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. 

Des was born in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and has lived in London for most of his life. He went to school in Wimbledon and studied economics at Bristol University before qualifying as a chartered accountant at Ernst & Young in 1981. 

 Peter Freeman read history at Balliol College, Oxford and then qualified as a solicitor. He and his brother, Michael, founded the Argent Group of property companies in 1981 and floated them in 1994. In 1996, in the first ever industry-wide awards, Argent was Developer of the Year and the Freeman Brothers shared the Property Personality of the Year Award. 

Imagine combing an Indian river for the fish made famous by Rudyard Kipling’s poem, The Golden Mahseer. Picture yourself perched atop a thoroughbred racehorse as it gallops at top speed over six furlongs. Visualise a Native American tribal ceremony, with you as the Honorary Eagle Dancer. Steve Edge has done it all, and much, much more.

After winning a National Young Artist of the Year award aged 15, Steve’s sculptures and design work soon led him to work with acclaimed film director George Lucas, who enlisted Steve to work in the art department for such films as Star Wars and Raiders of The Lost Ark.

In 1985, Steve founded his own branding agency, Steve Edge Design, and over the past 30 years he’s worked with some of the world’s biggest names, from Christian Dior and Fortnum & Mason to Rules Restaurant, Cartier and Purdey Guns.

Steve puts part of his creative success down to his dyslexia, which allows him to see the world from new and original perspectives. He has spoken extensively on dyslexia and creativity, highlighting the importance of thinking laterally, not literally.

His belief in the inspirational over the informational has sparked his latest venture: The Outer Thinking Division, which publishes articles and hosts roundtable discussions on a whole range of topics set to touch our lives in the near and distant future. 

Samantha McClary, Former editor Estates Gazette, Chief Executive of the British Council for Offices 

Until recently Editor of Estates Gazette, Sam's new role is as Chief Executive of the British Council for Offices. 

Sam McClary has more than two decades of experience in the UK real estate sector. She spent the first 24 years of her career as a journalist and editor, with an introduction to the property sector through a specialism in hotel and leisure reporting. In 2004 she took up a role as a rookie reporter at Estates Gazette, first covering the retail and leisure sector. Over the following 20 years she moved her way up through the ranks of EG, building connections with key players across the real estate sector and broadening her coverage to include the key issues facing the industry and the core ways the sector contributes to the UK’s economy and prosperity. She took over as editor of EG in 2019 and held the position until January 2025 when the business was sold to family-owned publishing house Mark Allen Group. 

Sam is best known in the industry for being a fierce champion and challenger to the real estate sector, utilising her platform to help showcase the good that real estate can and does do for people, planet and UK PLC while poking the sector to continue to improve in key areas such as diversity and inclusion, environmental and societal impact and technological advancement. 

Sam is a particularly vocal supporter of ED&I in the industry and of unlocking and attracting talent from places the industry may not have traditionally gone looking. Among her proudest achievements is the launch and development of the Future Leaders programme, which gave powerful voices to underrepresented groups in the built environment, enabling them to tell stories of the true impact that real estate has on all of our lives. 

In early 2025, Sam was appointed as chief executive of the British Council for Offices, a key industry body representing the workplace sector and the diverse set of players that bring this vital element of the UK built and business environment to life. She takes up the role from 6 May and plans to continue to be both champion and challenger for the sector as it continues through this most transformative period. 

Sam also sits on the advisory board of Black Women in Real Estate. 

Chief Executive Officer and founder, Mark Dixon is one of Europe's best known entrepreneurs. Since founding the Regus Group in Brussels, Belgium in 1989, he has achieved a formidable reputation for leadership and innovation. Prior to Regus and IWG he established businesses in the retail and wholesale food industries. A recipient of several awards for enterprise, Mark has revolutionised the way business approaches its property needs with his vision of the future of work.

Patricia Brown advises and guides civic and business leaders advises and guides civic and business leaders on urban change and development.

As CEO of the successful coworking hub, Runway East, and Chair of the ICE List, Natasha’s core interests lie in nurturing high-growth startups and building collaborative tech communities.

Kathrin is leading a team of 30 people as Almacantar’s Property Director.

Originally from Berlin Kathrin has led masterplans and large scale developments in central London for more than 17 years. 

Her extensive experience of mixed-use projects in London and in-depth knowledge and understanding of the market enables her to provide bespoke solutions to complex sites.

Scott Malkin is the founder and Chairman of Value Retail, the co-founder and Chairman of Value Retail China and the founder and Chairman of SD Malkin Properties.

These organisations focus on the development of fashion led, open air retail projects and also on the development of four star boutique hotels. As well, they are leading the creation of a new sports and entertainment arena complex that will serve the New York City market.

Value Retail’s eleven retail venues are known as The Bicester Village Shopping Collection and comprise the most productive retail portfolio in the world in terms of sales per square foot. These destinations serve fashion brands and cater to “luxury travelling consumers”.

Bicester Village, outside of London, generates the highest sales per square foot of any purpose built retail location in the world. The Bicester Village Shopping Collection projects focus on tourism spend and are rooted in SD Malkin Properties’ award winning 2 Rodeo Drive development, built in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California.

Scott is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School. He serves on various committees at Harvard as well as on non-profit boards, including those of The New York Public Library, The Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, Lincoln Center and Partners In Health.

He was raised in New England, and he and his family have lived in London since 1991.

Steve Norris was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Oxford East and then Epping Forest from 1983 to 1997. In 1992 he was appointed Minister for Transport with a special responsibility for all London transport.  After retiring from Parliament in 1997 he was twice his party’s candidate for Mayor of London. 

Savannah de Savary is the Founder and CEO of Built-ID. After graduating from the University of Oxford in 2013, Savannah joined Thor Equities, where she managed NYC real estate development projects. In June 2015 she founded Built-ID, a proptech platform that showcases the built environment projects of today and transforms community engagement to better shape the projects of tomorrow. 

Alex Price joined Palmer Capital in 2003, initially charged with creating the fund management business within Palmer Capital. Peter Cuthbert has been with Fiera Properties throughout their formative years and instrumental in the development and growth of the firm’s business. 

Born in London in 1944 and educated at St Paul’s School. John started his career at Hillier Parker (now CBRE) in the early 1960s before moving on to become a partner at Barnet Baker (estate agents). In 1973 he acquired Pilcher Hershman & Partners. A decade later John acquired control of the Derwent Valley Light Railway Company (capitalised at £1.5m), restructuring it as Derwent Valley Holdings plc which - following the merger with London Merchant Securities plc in 2007 - became Derwent London plc.

Tom Bloxham MBE is chairman and founder of award-winning regeneration company Urban Splash, which has received nearly 400 awards to date for architecture, design and business success. The company is responsible for development projects across the country, including Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Bristol, Plymouth and Morecambe.

CEO of HUB, Robert Sloss, has been an entrepreneur in property and development for over 25 years. During this time, Robert has created a series of real estate investment and development platforms, primarily in the residential and office sectors. Robert has a passion for vibrant urban living and the need for the built environment to reflect changing human demand. As a result, HUB was one of the first developers to recognise that changing UK work practices would drive the need to repurpose redundant office buildings, for living uses. 

Robert co-founded HUB in 2012, and over time it has become a leading UK BTR-led residential developer, with more than 9,600 homes completed or under development across the UK. A pioneer of both BTR and co-living in the UK, HUB continues to deliver industry-leading developments, including the award-winning Queen’s Quarter in Croydon; One Maidenhead, a major mixed-use regeneration scheme in Maidenhead town centre; and the Yardhouse co-living scheme at Wood Lane. 

HUB’s adaptive reuse strategy, in line with its commitment to urban regeneration and sustainability, continues to bear fruit. As well as Cornerstone in the Barbican, the first co-living planning consent in the City of London, HUB has Assemblies in Minories, which it hopes will be the City’s second co-living consent. HUB believes that co-living is particularly well suited to the City, with its long working hours and significant transitory, international workforce. 

Amanda Clack MSc BSc PPRICS FRICS FICE FAPM FRSA CCMI FIC CMC

Amanda is Head of Strategic Advisory at CBRE and is Managing Director for Advisory services, supporting clients on their strategic real estate agenda. She is a Member of the UK Board. 

She is also the Immediate Past President for the RICS becoming the longest serving in 123 years.

Amanda is on the Development Board for the London Symphony Orchestra.

Previously she was a Partner in EY LLP and PwC LLP. Amanda is a Fellow of RICS, APM, Institute of Consulting and the RSA. She is a Certified Management Consultant and Companion of the Institute of Management. She is listed in Who’s Who and has won various awards. 

Amanda is a published author and speaker on areas such as strategy, digital, cities, placemaking, real estate and the war of talent. She is a strong voice on diversity and inclusion in the sector and has just published her second book on the subject “Managing Diversity and Inclusion in Real Estate”. 

Amanda was appointed to the UCEM Board of Trustees in December 2018 for an initial three-year term.

Alex joined Palmer Capital in 2003, initially charged with creating the fund management business within Palmer Capital. 

Charlie is Co-CEO of The Office Group (TOG), which he founded in 2003 with Co-CEO Olly Olsen.

Michael Slade FRICS, is Chairman of Helical plc, a UK-listed property development and investment company, one of the best performing quoted property stocks in the UK.

Pippa Malmgren is an economist who explains the world economy in bestselling books and through public speaking, shapes the world economy by advising governments and builds it by having founded a robotics firm. 

Tyler is the Founder and CEO of Seaforth Land, the recent purchasers of the iconic, Seifert designed, CAA House, Kingsway (also known as Space House). He has 30 years of global real estate experience including 20 years in Asia working through both the Asian Financial Crisis and the Global Financial Crisis. Tyler has worked in property development, advisory and investment banking, principal investment, and investment management and has lived and worked in North America, Asia and Europe. He has a deep knowledge and understanding of sovereign and institutional real estate investors.

Brendan Wallace is a Co-founder and Managing Partner at Fifth Wall. Brendan was Co-founder & CEO of Identified, a data & analytics company focused on workforce optimization that raised $33 million of venture capital and was acquired by Workday (WDAY) in 2014.

Michelle is responsible for the management of Shaftesbury Capital’s £5bn property portfolio, including asset management, investment, leasing, and marketing across Covent Garden, Soho, and Chinatown London, and is a member of the Executive Committee. Michelle was previously on the Board of Capco and has significant financial and real estate experience having joined Capco in 2014 undertaking a number of senior roles across the business.  

Michelle is an experienced Corporate financier and was previously at UBS Investment Bank, advising companies across the UK listed real estate sector. 

Tom joined the former Argent business in 2012 and became a Partner in 2020.

Between 2019-2022, Tom was Head of Residential for the Related Argent business and CEO of the Heart of Hale development, overseeing a pipeline of more than 8,000 new homes across London. Prior to this role, Tom was responsible for residential at King’s Cross, including the delivery of the Gasholders apartments.

In 2023, Tom was appointed Chief Executive Director of Related Argent, leading the team of 175 property and urban regeneration professionals, working to improve urban life for everyone, every day. Today the business he leads has a UK property portfolio of c.£13bn, totalling in excess of 21 million sq ft.

Before joining the business, Tom worked in project management consultancy and as a practising architect on numerous large-scale mixed-use schemes, including the Shard and the London 2012 Athlete’s Village.

Tom is a chartered member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and sits on its Housing Group.

Real Estate futurist Antony Slumbers is a globally recognised PropTech thought leader, speaker, adviser, and writer specialising in AI in real estate, real estate technology, and the future of work and workplaces. A serial entrepreneur, he has founded and successfully exited multiple commercial real estate innovation companies and now advises leading real estate boards on transformation, technology, and innovation strategies. 

A thought leader in the industry, Antony’s blog is widely regarded as an influential resource, offering insights on AI, PropTech, and Space-as-a-Service. His online course, #GenerativeAIforRealEstatePeople, helps professionals navigate how AI is reshaping the built environment. 

Antony frequently speaks at international conferences, covering topics such as ‘#SpaceasaService: The Trillion Dollar Hashtag’, the future of work and workplaces, and AI-driven transformation in real estate. 

Throughout his career, Antony has collaborated with major real estate technology firms, institutional investors, and property companies, including CBRE Global Investors, SEGRO, RICS, Fifth Wall Ventures, and MSCI, among many others. His expertise stems from decades of experience in the commercial real estate sector, having launched pioneering platforms such as Estates Today, Cityoffices.net, and Vicinitee. The latter, which he co-founded with British Land, was scaled to serve hundreds of properties and thousands of users before a successful exit. 

With a career dedicated to analysing and predicting the intersection of real estate and technology, Antony brings unparalleled insight into how innovation will continue to reshape the industry. 

For more insights from Antony Slumbers, visit his blog or explore his online course on Generative AI for Real Estate here. 

Keith Breslauer is the Managing Director and Senior Partner of Patron Capital, including the Patron Capital Captive Fund and Funds I–VII. Since founding the firm in 1999, he has led its strategic growth, overseeing total capital under management of approximately €5.3 billion. Patron focuses on investments in property and European companies associated with property-related activities, with a portfolio spanning over 45 million square feet of diverse assets across the UK and Western Europe. 

Keith began his career at Lehman Brothers, where he co-led the International Mortgage and Real Estate Department and headed the European Principal Finance Group. After a decade at Lehman, he launched an investment fund in 1997, which ultimately evolved into Patron Capital. 

Beyond his professional career, Keith is a dedicated philanthropist and actively supports numerous charitable initiatives. He serves as Vice Patron of The Royal Marines Charity, Chairman of the PTI (formerly the Prince’s Teaching Institute), and holds advisory roles with organizations such as the Social Enterprise Initiative and Global Leaders Group at Chicago Booth. He is also a member of the Investment Committee for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity. 

A passionate advocate for education and leadership development, Keith holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BSc from the NYU School of Business. He frequently lectures at top institutions, including Chicago Booth, Harvard Business School, and Oxford’s Saïd Business School. 

Based in London for nearly three decades, Keith is an accomplished alpinist, mountaineer, and skier. He lives with his wife and four children. 

Rita-Rose Gagné is the CEO of Hammerson plc, an owner, operator and developer of prime, urban real estate in some of the fastest growing cities in the UK, Ireland and France.

She joined the company in 2020 to develop and spearhead the strategic transformation of the business.

She brings extensive experience in real estate investment - and global property markets - combined with strong strategic, operational leadership and financial management skills.

Prior to joining Hammerson, Rita-Rose was President of Growth Markets at Ivanhoé Cambridge, responsible for over $8bn of real estate assets, platforms and a development pipeline across Asia Pacific and Latin America, covering logistics, retail, mixed use, office and residential.

Rita-Rose holds a Bachelor of Law from Laval University as well as an MBA from McGill and HEC Montréal.

Harvey founded James Andrew International in 1974 following the first phase of his real estate career at Peachey Property Corporation and Guardian Properties Plc. 

James Andrew has been involved in many major commercial real estate developments, investment acquisitions, leasing and disposals in the UK, Europe and USA over the past 50 years.

Harvey is Chairman of James Andrew RSW and James Andrew Residential, which are involved in the management of over 2 million sq ft of West End and City of London office buildings and commercial properties throughout the UK. James Andrew Residential manages over 8,000 luxury apartments across London.  

He also Chairs Excellerate Services UK, which provides cleaning and security services to high-end retail, office buildings, shopping centres and luxury apartment blocks. 

In addition to his business activities, Harvey somehow finds the time to be involved in numerous charities. They are too many to mention but include The Natural History Museum, JCOSS, the RAF Museum London, The Chartered Surveyors’ Company, The Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors, Youth Aliyah Child Rescue, Chickenshed Theatre Trust and Community Security Trust.

Harvey was the worthy recipient of this year's Property Week Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lynda is Chief Executive of Harworth Group, one of the UK’s leading land and property regeneration companies. She was previously Group Property Director and a Board Member at London Stock Exchange-listed Town Centre Securities plc where she led the management of its land and property and its development pipeline.

Arthur Kay is an entrepreneur, and advisor to organisations building solutions for sustainable cities.

He is the founder of several urban design and technology companies, including the clean technology company – Bio-bean (acq. 2023), the design, technology, and development company – Skyroom, and the £100m Key Worker Homes Fund.

Arthur is an advisor to organisations including Innovo Group, and serving as a board member for Transport for London, The Royal Academy of Engineering, the Museum of the Home, and Fast Forward 2030.

In addition, Arthur holds academic appointments, as Associate Professor (Hon.) at UCL Institute for Global Prosperity. He has lectured on urban design at MIT, NYU, LSE and Imperial College London. He is co-author of the book Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars (Wiley, 2025), with Professor Dame Henrietta Moore.

Arthur’s work building solutions for sustainable cities has been recognised by the UN as a Sustainable Development Goals Pioneer, The Guardian as Sustainable Business Leader of the Year, MIT Technology Review as a 35-under-35 and Forbes as an all-star 30-under-30. His words and work have appeared in publications, including The Times, The Financial Times, The New York Times,  Bloomberg, National Geographic, The New Scientist, The Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, CNN, CNBC, CBS, Wired, Architect’s Journal, Architectural Review, and on the BBC.

Arthur studied architecture at UCL Bartlett School of Architecture, and entrepreneurship at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Sir Brandon Lewis was a businessman before he entered Parliament in 2010 and served in numerous Government and Cabinet roles for over 10 years, during his time as Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth from 2010 to 2024. 

During his decade as a member of the British Government, he held several Ministerial and Secretary of State positions under 4 Prime Ministers. His final role was as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, a role in which he was involved in the Accession Ceremony for King Charles III.

Prior to that, he was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and  Minister of State at the Home Office. He has also served as Minister of State for Housing & Planning, Minister for Local Government and Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service. He was also Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Having retired as an MP at the 2024 General Election, Brandon has since taken up strategic advisory roles including Chairing the Advisory Board of Letter One, a main board Director of Veon, Civitas Investment Management, FM Conway and Thakeham, providing high level strategic advice on digital strategy development and public and private sector engagement and advocacy.  

 He is also a qualified a Barrister.

Laurence is the award-winning founder and CEO of Pavegen, an innovative, clean technology company. 

Headquartered in London, with an R&D centre in Cambridge, Pavegen manufactures a floor system that instantly converts kinetic energy from footfall into off-grid electricity, data and rewards. His mission: to improve the world through the power of a footstep. 

Laurence and Pavegen have been recognised with numerous awards and accolades and Laurence is a renowned thought leader and worldwide speaker on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Acclaimed by The Guardian for “shifting perceptions of renewable energy.” Laurence has spoken at more TED talks than any other technology company. His TEDxBerlin presentation was featured among TED’s top talks on envisioning cities of the future and changing attitudes to fossil fuels. Clients include Google, Cisco, Nike, Adidas and the Federal US government and technology has been adopted in over 200 sites around the globe.

Howard was appointed Deputy Mayor of London for Business in December 2023.

Before joining the Mayor’s team, Howard worked in business for thirty years, spending 17 years as Managing Director for Strategy of the Canary Wharf Group. At Canary Wharf, Howard was involved in the development of the Elizabeth Line and supporting the 2012 Olympic Bid and Olympic Legacy as well as commercial inward investment projects in tech, health & life sciences, and financial services.

He has been an active member of business organisations including Business LDN, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, TheCityUK and the London Property Alliance. 

He is a trustee of “The Line” art walk along the River Lea. Formerly Chair of the East End Community Foundation (2013-2022) he is now a patron of the charity, and a patron and former Vice-President of UK Youth. 

Howard was Chair of the Business Advisory Board for the University of East London School of Business and Law and has been a visiting lecturer at the School.

He was a Parliamentary Candidate for the Labour Party and is the Chair of Labour Friends of Bangladesh and Labour Friends of USA.

Katherine is an accomplished leader in the Build-to-Rent sector, with almost two decades of real estate experience. 

As a founding member of John Lewis Partnership’s BTR strategy, she has been instrumental in developing and operating 10,000 homes and securing a pivotal joint venture with abrdn. 

Her career spans diverse roles in retail, mixed-use development, and asset management, including her tenure as Group Head of Real Estate for John Lewis Partnership. 

Committed to social value and wellbeing, Katherine also serves on the boards of ULI UK and NWEC, and the development committee of Dolphin Living, actively contributing to the community.

Lloyd Lee is the Managing Partner of YOO Capital, a privately held real estate investment company based in London.

Born and raised in New York, Lloyd is a visionary with an unwavering dedication to uncovering the hidden gems of real estate.

Lloyd graduated from Harvard University with a BA in, Fine Arts and History of Architecture, and soon joined the world of Private Investment via Starwood Capital Europe in the late nineties – not before completing his masters in real estate and finance at Cornell University.

With over 25 years’ experience at the top level, Lloyd’s enduring love for the thrill of discovery and transformation has seen him involved in £12 billion of real estate acquisitions, public and private corporate opportunities, and asset management turnarounds across the UK, EU, US and emerging markets.

Lloyd also sits on the Yoo Capital Investment Committee, combining 'bulge bracket' private equity experience with a granular knowledge of all major real estate asset classes.

Lloyd has been a value investor in real estate on behalf of major institutional public and private investors since 1998.

He is the key point person for restructuring at YOO Capital’s most ambitious project to date: the redevelopment of London’s iconic Olympia.

Damien Webb is Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of International for Aware Super, one of Australia’s top performing super funds managing A$170 billion on behalf of its 1.1 million members.

Based in London since October 2023, Damien oversees the Fund’s international expansion strategy which aims to originate a UK, European and Global deal flow for the global portfolio’s projected A$250 billion FUM milestone. He leads a team of 14 who have an initial focus on international Property, Infrastructure and Private Equity assets.

Damien has over 25 years’ experience in funds management he joined Aware Super as Head of the Real Assets team in January 2014, having previously worked at Perpetual Investments and ING Investment Management.

Damien has a Bachelor of Economics degree from Sydney University and is an Associate of the Securities Institute of Australia having completed his Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment. In 2006, Damien completed his Master’s in Applied Finance with Macquarie University.

Ted Schama is Joint Managing Partner of Shelley Sandzer, the specialist UK leisure property agency. 

With over 30 years of experience, Ted is known for connecting people with the best places. He specialises in leasing for some of the biggest landlords in London, as well as internationally. 

His work also involves acquiring off and on-market opportunities for operators, as well as providing expertise through Shelley Sandzer Corporate Finance, to provide F&B operators with a full spectrum of services to help maximise their growth. 

Ted also has his own podcast, TedsThoughts, in which he speaks with leading figures within the hospitality industry and is a former Chair of the Restaurant Property Advisory Society.

Sue Brown is managing director for Real Estate Balance, a campaigning organisation working to improve diversity and inclusion in the real estate industry. Sue has four decades of business, property and economic-development experience. 

Sue joined Real Estate Balance in April 2020 from London First, where she was executive director with responsibility for property, planning, the environment and development since 2016. Sue started her career in government, serving as a senior advisor in a variety of high-profile roles, before going on to establish her own real estate consultancy. 

Sue was a driving force behind the launch of MIPIM, the world’s largest real estate investment conference that takes place each year in Cannes. Sue was the co-founder and co-chair of REWIRE, the network for women in property. At the EG Awards in October 2023, Sue won the ‘Outstanding Individual Award’ in recognition for her services to the property industry.

Artem is the founder and chief executive of Mission Street which he founded in 2017.

Over a short period, he has built the company into one of the UK’s leading specialist investors and developers in science and innovation real estate, with a committed development pipeline in excess of 1.5million sq ft.

Building on an extensive track record across investment, development and finance, Artem has overall strategic responsibility for the growth of the company, project delivery and management.

Prior to Mission Street, Artem was Head of UK Acquisitions and a member of the founding team of GreenOak Real Estate (now BGO), a major international real estate investment and asset management firm.

He previously worked for Morgan Stanley in their UK Real Estate team.

Artem’s track record spans development, asset management, real estate private equity and finance.

He graduated with an MA (First Class Honours) in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge and sits on the Investment and Development Committee of the Institute of Cancer Research.

Simon Carter is the CEO of British Land.

He has extensive experience of finance and the real estate sector. 

He joined British Land from Logicor, the owner and operator of European logistics real estate, where he had served as Chief Financial Officer since January 2017. 

Prior to joining Logicor, from 2015 to 2017 Simon was Finance Director at Quintain. 

Simon previously spent over 10 years with British Land, in a variety of financial and strategic roles and was a member of its Executive Committee from 2012 until his departure in 2015. 

He also previously worked for UBS in fixed income and qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen.

In May 2022, Simon was appointed to the Board of Real Estate Balance, a campaigning organisation working to improve diversity and inclusion in the real estate industry.