Commercial property consultant Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) is aiming to double in size north of the Border after appointing a new head for its Scottish operations.

The firm said Craig Maguire, who joins from rival DTZ – where he was a senior director in its capital markets team in Warsaw – was the “ideal person” to spearhead its growth ambitions.

Mike Thatcher, national operations director at LSH, said: “He is a proven leader with a broad range of commercial property experience and a track record of successfully growing businesses.

“We have considerable confidence about Scotland’s prospects and have set ourselves some challenging targets; Craig’s appointment demonstrates that we’re serious about our expansion at a time when there are many exciting new opportunities in Scotland.”

A report published earlier this year by LSH found that uncertainty surrounding the outcome of May’s general election failed to dampen investment activity in the commercial property sector.

Across Scotland, total investment topped £575 million in the opening three months of 2015, an increase of 26 per cent compared with the first quarter a year earlier, according to its UK investment transactions report.

Maguire, who will oversee LSH’s Edinburgh and Glasgow offices, said: “We see significant potential in growing our offer to clients in Scotland and we will invest to realise these opportunities. Lambert Smith Hampton is one of the most dynamic commercial property businesses and I’m excited to be part of such a talented and forward-thinking team.”