Our Team
The Ptarmigan Land multi-disciplinary team is skilled and experienced in strategic land planning, master development, infrastructure delivery, finance, tax and law.
THE TEAM
CHARLES WHEATMAN BSc
HKIS
Founder, Chairman
Charles is a co-founder of Ptarmigan and has spent his whole career in property. Formerly with Jones Lang LaSalle, in both London and the Far East, he has a BSc Hons in Urban Estate Surveying and until recently was a Fellow of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is married with three children, is a keen rugby supporter and lives near Hungerford in Berkshire.
HUGO KIRBY FFA CF
Founder, Managing Director
Hugo is a co-founder of Ptarmigan and has been involved in property all of his working life – in planning, refurbishing and developing both residential and commercial properties. He has had an entrepreneurial career that has included IT, trading in derivatives and financial markets as well as attending London Business School. He is a Corporate Finance accountant and an affiliate of the Royal Town Planning Institute. A passionate skier and ocean racer.
WENDY HOWARD
Finance Director
Wendy co-founded and successfully sold a business earlier in her career, giving her extensive experience in managing company finance and operations. Having joined Ptarmigan in 2009 her role has grown considerably over that time reflecting her strong expertise and commitment to the business. Beyond her professional role wendy is a mother of two, loves to travel and has a strong interest in the arts regularly visiting galleries museums and theatres.
JULIE DAVIES
AdminAssistant
Julie adds her excellent administration skills which makes us all function well together
JOSEPH HAYES
Land Director
Joe has been with Ptarmigan since 2015, bringing over 15 years of expertise in land, planning and development. He plays a key role in identifying new opportunities, managing legacy projects, and steering complex sites to successful outcomes.
With a huge amount of experience in negotiating promotion, option and collaboration agreements, Joe is commercially minded with a deep understanding of unlocking land value through the complex planning system.
Outside of work, Joe enjoys time with his young family and escaping London whenever possible.
OLIVIA DICKIE MRTPI
Development Manager
Olivia joined Ptarmigan in 2023, having spent five years in the planning team at BNP Paribas/Strutt & Parker. Olivia is a Chartered Member of the RTPI. She is involved in projects of various scales at Ptarmigan. Outside of work, Olivia enjoys socialising with friends, walking in the hills and is keen on a variety of sports including swimming, running, and skiing.
PETER DOWLING BA (Hons), MSc, MRTPI
Director Development
Peter began his career as a town planner and joined Ptarmigan in 2018 from his position as an Associate Director at Indigo Planning. He has significant experience in securing planning consents on often complex sites across the country. Peter is responsible for assessing new site opportunities and managing the day-to-day promotion of a number of our current projects. Outside of work, he is a keen sportsman and particularly enjoys rugby, running and golf.
SERENA COAD
Admin Assistant
Serena keeps us all co-ordinated and fields all those interesting issues which make strategic land so interesting
ELLE WILLIAMS BSc (Hons), MSc, MRTPI
Associate Director
Elle is an excellent town planner with 13 years of intensive planning and commercial experience with industry leading professional firms. Married with 2 children she finds time in her busy life to enjoy social and sports activities.
HAIDEE PRIDAY
Retained Counsel
Haidee trained as a real estate lawyer and practiced for 10 years for city firms, including Nabarro and Mishcon de Reya, before becoming a consultant working with legal practices and as general counsel for real estate companies. Haidee has vast real estate experience. She enjoys travel, netball and cooking.
ELIZABETH ORCHARD MEng A.U.S. CEng MICE
Technical Director
Elizabeth is an experienced Chartered Civil Engineer specialising in the sustainable development and project managing the delivery of complex infrastructure. Elizabeth conducts Technical Due Diligence on our sites from acquisition to disposal, and is overseeing the delivery of strategic infrastructure on our larger projects.
IAN TANT
Strategic Consultant
Ian is a Chartered Town Planner with 40 years’ experience in local government and the private sector. For 26 years, Ian was an equity Partner of Barton Willmore LLP, one of the UK’s leading Planning and Design Consultancies: he was the Senior Partner for ten of those years. Ian has also played a leading role in his professional institute, the Royal Town Planning Institute, for which he was the President in 2019 and Immediate Past President for 2020. With his extensive experience in the design and promotion of major developments, Ian provides leading advice on planning and delivery strategies.
SIR MERRICK COCKELL
Strategic Consultant
Sir Merrick is an experienced politician and businessman who has spent over 30 years in Local Government, becoming Leader of Kensington & Chelsea Council and then Chairman of the Local Government Association. He chaired the London Pensions Fund Authority until the end of 2019 and is Chairman of UK Municipal Bonds Agency.