We like to simplify life. Our business is all about relationships between our teams, our guests and our partners so that together, we thrive
Our carefully crafted brands and services, and even our logo, reflect this commitment to collaboration
Find out more about our brands
The roadmap for our brand, what the future looks like
What we stand for and why people choose us
We make things happen. We’re proud of what we have achieved and the reputation we continue to build
We look beyond the ‘here and now’. We have a raw desire to succeed and will never stand still
We do the right thing. Our relationships are mutually beneficial. We want everyone to win
Simply put, we are a people business. It’s in our nature to be open with everyone we work with
A perfect blend of brand potential and expertise
Chief Operating Officer
Formerly Co-Head of the Colliers International Hospitality Asset Management Team, Allan is an experienced multi-disciplined hotel operator and is proficient in hospitality investment, with a career in the sector spanning 32 years, managing some of the UK’s largest hotels within the Ramada Jarvis Group portfolio. Allan led the design, scoping, cost control and implementation of a £100m CapEx spend on the UK Marriott portfolio, and his international experience includes Asset Management for hotels in Holland, Spain, Norway, Croatia and Germany, and now he and his team drive performance through all asset classes within the Group.
Allan is our token Highlander, originally from Inverness, and now currently lives just outside Glasgow – shout if you spot him at the back of the peloton……on his electric bike!
Development Manager
After starting his career working as a client-side graduate project manager for a Housing Association providing over 11,000 high quality and affordable homes in regeneration areas across Essex and London, Alex then advanced to a multi-disciplined property consultancy as an Assistant Building Surveyor. His next step as a Project Manager in a global consultancy allowed him to gain experience in a wide range of sectors including residential, automotive and care homes, as well as exposure to the data centre sector during six months in Amsterdam, and there followed a spell working contractor-side for a company specialising in new office fitouts and refurbishments.
Alex’s leisure time is frequently spent travelling, watching football, enjoying exercise and when time allows, clay pigeon shooting.
Central Sales Team Leader
With more than 10 years’ experience in customer service and a passion for working with people, Alex studied ‘Geography of Tourism’ in Romania, starting her career as a travel agent, travelling extensively throughout Europe and working in hospitality in Denmark, Greece and the UK.
With 5 years in the student accommodation sector under her belt, Alex is proud to be part of the ‘true’ team, and loves the daily chats and interaction with students, helping them find a ‘home away from home’, aided by her first-hand experience of the brand, and she loved being a student so much that she did a 2nd degree in Forensic Science.
An avid reader, Alex loves hiking and camping, pints and picnics and looking after her cheeky cat, Captain Jack Sparrow.
Managing Director, true Student Ltd
As the Managing Director of the award-winning ‘true’ brand, with a spell as Operations Director under his belt, Ben is an engaging leader with more than twenty years’ experience in retailing and hospitality, with expertise at board level across differing ownership models in both UK & International markets. After graduating from Cardiff University and with an MBA from Aston Business School, Ben was previously with Whitbread PLC, employed in several of high-profile roles including Regional Operations Director for Costa UK & Ireland.
Ben enjoys a proven track record of growing profitability, fostering successful partnerships, building winning teams and developing talent throughout his career.
Married with two daughters, Ben loves to run and work on DIY around the house.
Business Development Assistant
Management Accountant
Group Company Secretary
With a BA (Hons) in Business Studies, Danni has enjoyed a 20+ year career within a top 50 Accountancy Practice and provides a well-rounded and resourceful approach to her main responsibilities on the Corporate Statutory function across the Bricks Group, Board Level Support, Corporate Administration Duties and assisting with the HR function.
With excellent interpersonal skills, diligence, a great sense of commercial awareness and an ability to manage a dynamic workload, Danni’s role influences many corners of the Group’s activities.
She has two teenage children, and can often be found alongside a footie pitch, embarrassing them both with off-pitch advice, and is most happy in her gym gear working out or spending time with her family.
Director of Development Finance
Group Marketing Director
Group Business Development Director
An experienced international operator with over 30 years’ experience, Ian leads the Business Development team, creating relationships that deliver the value and trust that our partners have come to expect when working with Bricks. After general management roles with Colonial, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and AXA.
Ian has a proven track record of developing people and teams, and delivering commercial revenue activity. Currently the Chairman of his local rugby club, supporting the growth of community rugby in his area, Ian enjoyed a successful playing career, and is married with two daughters. He lives in the North West, and enjoys a few pints and home cooking.
A fully-qualified Registered Nurse and after enjoying broad experience with true in operational and sales roles, Jess now works within the centralised commercial team, helping to deliver bookings and revenue.
Focusing on international partners and agents, she works hard to maintain maximum occupancy levels and rates, whilst ensuring student retention year-on-year is at an industry-leading level, reflecting guest satisfaction. Our partners and agents bring the true brand to the huge cohort of international students who come to the UK every year to gain a world-class education, and Jess works with organisations across the globe in promoting our award-winning brand to ever wider markets.
A keep-fit fanatic who can often be found in the gym, Jess loves all animals and country walks
Group Property Services Manager
Regional Operations Manager, true
With more than twenty years’ experience in hotel operations in various senior roles with The Carlton Hotel Collection, Mercure and Ramada Hotel Groups, Kirsty provides operational support for the true student portfolio. Passionate about exceptional customer service and an unrivalled guest experience, she was awarded a scholarship to Dubai working with the world-renowned Jumeirah Group, including a spell working at the luxurious 7 Star Burj Al Arab – a truly unforgettable experience.
More recently, working as Sales and Marketing Manager at the Carlton George Hotel, Kirsty was responsible for maximising revenue opportunity, and brings her great experiences to good effect.
Kirsty is a mum of three, and when she has a spare moment, enjoys a good book with a glass of wine.
General Manager, true Swansea
Group Commercial Director
As an accomplished operator with over 35 years’ experience, Linda leads the Group commercial team, and with a passion for hospitality, she recognises the value and trust that our guests, teams and partners place in us. After stints with Jarvis/Jupiter hotels, working with brands including Ramada, Accor and Hilton, as Regional Operations Director, The Hotel Collection and Head of Operations for Crerar Hotels, Linda has a proven background of successfully improving profitability with a purposeful focus on commercial top line activity.
Always seeking to exceed expectations, Linda likes to make things happen, working collaboratively with teams to help achieve challenging goals and bringing positive change to influence dynamic results.
Linda enjoys a good catch up with friends and great music, along with travel and planning the ticks she is going to make on her bucket list.
Group Director
With over 35 years’ experience in property development within a varied portfolio of asset classes including close-care, mixed use, residential, live-work, PBSA and hotels, Marc led the design and delivery of the award-winning ‘true’ student brand. An end-to-end developer, with a deep knowledge of all aspects of planning and design, legal, procurement, finance, sales and operations, including a stint as a CDM-C, Marc now focuses on product development, ensuring that our student accommodation and co-living offerings reflect the very latest and best design features.
Married with two fast-growing sons and resident in North Devon, Marc is passionate about water-sports and music, and enjoys playing in and on the sea when not trying (but failing) to emulate his 1970’s rock guitar heroes.
Marketing Manager
Group Development Director
After more than three decades in Construction Management, Martin leads the team responsible for delivering the new hotels, student housing and co-living schemes being added to the Bricks portfolio.
With wide experience across a broad range of construction projects, Martin is equally at home on site or in the boardroom, and brings a forensic but open and engaging approach to procurement and management, ensuring best quality and value whilst maintaining first-class relationships with consultants, contractors and funders, creating a real team spirit on all projects.
Married with a teenage son, Martin enjoys getting out with the family dog, father-and-son fishing trips, and clay pigeon shooting and teaches martial arts to children at a local club.
Sales Administration Assistant, true
As our true Sales Administration Assistant, Mellissa is a passionate part of our growing sales team, with a hugely varied role that encompasses assisting students and the team alike, ensuring that she is always in the heart of true activity. With over 20 years of hospitality under her belt within branded hotels and unique events venues in Glasgow and Scotland including Jurys Inns and
Mercure Hotels, she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team.
Over the last year Mel has found a new love of hill walking and hopes to climb her first Munro soon! In her spare time, she enjoys spending quality time with her family in Glasgow, online shopping and watching Netflix with her fur baby Broxy the cat!
Digital Designer
Joining the team fresh out of university where she graduated with a First-Class Honours, Molly’s motivated approach to problem solving enabled her to be highly praised throughout her studies. Shortlisted for numerous design awards including renowned branding agency Coley Porter Bell (Ogilvy) and global platform Creative Conscience, she demonstrates a thirst for learning and experimentation by constantly looking for fresh ideas.
Helping to increase sales and brand engagement through digital campaigns, Molly is a versatile designer who adapts her thinking to suit the media whether digital, illustration, motion graphics or print. Always keen to amplify innovation by collaborating with other members of the team, Molly offers an adaptable mindset, a critical eye and a glass half-full outlook within all situations.
Molly’s happiest when surrounded by friends and cocktails, exploring outdoors with her dog Eddie or dancing through mud at a music festival.
Commercial Director
Management Accountant
Armed with a BA in Industrial Accountancy in China, Pei came to the UK and graduated with an MSc in Finance from City University Business School in 2002, and has been part-qualified in CIMA since 2007. She is a dedicated and detail-oriented professional accountant, gaining working experience over twenty years in a variety of industries, with excellent knowledge of all financial and accounting systems and methodology. An expert with Sage and other accounting databases, along with Excel, as well as HMRC compliance and reporting, especially VAT related issues, Pei’s role experience often focuses on financial analysis and efficiencies.
Pei lives in central London, enjoys dancing and is learning to paint in oils
Chief Executive Officer
A dynamic serial entrepreneur, Peter is the founder and CEO of Bricks Capital. He lived in Hong Kong for many years, initially working for the leisure arm of a leading Hong Kong-based property firm, and subsequently helping to launch and swiftly grow a successful company operating large scale gyms across Asia for more than a decade.
Peter then co-founded another exciting and innovative fitness business as an equity partner, leading the company from start-up to more than 17 gyms and 1,000 staff before moving to the UK to pursue his property interests full-time and focus on expanding the emerging Bricks Group.
Peter has two teenaged children and divides his time between homes in London and Devon, and is often to be found on a tennis court, a golf course or his bike.
General Manager, true Liverpool
With over 15 years’ experience in hospitality, Rachel brings a wealth of operational and management experience. Her passion is in delivering an exceptional guest experience and developing teams to provide outstanding true customer service. Having previously worked with Whitbread PLC in various roles including General Manager and New Openings Trainer, Rachel is excited to open and manage one of our newest properties at true Liverpool.
Most recently Rachel has been on the front line as a key worker, managing a Covid-19 test site and Department of Health and Social Care testing and trials. This being a complete contrast to where she started her professional life, as an acrobat in the Moscow Circus!
In any spare time, Rachel likes to hang out with her daughter, who are both avid shoppers or host cocktail parties with her family and friends.
Group Finance Director
As the Group Finance Director for the Bricks Group, Sachin is commercially focused with extensive experience in the hospitality and property sectors. To date he has been involved in buy, sell and development sides ranging from portfolio sales of £485M with pipelines, single asset/ company purchases of up to £15M to luxury five-star hotel and property refurbishments. More recently he was Group FD of a prime Central London based company owning boutique hotels, residential and commercial property.
When he’s not looking at his phone, Sachin loves spending time with his family and eating his daughter’s home baked cakes.
General Manager, true Newcastle Opto
Group Brand Director
As Group Brand Director at Bricks and Co-founder of ‘Infamous’, Simon uses his two decades of experience working with B2C and B2B brands to translate strategy into visual, living and breathing brand stories.
After starting his career at 1HQ, as a creative planner, working on accounts including, Pepsico Unilever and GSK, he went on to partner with the co-founder of ‘Identica’, working on a number of international and domestic clients and winning numerous design effectiveness awards. Simon has a proven track record of building brands across multiple sectors that drive real business results through compelling and motivating stories for all of our audiences.
When he’s not fighting loudly for good ideas, Simon is a fan of empathy, the great outdoors, photography and his A3 Sketch Pad
Management Accountant
As a well-organised Management Accountant with extensive experience in financial reporting and data management, Tomasz started his career in Poland and the Czech Republic in the finance & banking sector. Having graduated in Poland with a Masters in Financial Management, to which he added the UK ACCA qualification, Tomasz has worked in the student, professional lettings and hotel sectors, as well as within the media industry. With great enthusiasm for the hospitality sector and excellence in customer service, he keeps a keen eye on the detail and has proven his ability to produce accurate and insightful financial reports to help management with decision making.
Away from work, Tomasz cannot live without great food, inspiring biographies and spontaneous travelling, enjoying weekends away to destinations such as New York, and he is now learning to speak Irish Gaelic and traditional river-dancing, although not at the same time.
Partner Relations & Retention Manager, true
A customer focused individual with almost 20 years of hospitality experience in event planning and award-winning corporate sales, Victoria has worked with some of the biggest international brands including, Accor and Hilton supporting rebrand and new hotel opening projects.
As our true Partner Relations and Retention Manager, Victoria is our ‘true champion’, working with partners new and old to help us reach a wider audience of students from all over the world and with our onsite teams to drive our retention rates to the highest in the sector!
A volunteer at a local food bank and a mentor for young people with Project Scotland, Victoria rarely has any spare time, but when at home she likes to relax and cook with friends, or you can find her hogging the mic on karaoke night!
Assistant Accountant
International Investment Project Manager
With extensive experience across hotel, PBSA and residential sectors, Wen carries responsibility for investor liaison across all parts of the business, as well as international sales progression and client-care. A long-standing team member, Wen’s knowledge of the company, its teams and key partners is unparalleled, and she provides invaluable support to the CEO and COO in investor communications, as well as playing a key role in developing investment and funding strategies.
A focused and detail-driven administrator, Wen divides her time between the London and Hong Kong offices to ensure consistency of approach and continuity of communications and works at Board level to support development of the business across its diverse activities.
When not travelling, Wen enjoys shopping, yoga and the gym, as well great movies.