devcast...

An original thinking and thought leader, he questions convention and isn’t afraid to ask the big questions. Richard is a highly experienced residential property expert, and since his first appearance on a new lease of life, he has founded the UK Single Family Associate, a not-for-profit members organisation, representing the whole housing and construction spectrum. He talks about what sets the sin...

Home economics to housing communities… Anna discovered her passion for housing during her home economics studies. During her job search, she became inspired by a position focusing on homeless accommodation—a place designed to aid individuals in transitioning from the streets to more permanent housing, providing a supportive environment for up to a year. At a mere 21 years old, this position challe...

Making his name in Dubai … In Dubai, George gained prominence at Union Bancaire Privée, a major family-owned bank. Over 14 years, he astoundingly grew the business from $ 60 million to $5 billion. His success lay in securing capital from major sovereigns, banks, treasuries, and large family offices, solidifying his position in the Middle Eastern finance arena.   How did he do it?  According to Geo...

How did Tomb Raider take the world by storm? Jeremy described himself as the person who simply gave the green light to the Tomb Raider phenomenon. He draws a comparison to the creation of Mickey Mouse, suggesting that while Walt Disney gets the recognition, the actual creator might have been someone working under him.  He highlights Toby Gard as the mind behind Tomb Raider’s creation, initially co...

Life before Winkworth  In the exciting journey of Dominic’s career, he shared his initial steps were taken as a politics student at Newcastly University. It was here that he questioned where his degree in politics could take him. With curiosity, he ventured into diverse fields such as financial public relations and risk analysis. However, it was only a matter of time before his path led him to a n...

Key takeaways from the UK BTR market… Christian shared that his journey to Australian BTR took him to the UK between 2007 and 2012, where he immersed himself in the world of urban renewal, and quickly discovered that the UK was at the forefront of innovation in this field.  One of the notable experiences involved active involvement in projects within the Stratford area, a place that held significa...

Journey before Switch John explains his journey in the hospitality industry began as a hotel management graduate, but it took a turn when he transitioned to working with independent property owners. This led him to work for a company led by an entrepreneurial owner with a penchant for acquiring properties across Oxfordshire. However, his path eventually led him back to the corporate world, where h...

She has consistently pushed the boundaries of what's possible in the realm of luxury hospitality and unique accommodations. Naomi has honed her expertise in real estate and property development, turning her passion for creating exceptional living spaces into a reality. It was an absolute pleasure to have her as a guest, and I look forward to hearing what my network thinks of the episode.  

How did the ‘Dear Sirs’ campaign begin? Ellie explains the phrase “Dear Sirs” remains prevalent within the context of Estate Agency and conveyance, particularly within legal and property professions. This traditional salutation continues to serve as the default choice for initiating formal communication, whether in the form of a letter or an email directed towards a company or a collective group o...

What do we mean by a glass ceiling? Susan Gregory shares that the more she has reflected on her own journey and educated herself the more she questions – is it something we’ve constructed that isn’t true? In general, the ‘glass ceiling’ refers to the limit that is set for women with how high women can go within an organisation, above that it’s very difficult to break through. If someone wants to g...

Where it all began… Matt’s professional career started in the valuation space working for the likes of CBRE and JLL as a tenant rep. This very quickly evolved into Matt working in the development world, first as an analyst with a big builder. This bought him exposure to lots of different asset classes, opening his horizons to what opportunities were available within the property industry. 2014 was...

Influences from around the world Born in Sri Lanka, David’s father managed tea estates and David followed him around the world throughout the early years of his life. He lived in South India for ten years, then moved to Uganda for 3-4 years and finally to Canada. Throughout those years travelling, from the age of 8 David was flying back to the UK to go to boarding school. David shared that looking...

The gender pay gap vs equal pay ​ ​Susan Gregory explains that the gender pay gap concerns the difference in hourly pay between men and women. This is where an organisation will calculate the earnings of their male employees and divide that by the total number of men in the business. They will then do the same with women and the difference between those numbers is what the gender pay gap represent...

The steppingstones to success After dropping out of her history degree at 18 because it wasn’t the right fit, Fiona landed herself a job at Dublin City Corporation as an office administrator. She was handed two envelopes to decide which division she would sit in, and she picked the housing department over vehicle taxation which could have taken her down a very different career path.   She shares t...

Barum discusses what he thinks good learning is, how learning has evolved to bite-sized learning and how the leadership team at deverellsmith has a responsive approach to their employee development.       

The day was given the ‘Blue Monday’ label by a travel company with the aim to boost sales and typically takes place on the third Monday of the year. Although a myth, we understand that January Blues can still be a reality for many.  The Samaritan’s started their #BrewMonday campaign to remind us to reach out for a cuppa and a catch-up with the people we care about.  Our Employee Wellbeing Ambassad...

The Industrious story... Jamie took an industrious dive into the flexible workplace space from running an education organisation. Whilst preparing for a meeting with the president of Ikea, he felt his office space didn’t supply a professional setting for him to prepare effectively, resulting in his moving to a Belgian coffee shop.  This sparked a question in Jamie, if he was feeling this way, ther...

The makings of a world-class estate agent Gary shared that in his opinion, various things help you become a great estate agent. Firstly, knowing the market inside out, year in and year out. Being able to understand what’s available in the market, the prices, what stock there is and who are the potential sellers and buyers. Secondly, is being able to manage a lot of enquiries. How do you decide whi...

After working as a Chartered Accountant for more than 15 years within the property industry, Harris was previously Finance Director at Dolphin Living, eventually assuming the role of Chief Executive. With an abundance of industry knowledge and an impressive career, Olivia shares with Nick Dolphin Livings's core mission, what they have planned for their future talent and how they have navigated thr...

The journey From meeting at university, Paul, and Alex both set out on separate careers, Paul in professional sports and Alex the luxury events space. After becoming a P.E. teacher, Paul found a mentor in a student’s father who ended up becoming their trusted business partner.  Following this, Paul and Alex began their first endeavour together, setting up an events business for children. After suc...

From Romania to Real Estate Adina shares she was born in Romania and moved over to America when she was just 10 years old. Bouncing around Europe and the US growing up, she landed herself a career in real estate with Knight Frank in 2010 in commercial brokerage. Loving it immediately, she found an inspiring mentor within her first boss, who ignited her passion for the market that they were buildin...

Having been a Director of Savills Research team since 2007, Lucian has a wealth of experience and knowledge across the sector, he’s seen the rise, fall, recovery, a global pandemic, as well as the ever growing topic of the residential property prices for over 2 decades. He reveals how his journey began as the son of a dairy farmer from Sommerset, and how his life dramatically changed when he joine...

What is RPO? Similar to how you outsource your IT function, you could have an individual that works for the company in house, or you could buy into a business that has a selection of experts that you could utilise. That’s the same for recruitment process outsourcing.  Pete Sheppard – Managing Director of Hintel    Who is Hintel?  We're a real estate and construction-focused outsourcing business wh...

Rainbows, laughter and sunshine, that’s what this mix brings. deverellsmith’s CEO and Founder, Andrew Deverell-Smith, mixed a disco delight perfect for a sunny BBQ or lockdown virtual party. Grab your friends, because you’ve got the perfect playlist.

Firstly, they are hit with the eye-opening stat that 41% of employers are reporting an increase in staff turnover and difficulty in retaining employees. James made a strong claim that there is a war on talent in the market right now, and we are experiencing the biggest candidate shortage of our generation. This leaves no surprise that employers are seeing a rise in attrition as we are witnessing c...