James Craig, Co-Founder of Oval Real Estate, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast this week. We discuss James’s journey from surveying to running a diversified real estate investment business. He reflects on pivotal career decisions, key deals, and the thinking behind Oval’s sector-agnostic strategy. James shares lessons from launching Oval in a down market, building high-trust partnerships, and navigating complex development and regeneration projects. He also gives his view on current market dynamics, the role of public-private collaboration, and what it takes to build a successful, enduring real estate business. If you're interested in real estate entrepreneurship, platform-building, public-sector partnership, or value-add investing, this episode is for you. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: · Betting on Fit Over Convention · Why he walked away from his APC and corporate surveying path early, in favour of an entrepreneurial property trading-led environment. · Skill stacking – how he learned to originate, manage, and exit deals across Europe · Reality of trying, (unsuccessfully) to match deals with capital, and the lessons learnt · Oval’s origin story, approach to business, investment thesis and partnership philosophy · How they have pivoted during market cycles, and have deliberately avoided single-sector exposure. · Inside scoop on what it takes to have a successful public & private partnership · We discuss key deals, from Digbeth and the Langham Estate to Mayfair offices and the £900m Henderson portfolio · Message to would-be founders: "Don’t wait. It doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad market. You’ve just got to go for it." And finally... With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would he choose? Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire. If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn. #realestate #property #podcast #regeneration #realestateinvestment #placemaking #offices #birmingham #london
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#139 Kevin Mofid, Head of Industrial & Logistics Research at Savills
Kevin Mofid, Head of Industrial & Logistics Research at Savills, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ this week. We discuss his journey into real estate, the evolution of research in the sector, and key insights into the UK and European logistics markets. Kevin shares his data-driven view of market trends, rental growth dynamics, build-to-suit versus existing stock, and the increasing importance of supply-side fundamentals when making investment decisions. If you're active in the industrial or logistics real estate market across the UK & Europe, and you're interested in data-driven decision-making, or the forces shaping demand and supply in the sector, this episode is for you. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: · Kevin’s unconventional path into real estate, and his pivotal early career moves · The evolution of research from a back-office function to a front-line, strategic, in demand tool · What the UK logistics data is really showing, and why build-to-suit deals are under pressure · Rising vacancy in a market with strong demand, and what that disconnect tells us · Speculative development trends, and how they’re shaping short-term supply risks · Why second-hand stock is growing fast, and how much of it is actually usable · The real drivers of industrial demand, and why retail still dominates · Nearshoring, reshoring, and how they are reshaping long-term European strategy · Rental growth that’s defying historic vacancy relationships, and why · The evolving role of AI in warehousing and supply chain decision-making · Why smart investors are prioritising supply-side data over demand forecasts · Kevin’s take on the biggest risk facing the sector today, and the data point he’s watching most closely Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. The People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire. If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn. #realestate #property #podcast #logistics #data #industrial
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#138 Philip Stott, Co-Founder of Caisson IO
Philip Stott, Co-Founder of Caisson IO, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast this week. We discuss his early career journey to co-founding Caisson IO, a boutique investment management firm that integrates data and technology to, invest and manage multi-let industrial assets across the UK. Philip shares valuable insights on the role of data in real estate, building a tech-enabled investment platform, and how their approach to asset management has evolved. If you're interested in real estate investment management, data-driven strategies, or scaling a specialised platform in the industrial sector, this episode is for you. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: · Early exposure to real estate and how Philip’s family business influenced his entrepreneurial mindset · How Philip’s career evolved from traditional surveying to tech sales and then pivoting into investment management · Insights from his experience at Yardi, including building their European platform and understanding financial systems and applying this learing to the investment management space · How they launched the business - raising capital from friends and family · How data-driven insights help Caisson IO identify market trends and opportunities in multi-let industrial assets · The resilience and appeal of multi-let industrial assets as a stable income-generating asset class · Building a strong, collaborative team and fostering a culture of empowerment for business growth · Caisson IO’s plans for future growth, leveraging specialixed expertise and data-backed strategies And finally... With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would Philip choose? Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. The People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire. If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn.
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#137 Philip Gadsden - Managing Partner at Orchard Street Investment Management
Philip Gadsden, Managing Partner at Orchard Street Investment Management, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ this week. We cover his 40+ year career in institutional real estate - from Jones Lang Wootton and Gatehouse, to building Invista, and now leading Orchard Street’s shift into impact investing. We get into his views on separate accounts, discretionary capital, asset-level execution, decarbonisation, and the evolution of investor expectations. If you’re interested in UK fund management and real estate’s shift toward ESG and impact, this one’s for you. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: Why he chose real estate as a career, and the early moves that shaped his career Lessons learnt from launching his own business Launching one of the UK’s first impact-led real estate funds in partnership with Brunel and Access The market’s shift toward responsible investing, ESG metrics, and decarbonisation targets Evolution of the UK Fund Management space Why shorter leases and active management are now even more essential to driving returns and mitigate risk The opportunity set in industrial, retail parks, and residential Why OSIM are focused on future proofing second-hand assets given that 80% of 2050’s buildings already exist And finally... With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would Philip choose? Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. The People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice of who to hire. If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn, lets talk!
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#136 Marcus Meijer - Founder and CEO of MARK
Marcus Meijer, Founder and CEO of MARK, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ this week. We talk through his journey from third-generation developer to building one of Europe’s leading independent investment managers. We get into how Marcus thinks about platform creation, market timing, team building, and where he sees the next wave of opportunity. If you're interested in real estate private equity, specialist strategies, or scaling across Europe, this one’s for you. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: · Growing up around real estate and what he learned from early exposure to market cycles · Lessons from Hines and Goldman Sachs that shaped how he builds teams and makes decisions · The origins of MARK and how they raised their first fund · Pivoting away from generalist value-add funds and toward sector-specific platforms · How they built VR Outlets into a €1bn+ platform with APG and Value Retail · Lessons learnt from Crossbay 1 and the validation from the sale to Prologis, and plans for Crossbay 2 · How winning third-party mandates leverage the existing teams’ skills, and generate fees while giving MARK an investment edge · His take on the market, the challenges, opportunities and future of real estate · What success looks like to Marcus and how he thinks about legacy and ownership And finally... With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would Marcus choose? Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. The People Property Place Podcast 🎙️ is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire. If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn. #realestate #property #podcast #privateequity
Powered by Rockbourne, the central intention of this podcast is to share the stories, views, opinions, and career journeys of the movers, shakers, innovators, and leaders in the real estate investment management industry.
Whether you are an existing real estate professional, aspiring to break into the space, or just want to know more about this fascinating sector this podcast is for you.
New episodes of The People Property Place Podcast will be released regularly and you will be able to find them for free on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or any App that supports podcasts.
Oh, and one last thing - in every episode, I will be asking each guest who are the People, what Property, and which Place they would be looking to invest, should they have £500m at their disposal.
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