Building a Pan-European Real Estate Powerhouse | Christophe Garbe (GARBE)

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Hey Everyone, Welcome Back!

What does it take to scale a family-run development business into a €15 billion pan-European real estate platform?

This week, I sat down with Christophe Garbe, Managing Partner of GARBE, to unpack how he grew the company from its Hamburg roots into one of Europe's leading logistics and real estate players — now operating across 13 countries with 21 offices.

Christophe shares his journey from joining the family business to taking over the UK arm just before the Global Financial Crisis, rationalising the platform, and spearheading GARBE's "2.0" strategy — doubling down on logistics, expanding into residential and science & tech, and building out a European development and fund management engine.

We explore how GARBE has navigated shifting market cycles, why decentralisation has been key to their growth, and how Christophe is positioning the business for the next chapter of European real estate.

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Key Topics Covered In This Episode:

✅ Scaling Across Europe – From Hamburg beginnings to a €15 billion platform spanning 13 countries

✅ Crisis Leadership – Taking over the UK business on the eve of the GFC

✅ Strategic Evolution – Logistics, residential, science & tech, data centres and beyond

✅ Decentralised Model – Empowering local teams to drive accountability and growth

✅ Lifelong Learning – How studying at Harvard sharpened strategic thinking despite dyslexia

✅ Market Outlook – Navigating uncertainty and spotting opportunities across European markets

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Oh, and one last thing…

In every episode, I ask each guest: Who are the People, what Property, and which Place they would invest in if they had £500m at their disposal?

Christophe's answer did not disappoint 👌

Got any thoughts or questions about this podcast? Drop them in the comments — I'm always up for a chat!

And if you're enjoying what I'm putting out, don't forget to hit subscribe and turn on the notification bell so you never miss an episode.

The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne – Recruiting Leadership & Future Leadership hires for Real Estate Funds, Owners, Investors & Developers.

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What happens when billions of pounds of pension money flow into real estate? Can creative deal structures solve the UK's housing and regeneration challenges in a high-rate environment?

This week, I sat down with James Agar, Head of Real Estate Origination at PIC Capital, the investment arm of Pension Insurance Corporation plc, to unpack how institutional capital is reshaping housing, regeneration, and long-income strategies across the UK.

James takes us inside PIC's £50bn balance sheet and explains how his team sources, structures, and deploys capital across Build to Rent, affordable housing, senior living, and major regeneration schemes like Miller's Quay.

We discuss how regeneration leases and innovative financing models are unlocking projects, how ESG and social value are being embedded into institutional strategies, and why the lines between real estate and infrastructure are blurring faster than ever.

Key Topics Covered In This Episode:

✅ Institutional Capital in Action – How PIC invests £50bn into long-term, inflation-linked real estate

✅ Regeneration Leases – Creative structures unlocking major housing and urban projects

✅ Affordable Housing – Partnerships with Homes England and Muse to deliver low-carbon schemes

✅ BTR & Living Sectors – Why single-family housing and suburban BTR are key growth areas

✅ Viability Challenges – Making deals stack in a high interest rate world

✅ ESG & Social Value – How PIC aligns pension liabilities with real-world impact

✅ Real Estate vs Infrastructure – The blurring lines shaping future investment strategies

Oh, and one last thing…

In every episode, I ask each guest: Who are the People, what Property, and which Place they would invest in if they had £500m at their disposal?

James's answer did not disappoint 👌

Got any thoughts or questions about this podcast? Feel free to share them in the comments — I'm always up for a chat!

And if you're enjoying what I'm putting out, don't forget to hit subscribe and turn on the notification bell so you'll never miss an episode.

The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne – Recruiting Leadership & Future Leadership hires for Real Estate Funds, Owners, Investors & Developers.

🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE

👉 http://peoplepropertyplace.com/

Manish Gudka | Baptism of Fire to £1bn Deals | People Property Place Podcast

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For many, real estate careers are about steady growth, one sector, one model. But Manish Gudka's story at Aprirose shows what it takes to adapt, survive, and thrive across cycles. From the family soap business in Kenya seeding property investments in the UK, to steering Aprirose through the Global Financial Crisis and beyond, this is a journey about resilience, reinvention, and family values.

In this episode, Manish reflects on his baptism of fire managing 14 tenants in Manchester, the hard lessons from 2007–09, and what it's like building a £1bn platform side-by-side with his 84-year-old father, who still takes the Tube into the office. We talk candidly about capital raising, investor trust, and why Aprirose has deliberately resisted the blind-pool fund model in favour of long-term deal-by-deal partnerships.

This is a rare, wide-ranging conversation with a CEO who rarely speaks publicly — packed with insights on markets, leadership, and the realities of running a family-backed platform.

Key Topics Covered In This Episode:

✅ Baptism of Fire – What a 14-tenant Manchester property taught him early in his career

✅ Cycles & Crises – How the 2007–09 crash reshaped Aprirose's strategy

✅ Investor Trust – Why transparency and alignment matter more than structures

✅ Family & Leadership – What it's really like working with his father every day

✅ Capital Raising – The deal-by-deal approach and why Aprirose never launched a blind pool fund

✅ Resilience – The mindset needed to firefight tenants, banks, and downturns

✅ Growth Vision – Where Aprirose sees opportunity in the next decade

Oh, and one last thing…

In every episode, I ask each guest: Who are the People, what Property, and which Place they would invest in if they had £500m at their disposal? Don't miss Manish's answer in this episode!

Got any thoughts or questions about this podcast? Feel free to share them in the comments, I'm always up for a chat!

And if you're enjoying what I'm putting out, don't forget to hit subscribe and turn on the notification bell so you'll never miss out on the next podcast.

🎧 Listen Here:

https://linktr.ee/peoplepropertyplace

The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne – Recruiting Leadership & Future Leadership hires for Real Estate Funds, Owners, Investors & Developers.

You can also connect with me on social media, I'd love to hear from you there too. Thanks again for hanging out with me!

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From billion-euro retail deals to leading Europe's largest apartment hotel operator, and now steering one of the fastest-growing healthcare real estate platforms, Simon Betty's career has spanned multiple cycles, asset classes, and countries.

In this episode, Simon shares how his early career choices set him on a path into retail, how he navigated Hammerson through some of its most challenging moments, and what it was really like to run the €2.5B Project Jewel transaction in Ireland. We dive into the lessons he learned leading through the brutality of Covid, why the macro always wins in real estate, and how healthcare has become one of the most thematically supported sectors in Europe today.

This is a candid conversation about deals, leadership, and how to thrive in sectors that are built for the future.

Key Topics Covered In This Episode:

✅ Project Jewel – Inside the high-stakes €2.5B Ireland loan portfolio acquisition

✅ Retail Realities – The brutal impact of Covid and the £800M rescue rights issue

✅ Macro vs Micro – Why timing beats talent in determining real estate returns

✅ Leadership Lessons – How saying "yes" shaped his career across multiple sectors

✅ Hospitality Shift – What running Adina taught him about operations and culture

✅ Healthcare Growth – Why cure-based facilities are becoming Europe's next big asset class

✅ The Future – Where capital is heading in European real estate over the next decade

Oh, and one last thing…

In every episode, I ask each guest: Who are the People, what Property, and which Place they would invest in if they had £500m at their disposal? Don't miss Simon's answer in this episode!

Got any thoughts or questions about this podcast? Feel free to share them in the comments, I'm always up for a chat!

And if you're enjoying what I'm putting out, don't forget to hit subscribe and turn on the notification bell so you'll never miss out on the next podcast.

🎧 Listen On:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6oCDnwWSTP685l6sn8F0a6

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/people-property-place/id1652694140

The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne – Recruiting Leadership & Future Leadership hires for Real Estate Funds, Owners, Investors & Developers.

You can also connect with me on social media, I'd love to hear from you there too. Thanks again for hanging out with me!

Subscribe To My Channel For More Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLeY7xnoJ08uYlGb-Y0j96A

🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE

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Leo Shapland, Chief Executive of the King's Cross Estate, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ this week.

He reflects on his formative experiences at Brookfield Multiplex, to building international platforms at Tishman Speyer, returning to London with Aviva, then leading at Workspace before taking on his current role overseeing one of Europe's most successful regeneration projects.

Leo reflects on career pivots between investment, development, and leadership, the lessons learned on his journey.

He shares candid thoughts on today's market dynamics, and what it really takes to run a complex, mixed-use estate that attracts 20 million visitors a year.

If you're interested in global real estate careers, platform-building, large-scale regeneration, or the future of London's office and mixed-use market, this episode is for you.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

• How watching the regeneration of Shad Thames sparked his interest in real estate.

• Leaving Cushman after just two days to join Multiplex, taking on pan-European acquisitions in his early 20s.

• What a decade at Tishman Speyer taught him about capital raising, transactions, and development.

• Lessons from moving abroad: delivering large office and residential projects in San Francisco and opening Tishman's Seattle office.

• Why he shifted from pure investment to broaden out into development, operations, and leadership.

• Returning to London: Aviva Investors, governance, ESG, and making countercyclical bets during Covid.

• The Workspace experience: working closely with entrepreneurial SME customers and running a vertically integrated platform.

• Why Kings Cross is, in his view, one of Europe's best regeneration schemes - and what the future looks like

• His take on the market – where demand is strongest and what is the hardest to make work right now.

And finally...

With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would he choose?

Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

The People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire.

If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn.

#realestate #property #podcast #placemaking #regeneration #realestateinvestment #kingscross #London

Jay Kwan, Managing Director and Head of Europe at QuadReal Property Group, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast this week.

We cover Jay's global journey from humble beginnings in LA, to Lehman Brothers, to leading international investment teams at Soros and TPG, and now spearheading QuadReal's growth across Europe.

Jay shares hard-won lessons on capital cycles, navigating workouts, and building trust-based partnerships across multiple markets. He breaks down the thinking behind QuadReal's platform strategy, sector convictions, and how they deploy long-term capital flexibly across the risk curve.

If you're interested in global real estate investing, institutional capital, platform-building, or market timing, this episode is worth your time.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

• Breaking into real estate through Lehman Brothers and surviving the "Squid Game" analyst culling

• Gaining an edge through international experience across Asia, Europe, the US and Russia

• Learning through workouts, restructurings and JV fallouts that shaped his investment approach

• Building QuadReal in Europe from scratch. First hires, first deals, and their conviction-led strategy

• Why cultural and ethical alignment matter more than strategy

• Want to partner with QuadReal? Jay shares what they look for in an operating partner

• Navigating market uncertainty and geopolitical risk while staying agile

• The myth of permanence and how sectors can shift faster than expected

· Why you shouldn't chase a pay cheque, instead focus on stacking skills, take international chances, and look for asymmetric opportunities.

And finally...

With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would he choose?

Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire.

If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn.

#realestate #privateequity #property #podcast #investor

James Craig, Co-Founder of Oval Real Estate, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast this week. We discuss James's journey from surveying to running a diversified real estate investment business. He reflects on pivotal career decisions, key deals, and the thinking behind Oval's sector-agnostic strategy. James shares lessons from launching Oval in a down market, building high-trust partnerships, and navigating complex development and regeneration projects. He also gives his view on current market dynamics, the role of public-private collaboration, and what it takes to build a successful, enduring real estate business. If you're interested in real estate entrepreneurship, platform-building, public-sector partnership, or value-add investing, this episode is for you. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: · Betting on Fit Over Convention · Why he walked away from his APC and corporate surveying path early, in favour of an entrepreneurial property trading-led environment. · Skill stacking – how he learned to originate, manage, and exit deals across Europe · Reality of trying, (unsuccessfully) to match deals with capital, and the lessons learnt · Oval's origin story, approach to business, investment thesis and partnership philosophy · How they have pivoted during market cycles, and have deliberately avoided single-sector exposure. · Inside scoop on what it takes to have a successful public & private partnership · We discuss key deals, from Digbeth and the Langham Estate to Mayfair offices and the £900m Henderson portfolio · Message to would-be founders: "Don't wait. It doesn't matter if it's a good or bad market. You've just got to go for it." And finally... With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would he choose? Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire. If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn. #realestate #property #podcast #regeneration #realestateinvestment #placemaking #offices #birmingham #london

Kevin Mofid, Head of Industrial & Logistics Research at Savills, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ this week.

We discuss his journey into real estate, the evolution of research in the sector, and key insights into the UK and European logistics markets.

Kevin shares his data-driven view of market trends, rental growth dynamics, build-to-suit versus existing stock, and the increasing importance of supply-side fundamentals when making investment decisions.

If you're active in the industrial or logistics real estate market across the UK & Europe, and you're interested in data-driven decision-making, or the forces shaping demand and supply in the sector, this episode is for you.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

· Kevin's unconventional path into real estate, and his pivotal early career moves

· The evolution of research from a back-office function to a front-line, strategic, in demand tool

· What the UK logistics data is really showing, and why build-to-suit deals are under pressure

· Rising vacancy in a market with strong demand, and what that disconnect tells us

· Speculative development trends, and how they're shaping short-term supply risks

· Why second-hand stock is growing fast, and how much of it is actually usable

· The real drivers of industrial demand, and why retail still dominates

· Nearshoring, reshoring, and how they are reshaping long-term European strategy

· Rental growth that's defying historic vacancy relationships, and why

· The evolving role of AI in warehousing and supply chain decision-making

· Why smart investors are prioritising supply-side data over demand forecasts

· Kevin's take on the biggest risk facing the sector today, and the data point he's watching most closely

Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

The People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire.

If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn.

#realestate #property #podcast #logistics #data #industrial

Philip Stott, Co-Founder of Caisson IO, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast this week.

We discuss his early career journey to co-founding Caisson IO, a boutique investment management firm that integrates data and technology to, invest and manage multi-let industrial assets across the UK.

Philip shares valuable insights on the role of data in real estate, building a tech-enabled investment platform, and how their approach to asset management has evolved.

If you're interested in real estate investment management, data-driven strategies, or scaling a specialised platform in the industrial sector, this episode is for you.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

· Early exposure to real estate and how Philip's family business influenced his entrepreneurial mindset

· How Philip's career evolved from traditional surveying to tech sales and then pivoting into investment management

· Insights from his experience at Yardi, including building their European platform and understanding financial systems and applying this learing to the investment management space

· How they launched the business - raising capital from friends and family

· How data-driven insights help Caisson IO identify market trends and opportunities in multi-let industrial assets

· The resilience and appeal of multi-let industrial assets as a stable income-generating asset class

· Building a strong, collaborative team and fostering a culture of empowerment for business growth

· Caisson IO's plans for future growth, leveraging specialixed expertise and data-backed strategies

And finally...

With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would Philip choose?

Enjoying the show?

Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

The People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire.

If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn.

Philip Gadsden, Managing Partner at Orchard Street Investment Management, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ this week.

We cover his 40+ year career in institutional real estate - from Jones Lang Wootton and Gatehouse, to building Invista, and now leading Orchard Street's shift into impact investing.

We get into his views on separate accounts, discretionary capital, asset-level execution, decarbonisation, and the evolution of investor expectations.

If you're interested in UK fund management and real estate's shift toward ESG and impact, this one's for you.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

• Why he chose real estate as a career, and the early moves that shaped his career

• Lessons learnt from launching his own business

• Launching one of the UK's first impact-led real estate funds in partnership with Brunel and Access

• The market's shift toward responsible investing, ESG metrics, and decarbonisation targets

• Evolution of the UK Fund Management space

• Why shorter leases and active management are now even more essential to driving returns and mitigate risk

• The opportunity set in industrial, retail parks, and residential

• Why OSIM are focused on future proofing second-hand assets given that 80% of 2050's buildings already exist

And finally...

With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would Philip choose?

Enjoying the show?

Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode.

The People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice of who to hire.

If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn, lets talk!