Business world fascinates Norman
30 Jun 2020
The business world has always fascinated Norman Engel (11712), an experienced and specialist business broker, who left College in 1998 and is now head of Business Sales for Savills Commercial Real Estate.
As a student he was more drawn to languages and the arts and at the University of Canterbury he studied for a BA (Hons) before joining Westpac in first security and construction lending. A former hospitality business owner in Christchurch and business advisor, he joined the Savills Christchurch team in 2019 to launch their new division.
“Establishing a new branch, while continuing to look after my business owners and purchasers, and now adapting in the midst of one of our biggest challenges means adjusting quickly and thinking outside the box is key.
“It’s encouraging that after seeing a lot of business sales grind to a halt as lockdown hit, business confidence is now returning, with a number of deals back on the table.”
He says it’s up to all of us to support local businesses as best we can.
“In Christchurch especially, operators of small to medium sized businesses working through the rebuild were then greatly impacted, and now a second blow has been dealt to them. So wonderful to see our resilience and fortitude coming to the fore again.”
Norman has a lifelong interest in music and the arts and has recently accepted a position as a trustee of The Canterbury Opera Foundation.
