The Return: Property & Investment Podcast

Send us a textI chatted with Gus Wiseman, Global Head of Investor Relations for the UK Government’s Office for Investment about: 🌍 What international capital thinks about UK housing vs. Europe and the US📈 How UK real estate platforms can position themselves to secure investment from global pension funds📢Why self-deprecation is doing UK Plc no favours - and what we can do about it.Guest website: http://great.gov.uk Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guswiseman/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textUK vs Europe: Where’s the Smart Money Going in Living Sector Investment?With John German, Managing Director Alternative Investments at Invesco Real EstateI chatted to John German, Managing Director Alternative Investments at Invesco Real Estate about the differences between UK and European Living Sector Investment, with a special focus on Affordable Housing. This episode is brilliant for anybody new to this sector as John is an expert at navigating this sometimes complex sector. We covered:Who’s who and what’s what in Living Sector investmentWhat different investors look for: Income vs Total Return (including capital growth)The differences between UK living sectors and other living sectors internationally in terms of scale, maturity and return expectationsThe significance of the UK’s regulatory framework for affordable housing, meaning Affordable housing needs to be provided by Registered ProvidersWhat premium international investors need to make on Living Sector investments, to justify currency risk.Guest website: https://www.invesco.com/us/en/strategies/alternatives/real-estate.html Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-german-2437573b/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textI chatted to Phil Clark, NED at Pinnacle Group (70,000 UK homes), Thriving Investments, part of Places for People, Chair of Pinnacle Investments (a partner of ours), Executive Chair at Wellcome Trust’s Genome Campus, and Investment Committee NED at UCL and PIC.We talked about the match between institutions and social/affordable housing:📈 Scale – Housing Associations are some of the UK’s largest landlords, with an average of 2,801 homes each (and many far bigger).💷 Income growth – Typically offering some protection against inflation.🏠 Attractive yields – Standing stock can generate 4-5% returns.🌍 Social impact – Many institutions actively seek investments that deliver real-world benefits, and housing is a tangible way to meet urgent needs.Phil explained what role institutions can play in solving the crisis of affordable (and Affordable) housing, investing through:💰 Debt – Lending to Housing Associations, in the same way they would allocate capital to other bond investments.🏗️ Equity – Investing in the end product.Guest website: https://wellcome.org/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-clark-8761ba26/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textI chatted to Ann-Marie Atkins, a Managing Partner and award-winning Financial Planner at Evelyn Partners, about what you need to know about investing. Disclaimer and spoiler alert - there’s no actual investment tips or investment advice, the game-changing advice is to consider two equally exciting themes: TAX and INFLATION. Some snippets from Ann-Marie:Want to double your money in the next 10 years?? You can, if you invest at 7.2% interest (a version of this is known elsewhere as the Rule of 72)If you do one thing, think about tax first because it will have the greatest impact on your net returns - for example ISAs, SIPPs, Lifetime ISAs. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time before the end of the tax year. How much you should be contributing to your pension each year.I shared some of my thoughts including:Something I’ve seen as I’m spending more time in the US is that there’s a much greater acceptance of mistakes. Business founders are celebrated for trying as well as for succeeding; there’s less shame around learning by doing. Here in the UK, speaking for myself, I was brought up to be scared of making mistakes with money - and the cost of that fear is huge - both for individuals and for our economy!Booking a monthly finance date with myself is something I find really helpful, and having a process and plan to follow.Some comments from listeners - for example, one very successful listener shared: “I’m just crap at this stuff. I put a reminder in my calendar to sort out my ISA or read up on how to allocate it, and then I keep postponing the calendar invite.” and we shared some nuggets about how to make this easier…Guest website: https://www.evelyn.com/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annmariebanks/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textI chatted to Rob Beiley, a Partner at law firm Trowers & Hamlins with over 20 years of experience in the affordable housing sector.Rob advises housing associations, local authorities, developers and institutional investors on topics including corporate governance, housing finance, development and structuring.He’s also a board member of the Housing & Finance Institute, Chair of the British Property Federation's Affordable Housing group and a contributor to Inside Housing and the BBC on topics like council-led housing initiatives and the rise of local authority housing companies.We covered:What are the different types of Social Housing and who is involved in delivering itA potted history of Social Housing, including large-scale stock transfers and the growth of the Housing Association sector under the Conservatives and New Labour administrations in the 1990s and the early 2000sHow investment in Social Housing has evolved over the years, and what kind of returns investors can expect Guest website: https://www.trowers.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-beiley-8a906944/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textI chatted to the brilliant Alex Notay, who succeeded Dame Kate Barker as Chair of the Radix Big Tent Housing Commission and was previously Placemaking and Investment Director at Thriving Investments (formerly PfP Capital). There, she facilitated a £390m joint venture with the Housing Growth Partnership and the acquisition of the award-winning sustainable developer Igloo Regeneration, where she also served as a board member.Alex is one of the most knowledgeable, practical people I know in housing, so it was a great joy to record this - we talked: The Reality of Housing Targets - what’s needed to achieve them? Why it makes sense to treat housing as infrastructureThe challenge of communicating complicated ideas simplyThe significance of language around housing… Our self-built barrier to entry to the industry, where we talk about #housing when referring to social housing, #residential for private investment, #living for institutional investment, #property for individuals, #realestate for the American market #builtenvironment in relation to planning and development, and so on.Read the Radix Paper here: https://radixuk.org/papers/beyond-the-permacrisis-delivering-1000-homes-per-day/Guest website: https://radixuk.org/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandranotayparr/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textI chatted to Bella Peacock, Senior Managing Director – Investment Management and Operations Europe, at Greystar. Greystar is one of the largest property managers globally with over 1m+ Units and Beds under management, over $78bn+ assets under management and a development track record of circa $36bn.We covered:Career forks in the road - and how an early decision to try something that sounds interesting can create your future if you decide to follow the thread How to navigate the complexities of working in a big global businessHow to stay focused in a world full of information and ideas - and how to stay positive in a challenging marketGuest website: https://www.greystar.com/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bella-peacock-5a289360/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textI chatted with ex-Silicon Valley multi-national real estate investor with 30 years experience, and specialist in structured finance and legal capital raising for real estate, John Corey for this week’s episode on topics including:How can processes be used to shift away from emotional investment decisions and overcome ‘analysis paralysis’?How can data gathering be used to improve financial and non-financial outcomes?What is the optimal stopping point in the hunt for deals?Guest website: https://propertyfortress.com/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncorey/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textI chatted with my brilliant mentor, ex-Silicon Valley multi-national real estate investor with 30 years experience, and specialist in structured finance and legal capital raising for real estate, John Corey for this week’s episode on topics including:Why get or be a mentor, and how to get the most out of the relationshipWhat are the rules around using ‘OPM’ (other people’s money) How Financial Promotion is regulated in different geographies.Guest website: https://propertyfortress.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncorey/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a textI chatted to Emily Hamilton, Chief Sustainability Officer at Savills Investment Management about how to create a career you love in sustainable investment management in real estate. We covered:What a Chief Sustainability Officer is, and also what Investment Management actually means - in words my mum can understandThe importance of networks - speaking to others in the industry and sharing data and best practice - with some tips on how via the Better Buildings Partnership and ULIAdvice on driving innovation and change in a corporate context, from seeking senior management buy in to laying out a plan that includes urgent ‘now’ tasks and an inspiring vision for the future.Guest website: https://www.savillsim.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-hamilton-0973b31b/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/