Estates Gazette Property Podcasts

In the past 12 months, investors have bought £1bn of UK commercial property through auction

Four key figures in UK commercial property auctions meet with EG auction expert Julia Cahill to discuss buying and selling high street retail investments in the current climate; what the drivers will be for bringing more commercial property stock to market next year; and the roles of in-room and online auctions going forward.

On the Case: Localism and business rates

In an On the Case special, Roger Cohen, partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, looks at the commercial background behind two recently heard appeals, both in the rating world:

- The Supreme Court case of UKI (Kingsway) Ltd  v Westminster City Council, concerning the issue of service of a completion notice; and

- The combined cases in the Court of Appeal, Rossendale Borough Council v Hurstwood Properties and Wigan Council v Property Alliance Group Ltd, involving empty property rates - which Roger says are "the scourge of building owners" and a "tax on failure".

Roger explores the distinct points of law raised in each, but explains how both arise out of the tensions between billing authorities and ratepayers in the age of localism.

 

Bricks & Mortar: How UCEM is breaking down barriers to working in the built environment

In this episode of Bricks & Mortar we talk to Ashley Wheaton of the University College of Estate Management about how it is helping people develop and build their careers across the whole spectrum of the built environment.

We discuss how a flexible approach to learning can be more affordable and how the UCEM is working to open up the built environment as a career for more and more people. 

On the Case: Business rates and supermarket ATMs

In the latest episode of On the Case, Bryan Johnston, partner at Dentons, analyses the recent Court of Appeal decision in Cardtronics Europe Ltd and others v Sykes (VO) and others [2018] EWCA Civ 2472; [2018] PLSCS 194 - which raised the question of whether some or all ATMs in retail locations should be billed separately for business rates purposes.

Johnston explains the huge significance of the case, why millions of pounds rode on the result, and what the Court of Appeal decided - as well as considering what the implications of its judgment will now be. 

Can PPP ever be Practically Perfect Partnerships?

In this episode of the EG Property Podcasts we meet U+I chief executive Matthew Weiner as the developer commits to changing the image of Public Private Partnerships. Weiner talks about the public mistrust in the schemes and sets out some potential solutions.

We talk about the important role for developers in understanding that it is the local people who have the biggest role to play in local communities and how workable PPPs are essential if we are to deliver homes and places to be for UK inhabitants.

Listen in to find out with PPP can ever stand for Practically Perfect Partnerships.

 

"I think I may have met my match"; From the New York Jets to Hudson Yards, meet the men delivering the biggest commercial project in America

Jay Cross always wanted to develop “big, complicated projects.” Now the president of Related Hudson Yards is responsible for delivering the biggest, most complicated scheme in America - a job he says comes down, in part, to “herding cats.”

He said: “One of the greatest challenges is that there are a lot of people here and a lot of moving targets. It’s complicated. Each of the buildings have their own unique ownership structures but there are a lot of shared facilities so we need to make sure that everybody is paying their fair share for the shared environment. Because that’s the special sauce.”

The 28-acre scheme on the site of a former West Side backwater is set to become one of the city’s most well known new neighbourhoods. “When we started I think the Hudson Yards name had about a 7% brand recognition with New Yorkers,” Cross told EG. “Now it’s around a 90% recognition.”

More than 18 million square feet of commercial and residential space and more than 100 shops has attracted tenants including Coach, L’Oreal, SoulCycle, an Equinox hotel, HBO, CNN and Sidewalk Labs to the site which Cross describes as “the new New York”.

The residential element of the scheme is 50% sold and while Cross concedes there is no doubt the market has slowed down, he Ian confident the offering at Hudson Yards is unique enough and at a price point that will continue to attract buyers.

Formerly a commercial real estate developer in Canada, Olympic athlete Cross was recruited in the 1990s by the NBA in Toronto where he worked with the Toronto Raptors before moving to Miami Heat and then to the NFL with the New York Jets.

In 2008 he returned to pure real estate with Hudson Yards.

For more on Hudson Yards, Cross’s take on the New York real estate market and how his career took him from property to sports and back again, listen to the podcast here.

 

GVA/Avison Young - How the deal went down, who is going to be in charge and what’s in the crosshairs next

EG sat down with Avison Young and GVA’s leaders to tackle the big issues around the Canadian firm’s £200m acquisition of the UK adviser.

Following Avison Young’s  £200m purchase of GVA, EG’s head of content David Hatcher sat down with Avison Young’s chairman and chief executive Mark Rose, its head of UK Jason Sibthorpe and GVA’s chief executive Gerry Hughes to discuss how the two businesses came together, the next steps in determining the leadership of the UK operation and Avison Young’s ambitions to keep buying more firms.  

Bricks and Mortar: How to secure and progress on a trainee surveyor programme

“Our graduate programme is looking for leaders of the future. It’s very much about attitude, cultural fit with the business and whether they’ve got a real hunger to be in property.”

With demand for the graduate programme at Savills outstripping supply, what makes a candidate stand out from the crowd and enables them to demonstrate that all-important hunger for the industry?

In this episode of Bricks and Mortar, Ema Saunders, Human Resources Director at Savills, discusses their graduate and apprenticeship schemes and reflects on what makes the ideal candidate, how they can expect to develop in their role once they’ve secured it and what happens on qualification.

Budget 2018: Reaction to Hammond's speech

CBRE UK research head, Miles Gibson, and Colliers senior property economist, Oliver Kolodseike, give their take on this year's Budget. 

 

Budget 2018: A resi breakdown

Great Marlborough Estates' co-founder Dean Clifford discusses stamp duty, the council borrowing cap lift, the Letwin Review and other announcements in Budget 2018.