Estates Gazette Property Podcasts

Opening the door: Inclusion, leadership and the future of real estate

What happens when an industry veteran, a NextGen co-chair and Estates Gazette’s news editor sit down to talk honestly about diversity, leadership and the changing face of property? Marking Real Estate Balance’s 10^th anniversary, Sue Brown, managing director at Real Estates Balance and NextGen committee co-chair Kevin Boakye lift the lid on gender parity, social mobility, the fax era, access to the sector and why inclusion isn’t a "nice to have"; it’s the industry’s biggest competitiveness challenge for the decade ahead.

Offices and the 2026 rating revaluation

Stephen White, partner at Daniel Watney, joins Estates Gazette to unpack the upcoming business rates changes and their implications for the office sector. From who stands to gain or lose, to how landlords and occupiers can best prepare, this conversation explores the complexities of the upcoming changes and offers some strategies to prepare you for it.

The thankless task of office tech – the silent efficiency engine

Jack Kelly, CEO of Office Ready Tech, speaks with Estates Gazette reporter Dom Plaskota about the often-overlooked role of technology in driving operational efficiency across office buildings. They explore how tech quietly underpins tenant satisfaction and asset performance but is only noticed when it stops working. A must-listen for anyone looking to future-proof their office operations.

Investment zones: an incubator for untapped potential

Hear from private sector players about opportunities that innovation zones and knowledge quarters unlock for the built environment. How could we build further on the success of these initiatives?

Liverpool eyes offices rebirth

Kier Property gives fresh touch of paint to Pall Mall as Liverpool City Council unlocks the development. Hear from the firm's development manager Meg Sweeney about the features that differentiate the scheme. 

A vision from Liverpool’s Future Impact Board

Hear from young professionals in the built environment about the gaps in employment, skills, and housing. Is this challenge unique to Liverpool or nationwide?

Where is Liverpool heading next?

Having positioned itself as a culture and leisure destination, the city looks to become a go-to place for other industries, too. Hear from Liam Robinson, leader at the Liverpool City Council, about turning ambitions into action.  

A five-year vision for urban regeneration

As cities and towns are being rethought and revamped, Estates Gazette and Avison Young brought together a group of built environment stakeholders to discuss the challenges in urban regeneration, the new thinking they need to show, and the changing mixes of asset classes being brought into focus in new visions.

Listen to the panel, conducted at the UKREiiF conference, to hear insight from:

• Hattie Charlier-Poole, senior development manager, Henley Investment Management
• Chris Cheap, principal, managing director transactions, Avison Young
• Matt Cross, deputy director of markets and regions, Department for Business & Trade
• Mona Hassan, chair, Liverpool City Region Future Impact Board
• William Scoular, head of business development, Investec 
• Tom Sleigh, chair of the planning and transportation committee, City of London Corporation
  
  Chaired by Tim Burke, Estates Gazette's editor

Food for thought in real estate’s social value push

In this panel discussion, Nathan Atkinson, co-founder of Rethink Food, a not-for-profit with a focus on fighting food insecurity and food waste, discusses the organisation’s work with Savills, which has supported the venture since 2019.

Speakers:

• Nathan Atkinson, co-founder, Rethink Food
• Emma Saunders, director, commercial human resources, Savills
• Olivia Sutcliffe, associate director, Savills Earth
• Chair: Tim Burke, editor, Estates Gazette

Property management: getting in earlier

How would real estate developments differ if the property managers who ultimately run the show when the doors open could be involved earlier – perhaps even during the design of the project?

That was the question posed by Savills and guests at an Estates Gazette panel at the UKREiiF conference, which set out to explore the benefits of a more integrated property management mandate that starts before a spade is put in the ground, let alone a key in the door. Listen to the conversation here.

Speakers:

• Matthew King, design director, Savills
• Heidi Stephenson, director, property management, Savills
• Craig Bluer, director, Savills
• Basil Demeroutis, founder, Fore Partnerships
• Alexia Laird, sustainability director, Landsec
• Chair: Tim Burke, editor, Estates Gazette