Bella Darby

Senior Surveyor

Bella Joined our Healthcare team in April 2023 with 10 years post qualification experience in valuations, rent reviews and lease renewals in the commercial sector. Bella is an RICS registered valuer and provides Valuation and Landlord and Tenant advice to a wide variety of healthcare clients including GP premises and investors in the sector.

Her role at Aitchison Raffety is primarily based in the East of England region and surrounding areas.

Qualifications: MSc MRICS

Bob Wiseman

Area Director

Bob is responsible for carrying out valuation and surveying work on residential property, including investment and development property, owner occupied property, ranging from country Listed properties to new build high end London apartments. Valuation work is primarily undertaken for secured lending purposes and survey work is primarily undertaken for acquisition purposes.

Bob has been a Chartered Surveyor since 1997 and joined Aitchison Raffety in 1999.

Qualifications: BSc (Hons), MRICS, RICS Registered Valuer

Casey Graves

Marketing Executive

Casey joined Aitchison Raffety as a Marketing Executive in August 2022 and has been a driving force supporting the brand’s growth, leading with content creation, social media strategy, and digital presence.

With over 10 years experience in creative and marketing roles (including national and international events) Casey combines creativity, strategy, and storytelling to develop impactful marketing initiatives. This includes shaping internal and external strategies, curating engaging content, and strengthening brand positioning.

Beyond marketing, Casey is passionate about fostering a positive workplace culture. As a member of the Employee Forum and co-head of the AR Wellness Group, Casey actively supports initiatives that enhance employee well-being, engagement, and work-life balance.

Accreditation: BA Hons
Fun fact: Casey loves an iced coffee (especially an Oat Milk Iced Latte from GAILS) and listening to country music.

Caz Fairey

Business Development Executive

Caz has worked in the primary care industry for over six years alongside doctors and practice managers in relation to notional rent reviews, market valuations and sale and leasebacks, and has extensive knowledge of how surgeries can maximise property funding levels.

Caz is involved with our substantial existing client base of GP Surgeries across the county as well as establishing new relationships, within all aspects of healthcare work.

 

Georgia Strazza

Senior Surveyor

Georgia joined Aitchison Raffety in July 2021 after graduating from Nottingham with a degree in Mathematics and is a Senior Surveyor in our St Albans office.

Georgia specialises in the sale and letting of a wide range of commercial properties throughout Hertfordshire. She also works closely with the Lease Advisory team dealing with lease renewals and rent reviews for both landlords and tenants.

Outside of her role at Aitchison Raffety, Georgia is a committee member of the St Albans Chamber of Commerce ‘Future Leaders’ group, which organises local events and initiatives aimed at supporting the next generation of business leaders in the area.

Accreditations: AssocRICS BSc (Hons)
Fun Fact: On weekends, Georgia is often found pulling pints at the local pub or practicing her new passion of synchronised swimming which she has developed a love for in the past year with the help from Hayden from our planning team.

Hayden Todd

Associate Director

Hayden joined Aitchison Raffety in 2014 having previously worked within several local authorities planning departments, including the London Borough of Harrow, London Borough of Newham and St Albans City and District Council.

He has a wealth of experience handling a diverse range of planning related developments, including residential, commercial, employment and mixed use developments.  Hayden also has considerable experience in pre-application discussions and undertaking appeals, including Written Representations, Hearings and Inquiries.

In January 2019, Hayden was promoted to an Associate Director.

Areas of work

• Planning Applications
• Appraising development opportunities
• Appeals
• Promoting sites in emerging Local Plans
• Enforcement Notices

Achievements

Since joining Aitchison Raffety, Hayden has worked on a range of planning schemes, including the following:

• Large scale mixed-use scheme for construction of 268 flats and 1404 square metres of office space.
• Conversion of an office building and its subsequent remodelling and extension to form a high rise city centre development.
• Sensitive heritage led major development for the conversion and redevelopment of a Listed public house to provide four residential units, and seven town houses.
• Presented evidence at a Public Inquiry for a retirement village.
• Redevelopment of a Green Belt site to provide nine dwellings.

Ian Archer

Director

Ian is a commercial surveyor and Director based at the St Albans office but with responsibility for overseeing the Hemel Hempstead and Watford areas. He joined the company in 1988 and has over 30 years’ experience in commercial property disposals and acquisitions.

Ian is mainly involved in commercial agency and Landlord & Tenant matters with a geographic range including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring, Amersham, Chesham and surrounds. He is involved in sales, lettings and acquisitions of retail, office and industrial premises, and also involved in landlord and tenant matters such as rent reviews and lease renewals.

In addition, Ian has also provided advice on planning matters where commentary on the local market is required to assist planning applications.

 

Laura Macqueen

Area Director - South

Laura is the Area Director – South, for the Valuation division at Aitchison Raffety, preparing residential valuations for solicitors, banks and financial organisations. Laura covers a wide area that includes Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Essex and London. Laura specialises in equestrian property, prime country housing, houses with land or a commercial element and residential development sites.  She joined Aitchison Raffety in 2007, following five years at Montagu Evans.

Outside of work Laura is a keen equestrian, owning her own horse and two ponies.  She also hosts numerous charity events for Jessica’s Arc, which raises money for Alice’s Arc Children’s Cancer Charity, in memory of her daughter Jess.

Qualifications: BSc Hons, MRICS, RICS Registered Valuer.
Fun Fact: I am a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Mark Bunting

Regional Director

Mark is Regional Director for Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas which is primarily a business development role building on a wide experience of property related work and in-depth knowledge of what Aitchison Raffety can bring to assist both existing and potential clients.

Previously, Mark has headed both the Commercial Agency and Lease Advisory Divisions at Aitchison Raffety as well as dealing with rating appeals, valuations and general property advice. Mark’s 30 years plus knowledge property started with a short spell in the VOA before moving to Hertfordshire in the mid 80s and opening the St Albans office of Aitchison Raffety in 1990.

His day to day work continues to include a variety of agency and professional work giving him one of the broadest spectrums of experience and expertise within our Group. This allows wide ranging advice to be given to clients, enabling potential problems within jobs to be identified and circumnavigated which may not be spotted by more specialised or less experienced advisors.

 

Melanie Lovelady

Associate Director

Melanie has joined Aitchison Rafferty’s Healthcare team in July 2025 as an Associate Director and brings nearly 20 years of experience as a Chartered Surveyor and Registered Valuer to the team. Melanie’s previous experience focused on valuation of commercial property for regulated purposes and loan security.  Her new role will build upon this base to value Primary and Secondary healthcare assets as well as undertaking landlord and tenant work including Notional Rent appeals, Rent Reviews and Lease Renewals.

Accreditations: MRICS

Fun Fact: The moniker “craft daft” can be applied to Melanie. When she isn’t dealing with facts, figures and spreadsheets, she likes to exercise her creative talents with various crafts including needle felting, crocheting and card making.

Paula Mace

Director, Head of Healthcare

Paula is a Director and Head of Healthcare here at Aitchison Raffety, one of the country’s leading experts on primary care centres and medical premises. Based out of the St Albans and London offices, she is responsible for the  healthcare team and services nationally.

Her role at Aitchison Raffety further encompasses strategic business planning, business development, risk management and quality control.

Paula joined the company in 2003 and has over 20 years’ experience in the healthcare sector having worked with many medical centres, surgeries, healthcare investors and funds across the country during this time.

Paula is recognised for her knowledge of healthcare property and extensive experience in the healthcare industry and provides a range of services, specialising in valuations for a variety of purposes including secured lending, partnership, accounts, portfolio, and court purposes for a range of clients from individual property owners and investors, to large portfolio investors with a considerable number of medical centres located nationwide. These services also include sale and leaseback, disposal and acquisition, and development work.

Paula is also involved in a variety of Landlord and Tenant work, acting in relation to rent reviews and lease renewal negotiations, dispute resolution, CMR appeals, as well as pharmacy, dental, and other types of clinic/medical rent reviews and lease renewals. She has significant experience as an Expert Witness in relation to rent review and lease renewal disputes including the PACT process.

As well as being a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Paula also qualified as an Independent Expert in 2017 and is a member of the RICS panel of Independent Experts.

Paula’s experience has given her unrivalled knowledge of the healthcare sector and best practices in the industry. She has developed an extensive network of established contacts and relationships which aid her in offering the most refined and bespoke service possible to clients.

Qualifications:  MRICS

 

Sally Roebuck

Senior Secretary/PA, Healthcare

Sally joined Aitchison Raffety in 2015 after working as a Secretary/PA in accident and injury law and previously a Chartered Building Surveyors.  Sally’s primary role at Aitchison Raffety is to deal with all administrative tasks for the healthcare team corresponding with doctors and practice managers and managing independent expert and arbitration work on behalf of the surveyors.

Stephen Ore

Senior Associate Director

As a Senior Associate Director of Aitchison Raffety, Stephen prepares valuation reports on a range of commercial properties including retail, office and industrial, predominantly for secured lending purposes, although also for solicitors and financial organisations.  Stephen predominantly covers the M25, M40 and M4 corridor ranging from substantial bespoke warehouse units to the corner shop.

Stephen has been in practice for over 40 years’ operating in the South Herts, Buckinghamshire and Middlesex areas.  Originally trained in building surveying, Stephen has an extensive skill set.  He had developed good connections with a range of bank customers and property investors, completing valuations on Listed buildings through to brand new residential and commercial schemes.

Stephen joined Aitchison Raffety in 2007, originally working out of the High Wycombe office, although more recently based in South Hertfordshire.  The primary workload includes preparing valuations on commercial buildings and both residential and commercial development schemes, together with specialist dentist practice goodwill appraisals.

Will Bolton

Property Referencer

Will joined Aitchison Raffety in November 2024 as a Graduate Surveyor, specialising in business rates assessment, appeals, and market research. He holds a First-Class BSc (Hons) in Property Finance & Investment from Nottingham Trent University, where he developed strong expertise in financial modelling, market analysis, and risk assessment.

In his role, Will supports clients in managing and minimizing their business rates liabilities, conducting in-depth property valuations, and assisting with appeals.

Accreditations: BSc Hons

Fun Fact: As a Chelsea season ticket holder, football is a big part of my life – whether it’s traveling to games or playing 6-a-side.