Mark Rigby has been appointed Chief Executive of CVS (Commercial Valuers & Surveyors), the fast-growing business rates specialist. Rigby, the former Chief Executive of Lambert Smith Hampton, will be responsible for leading the firm’s aggressive expansion drive. He moves into post on 1 October.

Bringing 25 years of commercial property industry experience to CVS, Rigby will take on the Chief Executive role from founder Jason Clarke, who launched the business in 1999 and has established it as one of the fastest-growing business rates specialists in the UK.

Rigby’s appointment is one of a number of changes taking place to support CVS’s ambition to grow its market share across England and Wales. New appointments have also been made at Board level with Tony Ford and Peter Chappelow adding further experience and expertise. They join existing Board members Jason Clarke, Owner and Mark Walker, Financial Director.

In the financial year 2009, the firm increased revenues by 30 per cent to £8M, recording a profit of £2M. The firm’s success is based on the quality and efficiency of its customer-focused service model which maximises the potential of its professional rating and valuation surveyors by supporting them with a dynamic sales and customer service team.

Mark Rigby said: "CVS is a strong business with an excellent customer base and a highly-effective service model. I think I can add the benefits of my 25 years in property services to an already exciting firm and help drive CVS’s national growth ambitions. We’re looking to grow our client base as well as do more for our existing clients – I’m confident the investment we are making in the business in terms of personnel and management will help us to achieve that goal."

With 130 staff based in its Manchester office, CVS now has 40 staff in a recently-opened London office with plans to accelerate the recruitment of more surveyors into the business in line with sales growth.

Jason Clarke, CVS Owner and Board member, said: "The 2010 VOA revaluation has given us an excellent opportunity to drive forward our plans for growth – and we have pressed the button on that now. With the experience and industry expertise of new management like Mark, Peter and Tony, we are confident that we can make our model and our business even more successful."

The launch of this expansion strategy follows 11 years of successful and profitable trading. Now, the firm has assembled a comprehensive national database of rateable properties and is using it – together with its new London office and additional management strength – to target new commercial opportunities.

Jason Clarke said: "Our sophisticated national database is one of the lynchpins of our business.

We have invested £2M in our data management capability over the last two years in mapping opportunities to help clients across England and Wales appeal their 2010 rating valuation – we believe that our easy to understand, straightforward process delivers what clients want. We’re an ambitious business with plans to be the UK’s number one business rates specialist."