Aitch Group was founded by Hackney born Henry Smith in 1995, and in those 25 years has developed a reputation as a leading property developer in London. Built upon strong values, Aitch Group has an unwavering commitment to developing stylish and innovative spaces that allow people and communities to thrive.

Our speaker, Laurence Quail, a Property & Planning Expert, leads us through the history of Aitch Group, its current projects and its ambitions for the future. He also looks at their approach to building as sustainable company fit to meet the specific challenges of net zero carbon targets for the construction sector. 

With Laurence's planning experience, we asked him to share his views on two important themes to those developing residential schemes in London:

1. The recently announced planning changes including commercial to residential; and

2. The future of London as a place to work and live in light of Covid. 

This event with EQ Investors is timed for the publication of the 2020 edition of their annual review of Impact Investing and how it has benefitted in key areas like waste reduction, zero carbon technology, alternative energy, access to mobile technology, healthcare and elsewhere.

The event features guest speakers, Louisiana Salge, EQ's resident Impact Specialist and Dale Scorer, a Chartered Financial Advisor and Planner. Following the presentation, there is a discussion on ESG, sustainability and the role our own pensions and ISAs can play in creating a better planet by Mark Herring, Urbano's Connector-In-Chief.

This event was part of Good Money Week 2020 aimed at helping everyone find sustainable and ethical options for banking, pensions, savings and investments.

As Covid sees a lot of people appraise what they want from their working lives - or have had this decision forced up them - we want to help those starting their own companies to learn from the experiences of a wide range of Urbano Members who founded and now own succesful companies from across all sectors.

Mark Herring, Urbano's Connector-In-Chief, will be asking each of them to share the key points on their growth journey and share this information with you. He will also ask questions submitted by participants.

Our Urbano Member speaker line-up includes:

Arit Eminue, Founder/Director of recruitment and training company DiVA Apprenticeships

Elle Moss, Founder/CEO of creative agency Drew London

Brant McNaughton, Managing Director of web development agency Ecce.

Louise Turley, Director of high-end commercial and residential designs at FT Architects

Jess James, Director of dynamic sustainability consultancy JAW  

This panel event will be facilitated by Mark Herring, Urbano's Connector-In-Chief. 

On Sunday May 10th, the UK Prime Minister laid out the government's plan and timetable for putting the country back to work whilst still fighting the effects of the Covid-19 virus on the country. This event looked at how the new regulations/advisory elements will need to be addressed by employers with workforces in office environments.

Our speaker panel line-up featured office/workplace design expert - Christian Logue from Sagal Group, and an employment law specialist - Meredith Hurst, Head of the employment department at Thomas Mansfield.

Hosted and facilitated by Mark Herring, Urbano's Connector-In-Chief, the panel looked at the pressure points and challenges that the most common modern 'office-scapes' present and where responsibilities lie for the care of returning employees.

SPEAKERS

Debra Spurway – HR Dept

Debra is a Director at The HR Dept London City & Central and Somerset leading a team providing employment law and human resources support to small and medium sized companies. An Associate CIPD with over 20 years' experience, Debra provides advice on employment contracts, HR policies and procedures, offsite advice and on site assistance with Disciplinary & Grievance, absence issues and dismissals. She also advises on restructuring and redundancies, training and development and coaching on all employment issues.

Jo Geraghty – Culture Consultancy

Jo is a Director at Culture Consultancy.  Formerly Head of HR for Goldman Sachs France and Switzerland and with 16 years’ experience working in change management for various investment banks across the globe, Jo brings a wealth of practitioner experience to change projects. She is a speaker on high-performance leadership and organisational culture and a regular guest lecturer at several of the UK’s leading business schools. Jo was recognised in the 2017 Smith & Williamson Power 100 Index for her work to boost productivity through positive company culture.

This panel event was facilitated by Mark Herring, Urbano's Connector-In-Chief.

Deborah's presentation with Urbano Network examined the performance of different materials from an environmental/zero carbon perspective alongside other elements of process and production affecting sustainability across construction.

Our speaker, Laurence Quail, a Property & Planning Expert, leads an audience of companies from across the Build sectors through the background and approach of Aitch Group with particular focus on how 2020 planning proposals will affect London residential development and  sustainability in construction.

Hosted and facilitated by Mark Herring, Urbano's Connector-In-Chief. For more information on Urbano, including upcoming events and speaker opportunities, please click here: www.urbanonetwork.co.uk

Mary Parsons is Group Director, Place-Making & Regeneration at People For Places and a Commisioner on the  Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission whose report, Living With Beauty, published this year puts quality design at the heart of new homes building for the UK.

Here we capture her presentation looking at quality in planning and development, followed by a Q&A with her knowledgeable audience.

What is R&D Tax Relief?

This online event was held in August 2020 and features Julie Barry, Head of Business Development at Rift R&D talking what kind of business activities qualify under R&D tax relief and what costs can be recovered. 

After Julie's presentation, there is a panel discussion with two companies who have used Rift to make a successful claim and then some questions from the audience.

Urbano Zero Carbon Programme online speaker breakfast with Emily Hamilton, Associate Director - Sustainability at Grosvenor Group - May 2020.