mark Jensen BAppSc

Commercial Director

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Mark has 20 years commercial management experience in the construction and development sectors including residential, commercial, industrial and refurbishment projects both in the UK and abroad.

Mark leads land acquisition and pre-construction commercial undertakings from project feasibility estimates to detailed cost planning, throughout the planning and design development processes including project risk analysis, logistics and programming, value engineering and due diligence assessments. He provides ongoing continuity of all commercial functions through the construction phase with main and sub-contract procurement, supply agreements, contract negotiation and administration, and final accounting.

Simon Gait

Development Director

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With 30 years of residential development work including technical, construction and the last 15 years as Land and Planning Director, Simon has a broad spectrum of Knowledge gained from Plc’s, Linden and McCarthy and Stone. He is now using this to broaden Acorn’s appeal and product in and around the Bristol Region.

Mike Clements MCIOB

Operations Manager

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Mike has over 29 years experience in the building industry, starting his career as a Carpenter and Joiner and then progressing to Construction Management. With a wide range of sector experience from residential to commercial, Mike heads up the Acorn Homes Construction Solutions (AHCS) side of the Bristol region.

 

Danica Clements BA (Hons)

Group Marketing Director

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With 15 years’ experience in property marketing, Danica has been part of the Acorn team for 7 years. Originally responsible for Marketing within the Bristol region, Danica now heads up the Group Marketing Team and together they are responsible for all Marketing and Communications across the Acorn group.

James Groombridge

Regional Managing Director

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With over 30 years residential experience, James has worked for some major PLC House builders at Managing Director level prior to joining Acorn. James has spent the last 10 years working in South Wales and The Cotswolds building over 5000 new homes and apartments. As such James has a very broad knowledge of all aspects of the development process.

Ed Lewis BSc (Hons) MSc

Regional Director

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With over 13 years experience in residential and mixed-use development,  Ed has experience of acquiring a broad range of sites from rural exceptions sites for affordable housing to large strategic allocations.  At Acorn Ed is responsible for site identification, appraisal and acquisition.