“I got asked to do it”, says Keith Breslauer, Patron Capital’s managing director, after being asked what inspired him to take part in a 100-mile paddle across the English Channel. Breslauer, the only civilian to take part in the 20-hour challenge, and Patron have raised around £5.3 million for the RMA – The Royal Marines Charity since 2010.

He says challenges such as these are great opportunity to "give back" to the community, with the Patron boss passionate about helping serving and former Marines. The aim of the paddle was to raise funds for charity as well as marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Although he didn't think about his nine-to-five at all during the paddle, Breslauer tells CoStar that real estate and physical challenges are similar in that there is always a goal to achieve. "In terms of the business, our goal is that each fund has to perform, has to make money," he says.

"Not only does each fund have to make money, they are made up of around 20 investments. Each investment has its problems, its successes. We have to look at each one and see what we’ve got… each one has to be solved and, if I put it all together, I move forward a bit farther. It's the same thing [when I’m out at sea]. That philosophy exists in every aspect of life, the philosophy that you can’t lose site of the big goal."

Daisy Narayan MBE has joined The Crown Estate as public realm director. Narayan is an architect and urban designer, who has worked across various sectors and disciplines including public realm, sustainable transport, design, placemaking and climate action over the past two decades.

She has worked in Singapore, the US, London and Edinburgh, and joins The Crown Estate after being head of placemaking and mobility at the City of Edinburgh Council. Her commitment to inclusive urban planning was recognised with an MBE in 2022.

Lambert Smith Hampton Northern Ireland has appointed Sean Toner as a director in its property management division, who switches from rivals Savills Ireland. Joining the 80-strong team in its offices at The Kelvin, LSH said Toner will be "instrumental in further growing the department", which manages 45 shopping centres across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Toner was associate director at Savills Ireland, while he has experience working with Colliers International in Belfast and JLL in Perth, Australia.

Canary Wharf Group Investment Holdings' chairman Sir George Iacobescu will retire from the board at the beginning of next month and will be succeeded by Sir Nigel Wilson as non-executive chairman. Iacobescu has been a key figure in the redevelopment of London’s Docklands since 1988. He became chief executive of Canary Wharf Group in 1997 and its chairman in 2011.

He was knighted in 2012 for services to charity, community and the financial services industry. Sir Nigel is best known as the chief executive of Legal & General, which he led for 12 years.

Harworth, the major listed regeneration company spun out of UK Coal, has appointed Gareth Thomas as development director for the Midlands region. Thomas will be responsible for expanding the Midlands portfolio and progressing its major developments in the region, reporting to Midlands regional director David Cockroft. Thomas has 15 years’ experience in the private and public sector, having held senior leadership positions at JLL and Deloitte, advising institutional investors, financiers and property companies on commercial acquisitions and lending.

Ben Southworth has joined Fisher German as its chief operating officer as the company focuses on a new phase of growth over the next five years. Southworth has 25 years’ experience in change management and consultancy and was part of the senior team that led the rescue and turnaround plan for the Co-op Group during its period of crisis in 2014.

Andrew Bridge, managing partner at Fisher German, said in a statement: "After weathering the storm of the pandemic and the subsequent challenges of the property market to grow to our largest size, we’re looking forward to building on this success with Ben as our new COO."

Muse, the national development firm, has expanded its team in the North West with the recruitment of two regeneration experts, Alex Vogel and Sam Wilson. Vogel takes up the role of senior development manager, bringing almost 10 years’ experience in residential and mixed-used regeneration. He joins from Greystar, where he managed the delivery of Greenford Quay in London. Wilson, becomes project manager, joining from AtkinsRéalis, where he supported the delivery of the £240 million arts venue Factory International in Manchester.