Founded in 2005 by Managing Director, Mark McNamee, Cityheart specialises in working with the public sector. We have been particularly successful in regeneration projects and have delivered specialist Healthcare, Judicial and Student Accommodation buildings across the United Kingdom.

Whilst Cityheart is primarily a development company, we also provide property development consultancy advice and invest in the property market. Reflecting our success in our chosen field, the company now also delivers purely private sector projects including direct let student schemes and retail.

Cityheart has a strong ethos of working closely with its partners, understanding their needs and aspirations and delivering sustainable, cost effective solutions on time and offering real ‘value for money’ for its partners.

Cityheart is an established and successful property development and investment company which has been developing and delivering public and private sector projects for more than a decade.

As a relatively small company we have been able to develop innovative and bespoke solutions for our clients particularly in design and funding. Through this we are able to drive value for money into projects by testing all aspects of the market as well as seeking the most competitive funding terms through Institutional and other mainstream funders to ensure we deliver the most competitive terms available for our clients.

We are able to provide our partners with a full development service including site identification, acquisition, design, planning, funding, construction and ongoing asset management services.

Mark is the founder and Managing Director of Cityheart Limited which he formed in the autumn of 2005. The Company was set up to provide property development and consultancy advice and to develop and invest in the property market.

Mark McNamee was previously Managing Director of David McLean Developments where he was responsible for delivering over 5,000 student beds. He was also UK Regional Director for Equity Bank and has a wide breadth of knowledge of medium and large scale regeneration projects, including Princes Dock Liverpool: Masshouse Circus, Birmingham; St. Austell Town centre; Rotherham Westgate Demonstrator Project and Lime Street Station regeneration in Liverpool. He brings to the company a huge array of experience of working in Partnership with the public sector including Liverpool City Council, many NHS Trusts, the Welsh Assembly Government, SWERDA, Liverpool Vision, Yorkshire Forward and English partnerships.

Warren is the Operations Director of Cityheart and its Student Accommodation Management business, Cityheart Living, and a Director of Cityheart Partnerships. Warren is responsible for all Cityheart Living’s operations to University Clients.

Warren has over seventeen years’ experience in working with the public sector at director level in strategic development partnerships, property development and estates management, having previously worked as a Director for Morgan Sindall Investments Limited, Community Solutions and Morgan Sindall Construction plc. Warren ensures the smooth operation of the developments and accommodation management contracts and provides the necessary support to the service delivery teams across England, Wales and Scotland.

Hilton is a qualified Chartered Surveyor, with the last fourteen years specialising in property development. Hilton’s role as Cityheart’s Development Director involves the implementation of all commercial elements relating to a development, from initial inception through to financial close. Also, overseeing the construction period to ensure projects are successfully delivered, on programme and within budget.

Previously, Hilton worked in the PPP sector on development projects with multiple stakeholders on behalf of Sapphire Primary Care Developments; Primary Asset (MedicX) and Community Solutions for Primary Care (a subsidiary of Morgan Sindall Investments). In the commercial sector, Hilton secured contracts to deliver specialist Extra Care, Respite and Dementia schemes for private clients and securing planning approval for two developments in Merseyside totalling 25,000m² with a combined value of £55m.

Eleanor is the cornerstone of the business as she ensures that daily operations of Cityheart run smoothly.

Eleanor joined the company as Office Manager in February 2019, with vast managerial and administrative experience mainly gained in the education and finance sectors, including specifically estates and facilities management expertise.

In addition, Eleanor maintains accounts, handles billing, invoicing and dealing with clients where she has a strong customer service record.

Siân leads all Cityheart’s student marketing activities, supported by the regional accommodation management team leaders. In addition, Siân is further supported by our finance team with regard to budget management. Siân works closely with the operations team and the Universities to develop a specific marketing plan, campaign and calendar of annual activities. These activities are then reported on a monthly basis to the relevant University.

Siân continues to successfully manage mobilisation and operational marketing campaigns, in a number of instances she has successfully let to 100% occupancy within the first two years of operations. Siân’s previous experience in student accommodation follows her work at Victoria Halls and ‘Host Students’. Prior to this she managed marketing campaigns for serviced business centres across the UK. Accordingly, Siân has the prerequisite skills to successfully manage and deliver the marketing campaigns for Cityheart’s developments and Management Contracts.

The management accountancy function is led by Denise. Denise ensures, that all Cityheart’s Service Level Management Agreements are running smoothly and that payments are processed promptly and reconciled in our management accounting system SAGE.

Denise compiles all the required premises reports for Cityheart and its Clients, detailing the income and expenditure in accordance with the agreed annual Operating Budget monthly, annually and quarterly. Denise is also responsible for payment management; this includes reconciling invoices due for payment against agreed operating costs.

Denise has previously held positions at high profile companies which saw her working across the world. Before working with Cityheart she worked with Morrison & Company and McLintocks Chartered Accountants; Denise was also an accounts manager at West Coast Energy Limited. Finally, due to Denise’s experience in SAGE, she oversees all training and processes for Cityheart and its staff.

Doug is a recent addition to Cityheart and he has strengthened our team with his hotel management and customer service experience. Doug has over 14 years’ experience in hotel operations, most recently at Deputy General Manager level. Doug has worked extensively in the areas of Quality and Health and Safety and was responsible for significantly increasing scores in each of these areas.

Doug’s experience has been with Village Hotels and Holiday Inn Express in Newcastle and Inverness. Doug is dedicated to significantly enhance the student experience for Cityheart’s developments and in streamlining our process to deliver the best service we can to our student residents.

Laura has a strong and extensive background in both residential and commercial property letting management in the Highlands. Laura has joined Cityheart from a regional property management and lettings business where, for over twelve years, she managed tenants, property agreements, management accounts and payroll over a varied property portfolio.

As the Accommodation Manager, Laura is responsible for managing all student enquiries and tenancy matters. This entails managing the application process, from initial enquiry through to move in. Laura ensures that life within the accommodation itself, liaising with the Senior Residents and Wardens in the more remote locations, is as comfortable as possible for our student residents. Laura ensures we provide the best possible service to our students, University and College customers.

James joined Cityheart in January 2020 and is our Assistant Accommodation Manager. James comes from a strong student residences management background, having previously managed a 336 bed residence.

Whilst James is based at our Inverness office, he also supports our three other operational premises located in Fort William, Elgin and Dornoch. Working with the Accommodation Manager and reporting to the Regional Manager, James is responsible for the daily student interaction and is the primary contact for all facilities/maintenance matters.

In addition, James also manages our local summer lettings team in Scotland during the highly intensive summer months. During this time, we manage the residences as large hotels for our University client.  During the summer period, the residences become the largest operating hotel in the area and can reach an average occupancy level of over 95% under our management.

We see the role of our Accommodation Manager as a senior post, which requires an individual with experience in managing similar types of accommodation. The accommodation Manager also needs to manage the commercial aspects of the property including liaising with sub-contractors, 3rd Party providers and ensure their compliance with the performance requirements of the facilities Service Level Agreements.

John commenced his employment with Cityheart in 2016, based in Fort William, Scotland as our Summer Lettings Manager. Based in this remote location, John successfully managed the summer lettings business where he exceeded the target income.  Following this, John moved across to our Inverness accommodation and worked alongside our team to further develop his skills.  In 2018, John relocated south to the position of Accommodation Manager in our brand new accommodation at the Blackfriars Residence in Gloucester. John now works closely with the onsite team to ensure maximum occupancy throughout the academic year.  John also deals with health and safety, management of maintenance, student welfare and rent collection to guarantee that the students enjoy and recommend their time with Cityheart.

Kathryn started at Cityheart in the summer of 2018 in preparation for the opening of Cityheart’s new student accommodation at Blackfriars Residence in Gloucester.

As the Assistant Accommodation Manager, Kathryn reports to John Hughes and manages the current residences and will further assist with the new developments in Gloucester and Hartpury.

Kathryn interacts with the students on a daily basis and ensures that the accommodation is up to standard at all times.

Before joining Cityheart, Kathryn was an accommodation manager for NHS North Wales and looked after in excess of 1000 beds and ensured that medical professionals and students had all of their accommodation needs dealt with in a swift and professional manner.