Estates Gazette Property Podcasts

Welcome to The School of Hard Knocks, a six-part series brought to you by EG Property Podcasts that will off up a bounty of lessons from those who have experienced a rough time or two that will enable us to better navigate the tough times ahead.

Over the course of this series, we’ve been meeting people who have lived through some of the highs and lows of this wonderful business of real estate and through our conversations we will dig deep into the skills, the mindsets and the structures you need in place to successfully navigate tricky times.

Joining EG editor Samantha McClary for our penultimate lesson in the School of Hard Knocks curriculum is founder extraordinaire and all-round real estate expert Neil Sinclair.

With more than 60 years’ experience in real estate, some high highs and some low lows, Sinclair has managed to stay grounded throughout. He is driven by honesty, a passion for his charitable work and the desire to keep testing the grey matter.

This lesson is ram-packed with advice about how to take a hard knock and how to stay passionate about the work that you do.

So, sit back, get your pen and paper ready, because it is time to enrol yourself in EG’s School of Hard Knocks. Listen hard and enjoy.

English and Scottish law have increasingly diverged in recent years, not least in property law.

To talk listeners through those key differences, EG’s Sarah Jackman is joined by Daniel Black, barrister at Falcon Chambers. Following an overview of the basic differences between the two systems, they discuss three key areas of practice:

• residential tenancy law;

Are there things that one system could learn from the other? And what are the key pieces of legislation currently passing through each Parliament that listeners should be aware of?

Glasgow’s industrial market is in rude good health, with demand outstripping supply leading to strong rental growth and high deal volumes, according to GM Brown Property Consultants founder and director Gregor Brown.

With 134 deals over the line in 2023, Brown was the UK’s biggest individual dealmaker in the Radius On Demand Rankings, letting more than 300,000 sq ft of space across all major use types in and around Glasgow.

Brown also says Glasgow has a glut of vacant office space and believes much of this may need to be repurposed for alternative use. He says there are various BTR developments in the pipeline for Glasgow city centre which he believes will prove important in bringing back demand for the city’s shops, bars and restaurants.

Welcome to The School of Hard Knocks, a new six-part series brought to you by EG Property Podcasts that will off up a bounty of lessons from those who have experienced a rough time or two that will enable us to better navigate the tough times ahead.

Over the course of this series, we’ll meet people who have lived through some of the highs and lows of this wonderful business of real estate and through our conversations we will dig deep into the skills, the mindsets and the structures you need in place to successfully navigate tricky times.

Joining EG editor Samantha McClary for our fourth lesson in the School of Hard Knocks curriculum is Jane Hollinshead, chief people officer at Canary Wharf Group, who shares vital advice around the power of diversity of skills, the value of your network, and finding balance.

Hollinshead isn’t afraid of hard knocks – not only in the boxing ring where she keeps herself fit and grounded – but in life. She’s prepared to take leaps of faith and she understands that sometimes you need to be pushed over the edge – and push others too.

But if you are pushing, says Hollinshead, be nice because real estate is all about connections and relationships. And guaranteed that one day you’ll be across the table from someone you really wish you’d probably been a bit kinder to.

So, sit back, get your pen and paper ready, because it is time to enrol yourself in EG’s School of Hard Knocks. Listen hard and enjoy.

Welcome to The School of Hard Knocks, a new six-part series brought to you by EG Property Podcasts that will off up a bounty of lessons from those who have experienced a rough time or two that will enable us to better navigate the tough times ahead.

Over the course of this series, we’ll meet people who have lived through some of the highs and lows of this wonderful business of real estate and through our conversations we will dig deep into the skills, the mindsets and the structures you need in place to successfully navigate tricky times.

Joining EG editor Samantha McClary for our third lesson in the School of Hard Knocks curriculum is Katie Kopec, international director of JLL, who shares her experiences of working in the same business for 40 years.

But Kopec has definitely not had just one job. A persistent learner, Kopec shares her wisdom on the development market, coping with a complete lack of activity and finding strength in flexibility.

So, sit back, get your pen and paper ready, because it is time to enrol yourself in EG’s School of Hard Knocks. Listen hard and enjoy.

Click here to listen to episode 1 with Scarborough’s Kevin McCabe

“Don’t be afraid to push yourself and put yourself out of your comfort zone” is just one piece of advice Rider Levett Bucknall’s Carolyn Brady has for developing a career in the sector.

In a wide-ranging discussion with Bricks & Mortar host Sarah Jackman, Carolyn reflects on her journey in surveying, what it means to win the RICS Matrics Surveyor of the Year award and why it is important to give back to the industry that she loves.

She also discusses her work as a STEM ambassador and the joy of opening young people’s eyes to the possibility of a career in the sector.

The North East’s office sector is defying the tentativeness of the broader market thanks to the vibrancy of its town centres and the region’s strong transport links, according to Patrick Matheson, partner at Knight Frank’s Newcastle office.

Matheson is the UK’s highest-placed office agent in the Radius On Demand Rankings for January, with 38,727 sq ft transacted across seven deals. He believes occupiers are now more settled in how they want to operate space post-pandemic, and says workers are welcoming the return thanks to the ease of commute and the pull of the city centre.

Although availability in Newcastle city centre is tightening, Matheson says there are requirements for a further 230,000 sq ft of space across the North East, making him optimistic about the year ahead.

Jess Harrold is joined by Rebecca Francis, associate director at Osborne Clarke, to discuss the most significant decision yet under the Building Safety Act 2022: Triathlon Homes LLP v Stratford Village Development Partnership and others, involving remediation of cladding that poses a fire safety risk at five residential blocks in the former Olympic Village in east London.

Francis talks through the various parties involved and the remediation contribution order applied for, and explains how the First-tier Tribunal made its decision on where the responsibility for footing the bill for remediation works should lie.

According to Francis, the decision really "shines a light" on the importance of the 2022 Act and its implications may come as a "bit of a shock" in particular for building owners and landlords that were not involved in the construction of a relevant building.

Today's episode of Bricks & Mortar features the story of residential surveyor, Neil Trewick, who tells EG's Sarah Jackman how he changed his career from teaching to real estate.

Teesside is in a period of dramatic development and reinvention thanks to huge sums of public investment through which it is establishing itself as a player on the world stage, according to Parker Barras founder and director John Taylor.

Middlesbrough agency Parker Barras sits at the top of the Radius On Demand Rankings for 2023 in the two counties which Teesside straddles: in North Yorkshire it let or sold 136,549 sq ft of space across 43 deals, while in County Durham it is out in front in deals numbers, with 15 through which 33,950 sq ft of space was transacted.

Taylor believes developments such as Teesside’s freeport are prompting an unprecedented level of international interest and it will spark a boom in the local supply chain which will have far reaching benefits for commercial property across the entire region.