George Palos

George Palos

B.Sc(Eng) ACGI FRICS FCIArb MAE MEWI MIET London
Membership Status: Mediator
Exclusive Mediator

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General Information

George Palos B.Sc.(Eng.) ACGI FRICS FCIArb MAE MIET

George can bring a rapid insight and clarity to issues involving property value, condition and construction assisting mediations to progress in a timely manner to a successful resolution. Recent Mediations include surveyors negligence, construction disputes; property valuation; dilapidations, nuisance; and, landlord and Tenant matters.

Recent arbitrations include retail, office and industrial rents on commercial leases; residential rents on prime Central London leasehold houses and flats; property management disputes.

Adjudication on sub-contractor payment rights and amount.

George Palos has 33 years’ experience in the surveying profession with a focus on disputes and their resolution culminating in his appointment to the RICS President’s Panel of Arbitrators. Elected a Fellow of both The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2012.

His early training was a broad general practice education looking at all aspects of property law; landlord and tenant; building construction and pathology; and valuation. He has developed his personal practice into mediation in order to apply his skills at assisting parties to resolve their issues in an effective manner at lower cost and in a less confrontational way where possible.

In recent years he has passed the RICS Diploma in Adjudication and Robert Gordon University Diploma in International Arbitration and Construction Law.

His professional experience has spanned commercial and residential property, secondary to prime, with a particular emphasis on disputes acting as an expert witness and gaining his earliest experience in the witness box in lease renewal cases in the late 1980’s in Central London, Clerkenwell and Edmonton County courts.

A member of the Valuation, Building Surveying, Construction and Dispute Resolution Faculties of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Actively involved in the valuation of residential and commercial property advising Vendors and Purchasers as well as Banks via the company’s inclusion on commercial and residential bank valuation panels.

He has given evidence as an expert witness in arbitration, expert determination, the LVT, the County Court, the High Court, and The Technology and Construction Court, and made expert determinations in rent and non-rent disputes and sits as an Arbitrator.

He founded, setup and ran Anderson Wilde and Harris in 1995 growing from one surveyor to a practice employing forty one people by 2007. He is managing partner of the City office of DilapsUK.

During the 28 years of his business life he has practised as a surveyor advising on many aspects of residential and commercial property, investment, development and management. This includes valuation; survey; pathology; defect diagnosis; sale; letting; purchase; management; repair; advice on Landlord & Tenant as well as Dilapidations, Boundary Disputes, Party Walls, Right to Light & Building Disputes.

He has extensive valuation experience on Residential and Commercial properties throughout London, the South East and UK wide procured via work over the years in buying, selling and letting properties; managing property and advising on Landlord and Tenant issues, Rent Reviews and Lease Renewals. Lease Extensions and Enfranchisement; Valuing properties for banks, solicitors, trusts and private clients. He developed the firm’s presence on many commercial and residential bank panels of which the numerous instructions give continuous ongoing experience of a wide variety of properties all over London and the South East.

He prepares numerous Expert Witness reports each year on a variety of issues including regular reports on issues of surveyors and solicitors negligence; before their demise he was regularly appointed to advise the Solicitors Indemnity Fund.

He has acted as an RICS APC Counsellor and Supervisor for over 20 candidates over the last 10 years and is an RICS APC assessor. He enjoys running the firms CPD program and teaching graduates and more experienced surveyor’s different aspects of the profession. He has conducted many seminars often for bank managers on valuation themes and subjects.

Outside of surveying he has enjoyed business success in catering, hotel apartments and property investment. He serves as a Trustee for Imperial College Students Union. Recently he has assisted in effecting the equity funding for the Kent Institute of Medicine and Surgery a new build state of the art private and part-NHS clinician led and part owned tertiary hospital; the first to be built in Kent for over 20 years.

A father of two teenage boys he enjoys walking, skiing, fishing, Scrabble and travel.

Relevant Qualifications/ Education

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators 2012, FCIArb

RICS Diploma in Adjudication, 2012
Fellow of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors 2012, FRICS
Member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators 2010, MCIArb
RICS Presidents Course for Arbitrators, 2010
RICS Presidents Course for Independent Experts, 2010
Diploma in International Construction Law and Arbitration, Robert Gordon University
RICS Accredited Mediator 2009
Member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors 1991, MRICS
Member of The Institute of Engineering and Technology 1987 (Formerly the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), MIET
Associate of The City and Guilds of London Institute, ACGI
B.Sc.(Eng.), Imperial College, Electrical Engineering

Career

2011 Appointed to RICS Presidents Panel of Arbitrators
 

1995 – to date Director, Anderson, Wilde and Harris Chartered Surveyors
A changing role encompassing general practice, building surveying, Mediation, Arbitration and Expert Determination. Wide range of Commercial and Residential valuation services with a focus on disputes and Expert Witness work. Development of Practice and Business. Implementation of APC training Program.
 

2010 – to 2015 Lay Trustee, Students Union, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine.
 

2010 – to 2014 Managing Partner, Dilaps UK, City Office
 

1991 to 1995 Practised on own Account as George Palos, Chartered Surveyor
Commercial and residential valuation; Landlord and Tenant; Building advice, pathology and disputes; developed skills as expert witness and surveying advocate for a range of private and legal clients.
 

1987 to 1991 S J Beckingham and Associates
Converted from engineering to surveying under RICS graduate training program developing a wide range of General Practice and Building Surveying skills.
 

1991 to 2006 Scala House Hotel Apartments, Director
Developed and operated a leading central London service hotel apartments operator launching successfully into a then fledgling market at the height of the previous recession.
 

Key recent Instructions/experience

Residential

1 Croydon, Development appraisal of 17 storey partial built tower of 182 units. £10,000,000 Land value circa. £70,000,000 GDV
2 Dover, Development Appraisal of 222 house project Circa £25,000,000 GDV
3 Part Street, Mayfair – Survey, Valuation and Enfranchisement advice to a trust £12,500,000 value prior to major refurbishment.
4 Kensington Park Gardens, W11 - Survey and Valuation £17,000,000
5 Hamilton Terrace, NW8 – Survey and Valuation; specific advice on structural movement and boundaries and implications for value, £8,000,000
6 Villa Sada, Ospedalleti, Near San Remo, Italy – Survey, Valuation €12,500,000 before major refurbishment, Advice on aspects of refurbishment contract of €5,500,000 with specific attention to Burma Teak Flooring, 2 Infinity Pools structural, and Windows and Stainless Steel railings in corrosive sea front environment.
7 Archway, N19 Development of 58 private flats and 19 Social Housing units. Circa. £25,000,000 GDV.
8 Temple Fortune, NW11 – Substantial Service charge dispute at LVT.
9 NW3, Expert determination of Retrospective Value of Flat £1,300,000
10 Nominated to determine ‘loss’ in insurance contract.
11 Numerous Lease extension cases from secondary to Prime properties Including Marylebone and Grosvenor Square.

Commercial

1 Rent review advice and representation for prime 1,000 sq m retail store/market Hall in South East London
2 Rent review advice and representation for Secondary Sainsbury’s Local in South London.
3 Letting and investment advice on a Waitrose local Store of 18,000 sq ft in North London.
4 Rent review advice and representation for Prime Suburban Offices circa 35,000 Sq ft in North East London.
5 Rent review advice and representation for Prime Suburban Offices circa 32,000 Sq ft in North West London
6 SW16 Mixed Use Development Retail, Gym, A3 and housing £2,600,000
7 SW12 Mixed Use investment Retail A3, Dentist and Residential £4,460,000
8 Advice on various Prime/Semi Prime retail units on Southall Broadway.
9 Various rent reviews of secondary retail and catering/takeaway units.

Specialist Issues of Interest

1 In the Technology and Construction Court he was the Applicants surveyor in the reported case of Cunningham v Collett and Farmer (2006) 113 Con LR 142 before His Honour Judge Coulson. An architect’s negligence case relating to Project Management. Gave evidence on use of Letters of Intent and good practice in Project management. The judge criticised letters of intent for all the reasons I advised and advised when and how they should be used. (Summary here below).
2 Eugena Limited v Gelande Corporation Limited [2004] EWHC 3273 (QB), HHJ Hegarty QC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge (Judgment 29 October 2004). I was the expert instructed by ‘Gelande’ advising on JCT Minor Works Contract, Use of Letters of Intent by project managers, the value and quality of works carried out under the different possible contracts. (Summary here below).
3 Provided in 3 different cases over many years specialist expert evidence and testimony on the special impact of break clauses on the rental value of restaurant premises, cases including lease renewal in Tottenham Court Road; and a substantial compensation claim for negligence of 2 firms of solicitors, they being represented by Davis Coffer Lyons and Intrinsic respectively.
4 Appearing as an Expert witness in a formal arbitral hearing before Clive Lewis FRICS, (RICS President retired), on the issue of assumed vacant possession of residential premises at review that were in fact occupied by regulated tenants and the correct valuation approach for such rent review.

History

History
  • Date

    Nature of dispute

    Outcome

  • Party Wall Appeal
    Outcome: Settled
  • Service Charge and s20 consultations
    Outcome: Did Not Settle
  • Construction
    Outcome: Did Not Settle
  • Property Nuisance, contamination and H & S
    Outcome: Settled
  • Noise Nuisance Damages claim
    Outcome: Did Not Settle
  • Tripartite housing disrepair Matter
    Outcome: Did Not Settle
  • Final account and payment in a construction matter
    Outcome: Settled
  • Retail Lease renewal; and dilapidations.
    Outcome: Settled
  • Surveyors Negligence/Matrimonial
    Outcome: Settled
  • Boundary Dispute
    Outcome: Settled
  • Construction
    Outcome: Settled
  • Dilapidations/Landlord and Tenant
    Outcome: Settled
  • Lease, Repair
    Outcome: Settled
  • Farm, Probate
    Outcome: Did Not Settle
  • Boundary, repair
    Outcome: Settled

Insurance

Insurance
  • Insurance Provider Sompo ( Endurance WW Insurance)
  • Certificate Status Certificate on file
  • Expiry Date 25 February 2025
  • Level of Cover 5000000

CPD & Training

CPD & Training
  • Mediation Training Provider RICS
  • Date Qualified as Mediator 18 September 2009
  • Training Certificate Download PDF

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