People Property Place

This week, I sat down with Niall Farmer to unpack an unconventional real estate career that spans retail property, residential development, masterplanning, construction, and now leading the UK platform for one of Asia's most powerful real estate and infrastructure groups.
Niall is Head of UK at Gamuda Land, part of the Gamuda Group, a global infrastructure and property developer with operations across Asia, Australia and Europe. Gamuda Land has delivered tens of thousands of homes globally and is now deploying significant balance sheet capital into the UK across offices, student housing, residential and large scale mixed use developments.
In this conversation, Niall shares how graduating into the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis shaped his early career, why a detour into client side retail property proved unexpectedly formative, and how a mix of construction exposure, development experience and relationship building created the platform for his later moves. We discuss the pressure and perspective that comes from stepping into a family construction business during some of the toughest market conditions in recent memory, and how that experience changed his approach to risk, leadership and decision making.
Niall also explains how Gamuda Land entered the UK, what global capital really looks for when choosing local partners, and why being an "active" investor matters when deploying capital into unfamiliar markets. We explore how investment rulebooks are written, when they get broken, and what happens when conviction is tested on projects that sit well outside the original plan. The conversation touches on one of the most closely watched developments in the City of London, how large scale schemes are underwritten today, and what global investors are really trying to solve for when backing UK real estate.
Key Topics Covered in This Episode
✅ From GFC Graduate to Global Developer
How early career setbacks, unexpected roles and timing shaped Niall's long term trajectory in real estate.
✅ Retail, Residential and Construction
Why working across asset management, development and construction created a broader decision making toolkit.
✅ Inside a Global Capital Mindset
How foreign balance sheet capital approaches UK real estate, partnerships and risk differently.
✅ When Investment Rulebooks Break
Why some opportunities force investors to step outside their stated strategy and how conviction is tested at scale.
✅ Building a UK Platform for Gamuda Land
How trust, culture and local knowledge underpin long term capital deployment in unfamiliar markets.
And of course, I asked Niall the big question:
Who are the People, what Property, and which Place would you invest in if you had £500 million to deploy?
If you have thoughts or questions about this episode, drop them in the comments. I'd love to hear your take.
The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne, recruiting leadership talent for real estate funds, owners, investors, and developers.
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In this episode of the People Property Place podcast, Nick Leslau, a real estate investing legend who has built and backed some of the most influential UK property vehicles of the last few decades, shares what really matters when markets turn and leverage starts to bite.
Drawing on a career spanning Prestbury, listed platforms, major exits, and multiple cycles, Nick explains why credit, not property, has always been the real risk. He reflects on early lessons from the securitisation era, the danger signals he watches in bank behaviour and loan to value ratios, and why every property crash ultimately traces back to the same place, too much debt in the system.
The conversation also explores what it takes to make decisions at scale over decades. Nick speaks candidly about insecurity, judgement, and why he has never believed success comes from being the smartest person in the room. Instead, he credits long term performance to surrounding yourself with sharper minds, staying wary of your own conviction, and keeping discipline when others chase narratives. A clear, experience led discussion on risk, capital allocation, and how People, Property and Place intersect inside real estate investing.
The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne, recruiting leadership talent for real estate funds, owners, investors, and developers. 🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE 👉 http://peoplepropertyplace.com/

In this episode of the People Property Place podcast, Harm Meijer draws on decades of experience across listed real estate and capital markets to unpack how cycles really play out when sentiment turns and leverage starts to bite.
From his early career on the sell side to building ICAMAP, Harm explains why investors repeatedly misjudge market turning points, how incentives inside listed vehicles quietly shape long term outcomes, and why management alignment often matters more than the assets themselves. He reflects on the lessons learned during the Global Financial Crisis, the risks of catching falling knives, and the discipline required before capital is redeployed.
The conversation also explores why listed real estate remains structurally misunderstood today, how private equity is exploiting inefficiencies in public markets, and what most investors get wrong about liquidity, exits, and governance. Harm shares how these insights influence ICAMAP's approach across strategies, and why conviction must be grounded in fundamentals rather than narratives.
A clear, experience led discussion on risk, capital allocation, and how People, Property and Place intersect inside real estate investing.
Real Estate Rules: The Investor's Guide to Picking Winners and Avoiding Losers in Listed Property - Amazon Link
The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne, recruiting leadership talent for real estate funds, owners, investors, and developers. 🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE 👉 http://peoplepropertyplace.com/

This week, I sat down with Martin Towns to unpack a career built across brokerage, private equity, institutional fund management, and now global leadership, and what it takes to scale a real estate investment platform across multiple cycles and geographies.
Martin is Global Head of Real Estate at M&G, responsible for the strategic direction and growth of a real estate business managing approximately $50bn of assets across 26 countries in Europe, Asia and North America. He has more than 20 years' experience in real estate investment management, including 15 years at M&G, and previously held roles at Close Brothers Investment Bank and Jones Lang LaSalle.
In this conversation, Martin shares how growing up in rural Scotland led him into Land Economy, why his early years at JLL and Close Brothers shaped his understanding of risk and cycles, and how living through the Global Financial Crisis fundamentally influenced his approach to leverage, structuring and downside protection. We discuss why he joined M&G when the platform was still UK focused and internally funded, and how proprietary capital was used to seed strategies that later scaled into global third party businesses.
Martin explains the evolution of M&G's residential and living platforms, the creation of its Capital Solutions business for large institutional investors, and the strategic thinking behind acquiring value add specialist Beaumont. We also explore investor behaviour across regions, the return of capital to core real estate, how global LP preferences are shifting, and what leadership looks like when you move from doing deals to setting strategy at scale.
Key Topics Covered in This Episode
✅ From Rural Scotland to Global Real Estate Leadership
How Martin's early career choices and formative experiences shaped his long term investment philosophy.
✅ Lessons from the GFC
Why understanding cycles, leverage and macro risk remains critical for institutional real estate investors.
✅ Building a Global Platform at M&G
How internal life assurance capital helped seed strategies that later scaled into multi billion pound global funds.
✅ Living, Capital Solutions and Value Add
Why residential and living assets became institutionalised and how bespoke mandates and co investment changed M&G's growth trajectory.
✅ Acquiring Beaumont
The rationale behind adding value add capability and how to integrate specialist teams without destroying culture or performance.
And of course, I asked Martin the big question:
Who are the People, what Property, and which Place would you invest in if you had £500 million to deploy?
If you have thoughts or questions about this episode, drop them in the comments. I'd love to hear your take.
The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne, recruiting leadership talent for real estate funds, owners, investors, and developers.
🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE
👉 http://peoplepropertyplace.com/

This week, I sat down with Randeesh Sandhu to unpack a career that spans investment banking, real estate development, private credit, and public markets, and what it really takes to build a durable lending platform across multiple cycles.
Randeesh is Co-Founder and CEO of Precede Capital Partners, founded in 2021 as a portfolio company of TowerBrook Capital Partners. Prior to Precede, he co-founded and led Urban Exposure Plc for nearly two decades, growing it into the UK's leading residential development financier. Under his leadership, the business deployed more than £1.7bn in development finance and over £3bn in real estate finance, before floating on the London Stock Exchange AIM market in 2018.
In this conversation, Randeesh shares how he moved from credit derivatives at Deutsche Bank into real estate entrepreneurship, why underwriting discipline matters more than chasing deals, and how the post-GFC withdrawal of banks created the foundations of the UK's non bank lending market. We also discuss the realities of scaling a private credit platform, lessons from public markets, the personal cost of leadership, and how Precede is now positioning itself across large scale, living led real estate in the UK and Europe.
Key Topics Covered in This Episode
✅ From Deutsche Bank to Real Estate Entrepreneur
Why Randeesh left investment banking to build a property business and how that early leap shaped his approach to risk and conviction.
✅ Building and Scaling Urban Exposure
How the platform evolved from equity and development into private credit, and what it takes to deploy billions without capital loss.
✅ Private Credit After the GFC
Why non bank lenders emerged, how structured lending works in practice, and what institutional investors look for today.
✅ Lessons from Public Markets
What Randeesh learned from listing on AIM, navigating volatility, and why private ownership can better support long term strategy.
And of course, I asked Randeesh the big question:
Who are the People, what Property, and which Place would you invest in if you had £500 million to deploy?
If you have thoughts or questions about this episode, drop them in the comments. I'd love to hear your take.
The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne, recruiting leadership talent for real estate funds, owners, investors, and developers.
🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE 👉 http://peoplepropertyplace.com/