The Return: Property & Investment Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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People say the housing market is broken.
Homes England aims to fix it.

It touches 1 in 4 new homes.
I spoke to ex-CEO Peter Denton CBE.
About how developers and housing providers 
Use Homes England support to build more homes.

We covered:
 - What it is. Who it serves. How it helps.
(From grants to Compulsory Purchase powers.)

 - How to frame your ask for success.
(Lead with the market failure you’ll unlock.)

 - How to avoid common mistakes.
(Respect procurement and social impact metrics.
Don’t ‘goal-seek’ viability after overpaying for land.)

This episode is in association with (and thanks to) Lloyds.

In association with:
https://www.lloydsbank.com/business/industry-expertise/real-estate.html?utm_source=The+Return&utm_medium=podcast+partnership&utm_campaign=sponsored+episode

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterdenton71/ 

Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

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It's hard to scale in real estate 

Without a big budget, expensive team or endless meetings.

I asked Kelly Bream 

A multi-time founder and ex-COO, Bidwells

How she has grown multiple real estate businesses from local to national. 

She shared the playbook for local to national growth on the podcast, including:

 - People > platforms first.
Hire complements (e.g. brand/marketing), not clones.

 - Standardise the boring; localise the value.
Central compliance/process. Local nuance + relationships.

- What and where, before how.
Win work before the tooling is perfect.

 - Measure what matters early.
Lead conversion, cash runway - not vanity metrics.

This episode is in association with (and thanks to) Lloyds.

In association with:
https://www.lloydsbank.com/business/industry-expertise/real-estate.html?utm_source=The+Return&utm_medium=podcast+partnership&utm_campaign=sponsored+episode

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-bream-5b4aa541/

Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

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Monica O'Neill is CEO of ENSO Advisors LLC. She was a Co-Founder at Tristan Capital Partners, and a Managing Director at AEW Europe. She joined Anna Clare Harper for this episode of The Return.

Monica has grown two multi-billion dollar real estate platforms and helped shape the US affordable housing system (via Low-Income Housing Tax Credit).

Now she’s doubling down on UK residential, especially affordable and supported housing.

In this episode, we discuss:

-       Why 2025 is a ‘vintage year’ for UK affordable and supported housing 

-       What the UK can learn from US affordable housing tax breaks

-       Why it’s so important to ask more questions - and ignore hype 

Her advice?

“If you can’t explain the risks out loud, you don’t understand it.”

Wire Wisdom https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wire-wisdom/id1797011168 

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-oneill-greenstrategies/
Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/
Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

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The idea of retiring early is, unsurprisingly, a popular one. But how do you do it?

I was delighted to quiz Ann-Marie Atkins, award-winning Financial Planner and Managing Partner at Tilney on this topic.

We covered:

• What kind of investments work, and how you can make them  - including how to make the most of available tax reliefs, property and non-property investments
  
• Common mistakes people make, and how you can avoid them
  
• How much money you actually need to retire, or take ‘micro retirements’ throughout your career
  

Resources:

Guest website: www.tilney.co.uk

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tilney-group/

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annmariebanks/

Host website: www.annaclareharper.com & www.spi.capital

Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

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I was delighted to have Lucian Cook, one of the UK property market’s leading commentators and Head of Residential Research at Savills, back on the podcast.

We covered:

• Where prices and rents are rising, and where is best to invest in a post-Covid housing market
  
• The most important regulatory changes you need to know about in the coming years, before you buy an investment property
  
• How ‘brown discounts’ are affecting investor value, and the impact of sustainability on investor returns
  
• The next wave of institutional investment in UK housing

Resources:

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucian-cook-482010141/

Guest Website: https://www.savills.co.uk/

Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

Host Website: spi.capital & annaclareharper.com

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What’s changing in the UK rental property market??

Zoopla’s Head of Research, Gráinne Gilmore, joined me to discuss what’s really happening in the UK Private Rental Sector.

Gráinne was previously Head of Residential Research and Knight Frank, and an award-winning Economics Correspondent for The Times before her role at Zoopla.

So, she’s brilliantly placed to help explain the fascinating and complicated dynamics that are affecting the UK rental market.

Highlights of this episode include:

• What’s driving the entrenched ‘two-track market’, London rents fell by 8.3%, whilst non-London rents in the UK rose by 2.3% in 2020
  
• Why Rochdale, Mansfield and Hastings are becoming rental market ‘hotspots’
  
• What’s causing de-urbanisation and the ‘Halo Effect’, and how long it will last
  
• What’s next for the UK rental market
  

Resources:

Guest website: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grainnegilmore

Zoopla Rental Market Report: https://advantage.zpg.co.uk/insights/rental-market-report/

Host website: annaclareharper.com

Host website: spi.capital

Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

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Artificial Intelligence is transforming how major global funds invest in one of the largest, most resilient asset types: Private Rental Sector housing.

I had the privilege of finding out how - speaking to Samantha Kempe, Co-Founder and CIO of ground-breaking Investment Manager Immo Capital. Before this, Samantha cut her teeth managing portfolios at Blackstone, as well as working at PWC and Cushman and Wakefield, so she’s well-versed in both traditional and innovative investment management.

Highlights of this episode include:

• How AI and data can be used to solve the major hurdle funds face investing in Private Rental Sector property
  
• How hundreds of data points can be rapidly processed to create valuations, with accurate refurbishment costs, in a fraction of the usual time
  
• How AI and humans complement each other, rather than competing for jobs in a unique, and illiquid market
  

Resources:

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-kempe-3ab42394/

Guest website: https://immo.capital/

Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

Host website: https://annaclareharper.com/ & https://spi.capital/

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Investing in residential property at scale

I was delighted to speak to Cedric Bucher, CEO of Hearthstone Investments, which is the UK’s first specialist residential property fund manager - with Assets under Management of over £280m.

They are leading the way in the Private Rental Sector, giving institutional investors access to mainstream family housing and low-rise apartment blocks.

Prior to this, Cedric has a brilliant career with leading global consultants, banks and asset managers. So he’s well versed in the financial aspects of property investing, as well as the more practical elements.

We first got talking on social media, when I was developing the strategy for my current business, SPI Capital, and I couldn’t resist inviting Cedric to the podcast to share his insights.

Highlights of the episode include:

• Overcoming the challenges of investing in property in 2020
  
• Hot opportunities in the Private Rental Sector
  
• Selecting the right kind of funding investor to work with - and what happens if you get it wrong
  
• Lessons learned from running a market-leading investment company
  

Resources:

Guest website: https://www.hearthstone.co.uk/

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedric-bucher-8490329/

Host website: https://www.annaclareharper.com

Host website: https://spi.capital

Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

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I'm very excited to share my conversation with Tom Bloxham MBE, one of the best known and loved personalities in the real estate industry and a pioneer of urban regeneration.

Tom is the chairman and founder of leading regeneration company Urban Splash, which has received 419 (!) awards to date for architecture, design and business success.

He has a reputation as ‘the property developer who makes property development socially acceptable’, and the best accolade I’ve heard to date: a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.

Highlights of our conversation include:

• How to handle challenges, changes and cycles in the property market
  
• Changing mean streets to green streets - lessons learned from spearheading unprecedented changes to our urban landscape
  
• How to prepare for the future as a property developer/investor
  
• Living well by design - the ethos of Urban Splash investments
  

Listen in to hear more.

Resources:

Guest website: https://www.urbansplash.co.uk/

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-bloxham-26055413/

Guest Twitter @TomBloxhamMBE

https://annaclareharper.com/

http://spi.capital/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

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What’s changing in the UK rental market?

Zoopla’s Head of Research, Gráinne Gilmore, joined me to discuss what’s really happening in the UK Private Rental Sector.

Gráinne was previously Head of Residential Research at Knight Frank, and an award-winning Economics Correspondent for The Times before her role at Zoopla.

So, she’s brilliantly placed to help explain the fascinating and complicated dynamics that are affecting the UK rental market.

Highlights of this episode include:

• What’s driving the entrenched ‘two-speed market’, with UK rent growth of +1.7% vs -5.2% in London’s rental market
  
• Tenant demand 25% higher than last year overall - with particular demand for properties with gardens, parking, garages, balconies and ‘pets allowed’, and a shift away from office-driven cities such as Coventry and Reading
  
• What next for the UK rental market, in a context of reduced investment activity, muted earnings growth and limited affordability for many first time buyers
  

Resources:

Guest website: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grainnegilmore

Zoopla Rental Market Report: https://advantage.zpg.co.uk/insights/rental-market-report/

Host website: annaclareharper.com

Host website: spi.capital

Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/