People Property Place

Mark Bladon is Head of Real Estate at Investec, where he oversees a UK real estate loan book of around £3bn.
Mark didn't go to university. He started work at 19 in the post room at Singer & Friedlander, moved into loans admin and spent five years in the credit team before becoming a loan originator. He joined Investec in 2006, moved into a liquidity role during the financial crisis and ran the sports finance team, funding football transfer payments, before returning to real estate.
He tells Matthew Watts why real estate isn't the old boys' club people think. He explains the difference between clearing banks, specialist banks and debt funds, how syndication and back leverage work, and how Investec's equity business, Realis, has raised and invested £100m across 10 deals using capital from its wealth and private clients.
For the £500M question, Mark would buy central London flats, having found some in Hampstead at £700 a square foot.
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Harry Iles is the co-founder of Peppermint, a self storage operator that puts small, automated storage units into unused space in residential and office buildings.
Harry studied French and German at Durham and planned to join the army, until a rugby injury and three knee operations changed course. He joined King Sturge, working in London, France and Germany, and then spent 14 years working for a family office on development and investment in Germany.
He tells Matthew Watts how he set up Peppermint with Henry Madden, who spent 15 years running self storage in Brazil. Harry explains that the US has more self storage sites than McDonald's and Starbucks combined, and that the UK has around 1 sq ft of self storage per person compared with 8-10 sq ft in the US. He sets out how Peppermint shares profit with landlords, uses automation so nobody needs to be on site, and breaks even at 14% occupancy. He also explains why planning is the biggest obstacle to growth.
What guests would you love to see next on PPP? Let us know in the comments.
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People Property Place hits 200 episodes! Joining him for the milestone is Bradley Baker, CEO of CO-RE, the central London developer and development manager.
Bradley tells Matthew Watts about dislocating his knee at 6,000m on Ama Dablam in Nepal in 2024 and being helicoptered off the mountain, and how he thinks about risk.
He started his career on the Weatherall Green & Smith graduate scheme and moved to Jones Lang Wootton after three months. He joined Knight Frank in 1989 and spent nearly 30 years there, moving into tenant representation and advising Swiss Re on the Gherkin. He joined CO-RE as a director in 2018 and became CEO in 2021.
Bradley explains how CO-RE is delivering Lansdowne House on Berkeley Square, a speculative development that Blackstone will occupy as its new London headquarters. He talks about what occupiers now want from their offices, how prime Mayfair rents reached £240-250 a square foot, why London remains attractive to global investors, and why CO-RE has launched an asset management business.
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This week, Matthew Watts revisits one of his favourite conversations from the archive. Episode 47, recorded on 17 October 2023, features Hugo Llewelyn, CEO and Co-Founder of Newcore Capital, a specialist real estate investment manager focused on social infrastructure.
Hugo explains his investment philosophy and his thesis around asymmetric returns. He argues that investing in assets society needs can deliver financial returns and positive social outcomes.
He talks about the values behind Newcore, its B Corp status, its commitment to giving at least 10% of profits to charity, and his views on wealth and the responsibilities of the real estate industry. He also explains why he brought employees into the ownership of the business, and criticises how parts of the investment industry have operated since the financial crisis.
At the time of recording, Newcore was preparing to raise a £375m social infrastructure fund. That fund has since reached a £100m first close, backed by the MPs' pension scheme, a local government pension scheme and other institutional investors.
For the £500M question, Hugo imagines going back to 1792 to buy Sutherland and stop the Highland Clearances.
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This episode was recorded on 29th September 2026.
Joe Lister is CEO of Unite Group, the UK's largest owner and operator of purpose-built student accommodation.
Joe joined Unite in 2002 from PwC's corporate finance team, when the business had 3,000 beds. He spent 15 years as CFO before taking over as CEO.
He tells Matthew Watts how Unite helped turn student accommodation into an institutional asset class, and about the decision to waive £100m of rent when students were sent home during Covid.
Joe explains the demand shock of the last 18 months. Visa changes cut the number of international postgraduate students, and more students at low-tariff universities chose to live at home. Occupancy fell from 97-98% to 95%, and investors asked why Unite hadn't seen it coming.
He sets out the plan to sell around 15,000 beds, reduce from 29 cities to around 20, and move into second and third year housing through Hello Student.
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