EG Property Podcasts

Buckinghamshire is the entrepreneurial capital of England and the demand for space from small and medium sized businesses has helped sustain demand over what, for many, is a quiet summer period, according to Chandler Garvey director and head of agency Joanna Kearvell.

Kearvell managed seven completions in August, making her the South East’s leading dealmaker in terms of deal numbers.

She says demand is particularly strong for smaller-scale industrial units and believes the handbrakes need to come off to deliver more buildings of this type, not just for leasehold disposal but also for owner-occupiers.

Britons fell in love with domestic holidays during the pandemic and the lingering appeal has primed the holiday park sector for a fresh round of inward investment, according to Christie & Co director of UK holiday and residential parks Jamie Keith.

Keith says visitor numbers are still up on 2019 levels following the frenzy of the pandemic years, when both bookings and transactional activity went through the roof.

He believes corporate interest in the holiday park market has been muted over the past 12 months because of high interest rates, but expects to see purse strings loosened over the coming months from both UK and overseas investors.

LISTEN In this episode of the EG Property Podcast, EG's residential reporter Akanksha Soni sits down with Ealing Council leader Peter Mason, who has just been appointed as the local authority’s lead for planning and skills, in addition to his role as deputy chair of the Local Government Association.

Mason speaks about the tripartite collaboration of a Labour council, mayor of London and national government, and the borough's goal to deliver 4,000 affordable homes by 2025. Ealing’s overarching plans include the building of 28,000 homes over the next 15 years, with key roles for build-to-rent and private developers in providing them.

He adds that the borough is open for investment and partnership to deliver homes across underutilised areas such as Old Oak and North Acton, as well as highlighting the lessons learnt from John Lewis’s BTR scheme above its Waitrose store in West Ealing.

Every year women from across the built environment get together to take part in the annual PedElle cycling event. The event, run by Club Peloton, raises vital funds for number of charities all focused on enabling better lives for young people. Its principal charity is Coram, one of the oldest children’s charities in the UK.

In this special EG Property Podcast, EG editor Samantha McClary (and long time PedEller) sits down with three women who took part in the PedElle this year – a lumpy 450km in Poland – to talk about what the ride really means, the importance of the funds its raises, why we need more women to join this very special form of networking, and why more businesses should support the event.

Listen in to hear insights and intelligence – and why the PedElle can not only enhance your career but change your life – from Buro Happold associate director Anna Beckett, head of investor relations at SEGRO, Claire Mogford, and Chloe Factor, an asset manager for Legal & General Investment Management’s Build-to-Rent fund.

If you’re inspired by what you hear, please do help the PedElle team reach their £40,000 fundraising target by donating here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/pedelle2024 

And if you’re interested in joining next year’s PedElle, or any Club Peloton ride, find out more at www.clubpeloton.org

Planning needs to be unlocked for commercial space across Cornwall in order to provide much-needed employment opportunities and ease overreliance on tourism, according to Vickery Holman agent Morwenna Pound.

Vickery Holman is the leading regional agent across the South West region on the Radius Rankings for space transacted so far this year and Pound – who works from its Truro office - leads the individual dealmaker rankings for Cornwall, with 67,970 sq ft transacted across 28 deals.

Pound says demand is very strong for industrial units of around 1,000 sq ft, but planning headaches and development costs mean these are in short supply. She also believes there is an urgent need for entry-level professional jobs across the county to help change the fortunes of what have become some of Europe’s poorest areas.

Momentum is a critical factor for the London office market, and although external obstacles have been placed in its way there is a sense the handbrake is about to come off, according to Harry James, associate director at office specialist The Workplace Co.

James was London’s top office dealmaker in June, leading the Radius Rankings with 8 deals totalling 7,969 sq ft of space. He oversaw transactions in the West End, City, City Fringe and the Southern Fringe.

Activity has been up and down since the start of the year, says James, but he is optimistic about occupiers being in a less cautious mood once they return from summer holidays.

In this episode of the EG Property Podcast, editor Samantha McClary, meets the final two members of this year's Future Leaders cohort - Kitty Eyre, senior project manager at the London Borough of Ealing, and Michael De Los Santos Samson, apprentice surveyor at CBRE - to find out more about how they are feeling as they begin their journey on the intensive programme.

Listen in to find out how they both want to push themselves into uncomfortable situations, build deep connections with the industry and make a difference with the powerful talks they will deliver as part of the EG Real Estate Futures event in September.

Huge thanks for EG's partners CBRE, Clyde & Co, Knight Frank, Landsec, and Nuveen for supporting the Future Leaders programme.

In this episode of the EG Property Podcast, EG deputy editor Tim Burke sits down with a collection of this year's cohort of Future Leaders to find out how they are feeling at the beginning of an intense journey that will culminate with a 10 minute, un-aided Ted-style talk in front of hundreds at EG's Real Estate Futures event this September.

Trading conditions across Greater Manchester are challenging, with uncertainty over the economy and the future of work leading occupiers to operate with caution, according to Fletcher CRE director John Fletcher.

In terms of deal numbers, Fletcher CRE is the highest-placed regional agent on the Radius On Demand Rankings across Greater Manchester for the year to date, with 15 deals over the line totalling 37,704 sq ft of space.

Fletcher believes the towns of Greater Manchester benefit greatly from the success of Manchester city centre, but he believes investment is needed both in infrastructure and the right redevelopment if they are to realise their potential. He is also hopeful that Thursday’s general election will remove one element of instability and encourage occupiers to commit to decisions.

EG's legal & professional editor, Jess Harrold, is joined by Vicky Hernandez, partner and head of retail at law firm RWK Goodman, and Allan Wickham, head of occupier sustainability in the ESG consultancy team at CBRE, to discuss the rise of green leases, with a particular focus on the retail sector.

Together, they recap what green leases are, with examples of typical green clauses that might arise in retail leases and a focus on the different shades of green that can apply, plus some of the particular challenges faced in retail.

They address the recently updated green lease toolkit, from the Better Buildings Partnership, and how that will aid landlord and tenant negotiations on key lease provisions - hugely important, with the growing need for alignment between property owners and occupiers when it comes to improving the sustainability of our buildings.