Propertyshe Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of PropertyShe, Susan Freeman speaks with Mark Shipman, founding partner of Michael Elliott, to mark his 40th year in real estate. Widely recognised as one of London’s leading investment advisers, Mark reflects on his early career, landmark deals, and the evolution of the London property market. He also shares his perspective on current market conditions, international investment trends, and how technology and regulation are reshaping the industry. 

In this episode, Mark Shipman speaks about: 

• Career beginnings & early influences – upbringing, first roles, mentors, and founding Michael Elliott at 24. 
• Formative deals & Chelsfield – early trades (e.g., Great Newport Street), portfolio transactions, and scaling through the 1990s–2000s. 
• How London’s market has evolved – rise of global capital, why international investors choose London (law, stability, culture), and today’s buyer mix. 
• Market cycles & shocks – lessons from the early-90s downturn, LTCM (1998), the 2008 crisis, and COVID’s long-term impact on confidence and debt. 
• Current investment sentiment – ebb and flow of overseas capital, growth of owner-occupier HQ purchases in prime Mayfair and St James’s. 
• Policy and tax headwinds – potential effects of a mansion tax, the end of tax-free shopping, and wider fiscal uncertainty. 
• Public markets & capital structure – REIT discounts, possible sector consolidation, and investor shifts towards lending and AI-linked opportunities. 
• Development and placemaking – examples including Sterling Square and the Fenwick/Bond Street redevelopment; importance of architecture, design, and tenant mix. 
• Hospitality snapshot – strong mid-market hotel performance contrasted with softer ultra-luxury demand. 
• Operator-led transactions – OpCo/PropCo structures and the BBC Maida Vale acquisition involving Hans Zimmer’s team. 
• Law and regulation – how the Building Safety Act 2022 is reshaping development risk and timelines. 
• AI in real estate – valuable analytical tool but still dependent on human judgment and negotiation. 
• Advisory approach & lessons – the importance of adaptability, financial understanding, and trusted professional relationships. 

Louise joined MAPP as Chief Executive Officer in September 2023 bringing with her a wealth of experience in UK and EMEA property. She is responsible for charting the company's strategic direction within the ever-evolving world of property operations.  

Louise leads the Executive team across MAPP’s Property Management business and subsidiaries; RE-DEFINED, Building Consultancy by MAPP and Energy by MAPP; ensuring outstanding service delivery, award-winning workplace culture and sustainable practices.  

Louise is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and until April 2025, was a non-executive Director and the Audit Chair of Miton UK MicroCap Trust plc. Previously, Louise was also a non-executive director for a number of early-stage property companies and held a range of senior executive appointments including at CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield where she was a member of the UK & Ireland Executive Committee and co-headed the EMEA Asset Services Business.  

Allan Lockhart is Chief Executive of NewRiver REIT. 

He has over 35 years’ experience in the UK retail real estate market. 

Having started his career with Strutt & Parker in 1988 advising major property companies and institutions on retail leasing, investment and development, in 2002, Allan was appointed Retail Director of Halladale Plc focusing on acquiring value add opportunities in UK retail real estate.  

Following the successful sale of Halladale Plc in early 2007, Allan co-founded NewRiver and served as Property Director from its IPO until being appointed CEO in 2018. 

Richard is a creative entrepreneur and patron of the arts, who is passionate about quality of place, architecture, heritage and provenance. Over the course of his career, he has established, built and sold four property investment and professional companies and developed more than six million square feet of mixed-use real estate.

Dror Poleg is the author of Rethinking Real Estate and the Co-Chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Technology and Innovation Council in New York. His insights on the future of cities and buildings have been featured in publications and events by the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business Insider, Moody’s, PwC, KPMG, and others. 

Ian graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1981 with a degree in Land Economy. Ian was in the banking industry for over 32 years having previously worked for Bank of America, UBS, NatWest and Bankers Trust/Deutsche, always focusing on the real estate industry. Ian joined Credit Suisse First Boston in 1999 to establish the Real Estate Group, and became Managing Director and Chairman of the European Real Estate Investment Banking. 

Ross Bailey is the CEO & Founder of Appear Here, the leading online marketplace for short-term retail space. Based on the concept that renting retail space should be as easy as booking a hotel room, Appear Here’s mission is to create a world where anyone with an idea can find space to make it happen. Hailed a "Digital game changer for the high street" by The Guardian, Appear Here lists over 10,000 spaces across the UK, US and France.

Guy Grainger is EMEA Chief Executive at NYSE-listed global real estate services company JLL. Overseeing over 12,000 employees across 80 offices, he sits on the Global Executive Board and is also the global Executive sponsor for Marketing.

A Chartered Surveyor, Jo has 30 years of UK real estate experience. Jo is Chief Executive of Frogmore having joined the firm in 1994. She has been involved in the asset management and development activity for the majority of Frogmore’s transactions over the past 24 years.

Nick Leslau, 60, has been Chairman and Chief Executive of Prestbury group of companies, which invests in and manages over £3bn of property assets, since he founded it in January 1998.