Personal Profile

Name: Callum Peace

Office: Edinburgh

Department: Rural

Background

I was born and raised on an arable farm in the county East Lothian. I attended the Edinburgh Academy for 10 years before beginning my studies at Scotland’s Agricultural Collage in Edinburgh. I completed a higher nation diploma in Agriculture before joining the Rural Business Management degree course. Before graduating with a BA (Hons) degree I spent my fourth and final year working part-time for Savills in their Edinburgh office. Here I assisted the professional, valuation and agency teams. This was an extremely valuable experience for me and allowed me to get an insight into what working for Savills full time would be like.

TYPICAL DAY

For the past two years I have been seconded to a large rural estate in the south west of Scotland. As a resident agent my role was to assist the estate manager in the day-to-day running of the estate as well as management of the rural and residential property portfolios. This included anything from agricultural rent reviews to residential property sales.

As a rural surveyor no two days are the same, however a typical day would begin with a catch up with my Savills colleague who is also seconded to the estate. We would inform each other of what we had on that day and what we are working on. I could then be creating sales plans on a GIS system for the clients’ solicitors to include in a disposition, or out on site to conduct a record of condition or meeting with a tenant to negotiate a rent review.

BEST THING ABOUT your role 

As a farmer’s son being able to work in a rural environment is a bonus for me and as a rural surveyor for Savills I have been able to spend the majority of my time out in the countryside. I also thoroughly enjoy interacting with clients and their tenants. I feel meeting with tenants is the best way to interact and discuss any issue at hand.

out of office

When I am not in the office I am either back home helping out on the family farm during busy times such as harvest or unsuccessfully trying to get back into rugby.

wHAT DO YOU THINK OF SAVILLS AS A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

I honestly believe that Savills provide the best standard of graduate training within my industry. I have been very fortunate to be a part of the Savills graduate programme and have been extremely well supported through my APC. We are provided with many opportunities to develop our knowledge through frequent lunch and learns as well as webinars. It is a fantastic environment to learn in and you are constantly surrounded by colleagues who have a wealth of knowledge.