In this episode of the Edozo Property Podcast, we talk to Nicky Wightman, Director of Emerging Trends at Savills. 

In a unique role, Nicky is focused on the future of how we will live, work, learn and play. She is particularly interested in the creation of community and culture, the interaction between the physical and digital worlds and addressing the climate and social emergency. From helping clients define their vision, to driving debate within the industry, Nicky is keen to redefine the language and purpose of real estate. She is committed to supporting and mentoring on programmes which promote entrepreneurship, diversity and inclusion and which address the climate and social emergency.

We discuss

• Tackling climate change in real estate through innovation and technology
• How virtual working is impacting placemaking and building design
• Nickys take on immersive entertainment and the metaverse
• Experiential retail and what we can learn from it to attract people back to the office
• Redefining property's role and social purpose in how we live, learn and play 

Nicky's profile

In this episode of the Edozo Property Podcast we talk to Andrew Murdoch, Valuation Panel Director of VAS Valuation Group, a multi-faceted valuation market specialist.  Andrew has over 15 years experience as a Chartered Surveyor, registered valuer and property receiver, having previously held senior roles at Eddisons and Bradley Hall Chartered Surveyors, as well as Group Valuations Manager of Together, one of the UK's leading specialist lenders.

Episode highlights

• The role of VAS and why panel management is important for the industry
• The importance of relationships in the valuation journey
• Panel management as a risk management tool for lenders and valuers 
• How bridging and challenger lenders have become more mainstream
• The impact of rising interest rates on valuations
• The role of technology and data in the valuation process

Host profile
Andrew Murdoch profile
VAS Panel 

In this episode of the Edozo Property Podcast, we talk to Dan Hughes of Alpha Property Insight, a consultancy that works with property companies to help them navigate the digital transformation of the sector.  

For many in the industry, Dan doesn’t need an introduction as he is one of the most influential voices in data and digital transformation in real estate and has previously been voted the Number 1 PropTech Influencer in the UK. 

Dan has spent his career working within the built environment having held numerous senior positions at top tier organisations including Head of Land & Property at Ordnance Survey and Director of Data and Information products for the RICS. He is also the founder of the Real Estate Data Foundation and Chairs the Land Aid Tech Network as a trustee of Land Aid, the property industry charity that aims to end youth homelessness in the UK. 

​In this episode, Dan gives us a fascinating insight into how data is transforming commercial real estate and some of the many topics covered include:

• Dans background and career and how he got into data and technology
• How data is being used to measure the impact on people and the environment 
• Using new data sets beyond cashflow and comparables in the valuation process and the challenges this brings for the industry 
• Dans take on using Digital Twins in commercial property
• The role of institutional landlords and governing bodies in facilitating data sharing as an industry
• The importance of having a common identifier for all UK property and use of UPRN’s 
• Dans brilliant work with the Real Estate Data Foundation and the Land Aid Tech Network 

Follow Dan:
Dan Hughes Twitter
Dan Hughes LinkedIn

*The Edozo team is running the Land Aid 10k - any donations no mattter how small will go a long way to ending youth homlessness in the UK* Donate Here

Edozo simplifies property valuation and research with the software professionals really need.  Find out more at edozo.com

Pocket Living create well-designed, affordable homes for at least 20% below market value to help first time buyers in London make the dream of owning a home a reality.

Nick Cuff is their Chief Commercial Officer responsible for corporate and planning strategy, commercial partnerships, land acquisition and growth. He is a Chartered Surveyor, Chartered Town Planner and former Cabinet Member of the London Borough of Wandsworth. 

Talking points include:

• How pocket living are serving first time buyers by offering them compact affordable housing in London. 
• Why it has become more difficult for smaller developers to succeed in London due to planning complexity and a high cost of capital. 
• The essential role of local government in planning reforms and the impact of recent budget cuts. 
• The future of high density urban living and areas where Nick sees the most opportunity.

Take a look at Nick's very insightful property blog called  Propviews which delivers, insights and analysis from the world of property and housing development.

Nick Cuff LinkedIn
Pocket Living Website

Edozo simplifies property valuation and research with the software professionals really need.  Find out more at edozo.com

In this episode of the Edozo Property Podcast, we speak to Tom Davies and Sam McGirr, the co-founders of Bloom about scaling an ultra-urban warehousing portfolio in London. 

Bloom is an Investment and Development company that transform under-utilised real estate in Central London into ultra-urban warehouses, creating high quality spaces for e-commerce, on-demand food delivery and logistics operators (amongst many other innovative businesses) who struggle to source suitable industrial and logistics warehouse facilities in Central London.

Last year Bloom entered into a £250m joint venture with the real estate private equity group Angelo Gordon to scale an ultra-urban warehouse and logistics portfolio in London. In the last year they have built a £125m 4-asset portfolio with another 125,000 sq ft of opportunities in the pipeline. 

Tom Davies LinkedIn
Sam McGirr LinkedIn
Bloom Website

Edozo simplifies property valuation and research with the software professionals really need.  Find out more at edozo.com

Episode Highlights:

• Digital twins in property & construction
• The real time valuation of property using live data 
• Delivering societal outcomes using digital twins in social housing
• Future skills required for technical Chartered Surveyors
• Diversity in the property industry & Bola's work with DiverseCity Surveyors

Guest Overview:

Bola Abisogun OBE FRICS is currently working at the forefront of digital transformation in the infrastructure and construction industry as an Ambassador and member of the Gemini Council at the Centre for Digital Built Britain; delivering the National Digital Twin programme. 

 Via his new venture AI-QS, Bola is focused specifically on creating digital twins in Professional Services and has developed a specific use-case for the social housing sector.

He is also the Founder and Chairman of DiverseCity Surveyors who along with thought leadership, offer ‘culturally competent’ support services and CPD training to Surveyors from the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic community, who are either aspiring or current members of the RICS across the globe. 

Bola was awarded an OBE by the Queen in 2019 for his ‘Services to diversity and to Young People in the Construction Industry’.

Guest profile: Bola Abisogun LinkedIn

Tom Vaughan-Fowler is the Head of National Markets at WiredScore which operates the first and only digital connectivity rating scheme for real estate. Tom provides a fascinating insight into how WiredScore have created the global standard for digital connectivity ratings in our buildings and how this impacts demand for commercial and residential property. 

We discuss:

• Why digital connectivity is so important for the real estate industry
• The impact of a WiredScore rating on rent and sale prices including a property valuation
• Connectivity ratings for the BTR sector and why this is so important post Covid
• How connectivity ratings are crucial to a companies ESG strategy
• Different property asset classes set to benefit from digital connectivity
• Toms personal journey to joining WiredScore after spending a decade in commercial property investment.

Toms LinkedIn Profile

Edozo combines the digital mapping, property data and tools you need to research and value commercial property more easily.  Visit us at edozo.com to find out more.

Marcus from Edozo chats to Sasha Covington & Samuel May from JLL who are passionate champions for Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the commercial property sector. 

Sasha and Sam are really leading the charge when it comes to creating awareness of the challenges people from different backgrounds face in the CRE industry and importantly taking action to make change happen.   We were very fortunate to hear them share their personal stories  and also talk about some of the fantastic initiatives in place at JLL that ensure diversity and inclusion in hiring, promoting and mentoring employees.

Sasha is the COO of UK Valuation Advisory at JLL having been in the valuation team for over 24 years. Sasha is very passionate about diversity equity and inclusion in the property sector, especially around how to break through the “class ceiling” something she has clearly achieved herself, yet not without experiencing challenges and set backs. 

Sam is a registered valuer and an Associate Director at JLL with 8 years experience in the real estate industry. Sam is also the Head of UK and Global Strategy for DiverseCity Surveyors, which provides support services and educational training to BAME Surveyors who are members of the RICS globally.

Guest Profiles
Sasha LinkedIn
Sam LinkedIn

More about Edozo
Edozo Website

This episode is filled with nuggets of wisdom from a true legend of the property industry. Stephen Fear is a British Entrepreneur, Businessman, Philanthropist and Author with 50 years international business experience.  Today he has an established property empire and interests in a number of industries, including green technology, hotels, residential care and manufacturing. He is the Chairman & Founder of The Fear Group, which has interests in strategic land promotion, international property development and investment

Stephens story is fascinating. He went into business at the age of 15 after reading an article in the Financial Times that would affect the way industrial ovens were cleaned.  He used a red phone-box on the council estate where he grew up and persuaded an American firm to send him its product for him to sell in the UK.  Stephen later sold this business for £100,000 and invested the money in property, which was to be the start of his property empire and the birth of the nickname "The Phonebox Millionaire".

Anyone interested in property and business will find Stephens story and approach to life  inspiring. Topics include:

• The importance of networking and physically looking at sites
• His unique research team that find land and other business opportunities
• Taking a long term view 
• The biggest trends & opportunities in UK property 
• His conversation over lunch with the late Tony Pidgely CBE of Berkeley Group
• Key lessons for young people in the industry
• How to introduce properties to Stephen and his son Leon 

Stephen: 
https://www.feargroup.com/about-us/about-stephen-fear/ 
https://twitter.com/FearStephen

Fear Group:
https://www.feargroup.com/

Edozo: 
https://www.edozo.com/

In this episode of the Edozo Property Podcast, I chat to Jamie Hamer, one of the co-founders and now Commercial Director of React News the market leader in exclusive real estate news. 

We discuss:

• The journey to creating React News
• Some key investor trends including the  Buy To Rent and Logistics sectors
• How React are leveraging deal data to add more value to their subscribers
• Technology adoption in the real estate sector
• Jamie's pursuits away from work as an author and singer

React News: https://reactnews.com/
Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-hamer-156a4328/
Jamie's Book - https://exceptionalsalescareer.com/