Eg Property Podcasts

What once might have been a nice-to-have in terms of a real estate project’s environmental impact will soon be a must-have. From November, any commercial development will be subject to a planning condition requiring developers to show how they can increase biodiversity onsite by at least 10%. It marks the first time such a requirement will be statutory rather than voluntary. At UKREiiF, EG deputy editor Tim Burke sat down with Alexa Culver, general counsel at Environment Bank, and Ben Stansfield, partner at Gowling WLG, to discuss the new biodiversity net gain regulation, the challenges developers will face in factoring the new requirements into their planning proposals, and how an initiative from Environment Bank could give developers – and landowners – a new opportunity.

As Birmingham’s leaders map out a path for transforming the city, one project looks set to set the tone in terms of scale and ambition. The 42-acre, £1.9bn Smithfield project will eventually have 3,000 homes, 1.7m sq ft of commercial space and 40,000 sq ft of space for commercial use. Some 1,000 trees will green the city centre site, a new home for historic markets will be built and a new plaza, Festival Square, will be able to hold 8,000 people. In this podcast recorded at UKREiiF, EG deputy editor Tim Burke ios joined by Deborah Cadman, chief executive of Birmingham City Council, and Neil Martin, chief executive for Europe at Lendlease, to discuss the ways in which they want the project to become an impossible-to-ignore illustration of public and private partnership in action in Birmingham.

Lendlease’s Silvertown Partnership, a joint venture with Starwood Capital, has lodged plans for a sprawling £3.5bn scheme at Silvertown in London's Royal Docks that will include some 6,000 homes as well a redevelopment of the Millennium Mills into a new community centrepiece with more than 780,000 sq ft of work and creative space. In this podcast, recorded at the UKREiiF conference, EG deputy editor Tim Burke is joined by Bek Seeley, managing director for development at Lendlease Europe, and Dan Bridge, Royal Docks programme director at the Greater London Authority, to discuss the scheme. “Silvertown is, in our world, the opportunity to bring forwards the east of London, here and now,” Seeley says. “It's not often when you're doing a really large-scale regeneration project that you are gifted such history and such evolution."

Jess Harrold is joined by Chanté Bohitige and Akanksha Soni for the latest weekly round-up. Bohitige tackles the news that office refurbishments in London are at an all-time high - but what does the demand for prime, modern, environmentally friendly offices mean for values of secondary and tertiary space? Soni rounds up bumper activity in the PBSA and BTR arenas, and shares her experiences at UKREiiF in Leeds. But who will triumph as the quiz of the week returns? And what track will DJ Chanté add for your bank holiday listening pleasure to the EGLSM Certified Bangers playlist?: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0pBand693O5IhhaScVM6uZ  

In this week's Bricks & Mortar, EG's Sarah Jackman starts a new career development trilogy, with ex-finance lawyer and former managing partner of Brecher, Nicky Richmond. First up is networking: what it means, how to do it effectively - both in person and online - and how to approach it if you're an introvert.  Richmond draws on her own experience of networking, explains why advance preparation can be helpful and provides her top tips for getting started. She also explains what her networking acronym "APURR" means and why it's key in maintaining a strong network.    

EG's senior writer and former housing minister Mark Prisk are back for another episode of the property and politics podcast.  What will be the impact of this month's local elections on development? Is Labour a dead-cert to form the next government, or is some form of coalition more likely? And what policies can we expect either way? And, vitally, is this government running out of time to pass crucial legislation before the nation goes to the polls once more?

Jess Harrold is joined by deputy editor Tim Burke and offices reporter Chanté Bohitige for the latest weekly round-up. Burke surveys the deals market and finds little optimism out there for the rest of 2023 - but, between him and Bohitige, they find some players who do have plans to shout about, including flex office provider Clockwise and developer Art-Invest. Plus, Burke has details on this year's EG Awards - find out more and enter at: https://www.eg.co.uk/eg-events/eg-awards-2023/ And be sure out the ever-evolving EG Like Sunday Morning: Certified Bangers playlist at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0pBand693O5IhhaScVM6uZ

This week’s episode of Bricks & Mortar sees EG’s Sarah Jackman discuss job sharing with Shoosmiths partners Lisa Tye and Kathryn Jump, who, together, run the firm’s planning department. The pair attribute their success to their job share, which has been running for 15 years and has seen them move job as a pair three times. They discuss the motivation behind their job share, how it has evolved over the years and why, despite the post-pandemic move towards flexible working, job sharing remains underutilised. They walk listeners through the benefits, dispel the perceived negatives and suggest how anyone interested in pursuing job sharing might go about approaching it.

Jess Harrold is joined by news editor Pui-Guan Man and offices reporter Chanté Bohitige for the latest weekly round-up. Bohitige offers an update on plans for a £5bn revamp of London's Fleet Street, set to take shape over the next five years. Man tackles Hammerson's sale of its 50% stake in a major redevelopment site in Croydon, south London, to its joint venture partner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, after more than a decade in which the scheme never got off the ground. And, for your bank holiday listening pleasure, Bohitige adds a chilled-out track to the EG Like Sunday Morning: Certified Bangers playlist at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0pBand693O5IhhaScVM6uZ  

Jess Harrold is joined by senior writer Julia Cahill and residential reporter Akanksha Soni for the latest weekly round-up. Soni shares insights from her EG Interview with Socius Development, including their approach to mixed use, views on the future of the office, and integrating life sciences into schemes. She also offers an update on land values across various sectors. Cahill addresses Landsec's plans for its £20m Landsec Futures fund, including internships, student bursaries and data collection aimed at improving socio-economic diversity. Plus, the joy of the "walking office" - and be sure to share your views in EG's fifth annual LGBTQ+ Attitudes and Actions in Real Estate Survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/EGLGBTQ23          

EG's Sarah Jackman is joined on this latest episode of Bricks & Mortar by Fiona Lomas-Holt, associate director in sustainability at planning consultant Turley for a look at the firm's employee ownership model and the benefits it brings to the business, not just from a financial and corporate governance perspective but in terms of securing and retaining talent and creating an inclusive workplace.

Long Harbour has set out plans to build a 5,000-home rental single-family housing platform in the next five years, with a total GDV of more than £1.5bn. Speaking exclusively to EG's residential reporter Akanksha Soni, Jack Spearman, head of Long Harbour’s single-family housing platform, says the developer has plans to acquire and build more than 1,000 homes a year for its portfolio, which will be operated by its property management brand Way of Life. Sowgol Zarinchang, managing director of Way of Life, also tells EG how she plans to operate the new platform - and the lessons learnt from multifamily.

Jess Harrold is joined by deputy editor Tim Burke and offices reporter Chanté Bohitige for the latest weekly round-up. Bohitige tackles an all-time high for London office move deals, and how a trend for downsizing has played its part in that. Burke shares what ex-Schroders boss and Sellar chair Duncan Owen has to say about dark green leases in this week's EG Interview, and shares Sam McClary's insights into the gender pay gap - and what real estate can learn on that front from Lego. But best of all, the two devoted hip-hop heads add the first tracks to the EG Like Sunday Morning: Certified Bangers Spotify playlist, here to enliven your Sunday afternoons - with more songs to follow each time they appear on EGLSM. Get in on the ground floor at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0pBand693O5IhhaScVM6uZ

Forget thinking about a “green premium” for your top-tier ESG-focused office, says ex-Schroders boss Duncan Owen – the difference between the best and the rest is now a “chasm”. As he took the chair at Sellar, Owen sat down with EG deputy editor Tim Burke at MIPIM for a 40-minute conversation talk about dark green developments, office repricing and the value of making mistakes.

In this latest In on the Act, Sarah Jackman is joined by Daniel Black and Fern Schofield, barristers at Falcon Chambers, to discuss the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard Regulations and the changes that took effect on 1 April. They cover the scope of the changes, exemptions, and penalties for non-compliance. They also look ahead to the evolution of the rules, as well as highlighting both legal and commercial issues that landlords and tenants ought to consider.

In the wake of the announced review of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 by the Law Commission, Jess Harrold is joined by the leadership of the Property Litigation Association to discuss the findings of the PLA's own survey of its 1,600 members on how the legislation could be improved. Dellah Gilbert, PLA chair and partner at Maples Teesdale, Mark Reading, PLA vice chair and partner at Mishcon de Reya, and Paul Tonkin, chair of the PLA’s law reform committee and partner at Hogan Lovells International, address the broad findings of the survey that the 1954 Act remains broadly fit for purpose and strikes a fair balance for landlords and tenants, and dig into the changes their members would like to see to streamline the process. In addition, they consider more controversial issues, including the role the courts should play in the commercial lease renewal process, and whether the "intention to develop" ground for opposing renewal should be extended to allow ESG works to be carried out.

In this episode of the EG Property Podcast, EG news editor Pui-Guan Man presents the second of three EG Interviews, recorded live at EG’s pavilion out at MIPIM this March. This EG Interview is with PfP Capital’s new chief executive Catherine Webster. In this 30-minute listen, hear how Webster has turned 30 years of ashamedly turning a profit for a business into something so much more worthwhile – turning a profit to deliver social value. It is a must listen for anyone in the business of housing and fund management who wants to find a way to become unashamedly capitalist, but for good reasons. You can also read this interview in the 8 April issue of EG Magazine or online at www.egi.co.uk/news 

This week’s episode of Bricks & Mortar brings together two lawyers from Withers Worldwide: construction lawyer Pauline Page and commercial real estate lawyer Ruby Dalal, for a discussion on their careers, the things that have helped them to progress and the joy of working in real estate. They highlight key attributes such as technical knowledge, commercial understanding and people skills and reflect on the importance of resiliance, networking, finding allies and keeping focused. Conversation also turns to how the industry has adapted to the environmental agenda and growth of technology, and how these growing areas have impacted the way that real estate lawyers work. As ever, there is plenty of advice for anyone looking to get inspired and develop a career in the industry.

This episode of the EG Property Podcast features a keynote speech, delivered live at the EG Pavilion at MIPIM 2023. The speech is delivered by investment minister Lord Dominic Johnson, who outlines his position as the UK's concierge for investors, the focus government has on increasing the rate of return for investors in the UK, and why he believes that the country offers some of the best opportunities in the world. It is a lively speech that also serves up an unprompted advert for the very wonderful EG magazine. Enjoy.

In this EG Property Podcast, recorded live from EG’s Pavilion at MIPIM 2023, EG deputy editor Tim Burke is in conversation with George Armitage, managing director for global real estate at Oxford Economics. Recorded on the morning of the UK’s budget announcement the pair discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of the economic environment. Listen in as Armitage shares his expert knowledge of the UK economy and its impact on the commercial real estate markets, key trends and challenges facing the sector and reasons we should all save a little bit of optimism for the remainder of the year.