From humble beginnings TLJ security systems have come a long way in the 10 years since the business was incorporated, with the team having built a solid and diverse customer base across the construction industry. In excess of 1,000 builders, contractors, architectural practices, facilities managers, hotels, student accommodation and residential
Zoe Price, ISG’s group director of public sector frameworks, has shared her thoughts on the future of public sector procurement at Women in Property’s most recent industry debate – an event sponsored by ISG and Burgess Salmon. Working to create opportunities, expand knowledge and inspire change for women within the
Four new appointments have taken place at This Land™, who appointed established property leaders as Non-Executive Directors. Susan Freeman, David Meek, Jeremy Miller and Richard Steer join the company with significant experience in various aspects of the property industry. Susan Freeman is one of the UK’s foremost property lawyers, with
GuestReady, a global short-term rental company, has acquired BnbLord, the largest Airbnb management company in France, to form the GuestReady Group. The combined company will be the leading provider in Europe managing more than 2,000 properties with a wide range of services to property owners, agents, and developers. GuestReady has
These days, people who don’t have a concrete real estate investing experience turn to rental properties to diversify investments and get good cash flow for the future. After all, a rental property can be one of the best investments you can make. If you handle it right, you can surely
Based in the heart of the Middle Eastern region, luxury property developer Eagle Hills has partnered with independent global creative agency Crowd to transform its website to a more SEO and user-friendly digital platform. Eagle Hills asked Crowd to develop a fully content managed solution that provides the best usability
A slowdown in property transactions, with home buyers and sellers taking more caution amidst economic uncertainty, has been registered. This is due to the housing market being left in a state of lull because of diminishing demand among foreign buyers and pending Brexit negotiations. Compared to a year ago, homeowners
An analysis conducted by MediaVision of property brand searches across more than 200 residential, commercial and portal/online companies revealed a market predominantly down year on year with pockets of stellar performance from some. Of the top 10 brands with the highest monthly search volume overall, only four saw a positive uplift in brand demand YoY. Of the top 50 overall, more than half saw a decline in brand demand over the last year, which indicates just
Pure Commercial Finance, the Cardiff-based commercial finance brokers, carried out a research to reveal whether purchasing property near a football stadium is a worthy investment. The research found that homes near football stadiums are experiencing property price increases considerably higher than the UK average. The brokerage’s campaign combines Land Registry data and
Housing needs in the UK are changing amid declining levels of home ownership and lifestyle shifts. Rather than the traditional ‘buy-and-hold’ model, residential housing needs are shifting towards developments that are built for rent and aimed towards a specific demographic who are at a particular life stage. As such, funding
From humble beginnings TLJ security systems have come a long way in the 10 years since the business was incorporated, with the team having built a solid and diverse customer base across the construction industry. In excess of 1,000 builders, contractors, architectural practices, facilities managers, hotels, student accommodation and residential developers have specified TLJ for their access control needs. They install and service tens of thousands of electronic locks every year in the UK. A true British success story, TLJ has been family owned and run since the very beginning. From its base in East Yorkshire the company designs, manufactures, installs and services its own range of electronic locks and access control products. They’re especially proud of their service proposition, enhanced by keeping their installation and aftersales operations fully in-house. Things move quickly in the access control industry, and the past 10 years have seen many changes. This has been reflected in TLJ’s product range: less reliable biometric ‘fingerprint’ locks and older magnetic keycard technologies have been replaced by up-to-date contactless electronic locks and access control readers, all for security. Becoming increasingly popular is TLJ’s Mobile Keys system: replacing physical keys with the end user’s smartphone, opening locks via secure mobile app. This cutting-edge tech is especially popular in student accommodation developments where residents stay for the longer term. However, many leading hotels and ‘collective living’ projects are also adopting this technology as part of a ‘mobile first’ approach for their customers. Looking ahead, TLJ will be expanding their security range with design-led electronic locks tailored for high-end residential developments and, ingeniously, locks suitable for non-standard doors such as those often found in the leisure industry. “I sometimes have to pinch myself to believe that TLJ have been around for 10 years. From our very humble beginnings we’ve grown into a business that all of us here can be truly proud of. Sure, it’s been hard work but overall there have been many more hits than misses. The team has grown and continues to do so, but we’re in no rush to expand our numbers for the sake of it; I firmly believe in quality over quantity when it comes to employing really talented people,” said TLJ Managing Director, Luke Martin. “We’ve punched above our weight and continue to do so, and this is in no small part down to our ethos of managing every stage of the process, from product design to aftersales. We keep everything in-house at TLJ and know that service is king, something which is reflected in the frankly superb feedback we receive from clients. But we’re not resting on our laurels: we know the marketplace is changing and technology moves apace so we’re ‘future proofing’ our product and service offering to better meet our customers’ needs going forward. Here’s to the next 10 years!”
Zoe Price, ISG’s group director of public sector frameworks, has shared her thoughts on the future of public sector procurement at Women in Property’s most recent industry debate – an event sponsored by ISG and Burgess Salmon. Working to create opportunities, expand knowledge and inspire change for women within the property and construction industry, the Association of Women in Property aims to maximise opportunities to actively engage with influential media outlets and be seen and heard at key industry events. The sold-out event featured a panel of industry experts discussing the state of procurement within the public sector with an audience of 100 delegates. The panel featured: • Zoe Price – Group Director of Public Sector Frameworks, ISG • Simon Toplass – CEO, Pagabo • Ann Bentley – Global Board Director, Rider Levett Bucknall (also a member of the UK Government’s Construction Leadership Council) • Helen Baker – Director of Procurement, UWE • Laura Wisdom – Senior Associate, Burgess Salmon • Deborah Vogwell – Senior Manager, Homes England. Pierre Wassenaar, director at Stride Treglown, hosted the discussion, prompting debate around the benefits of the framework route, the role of SMEs and how they can compete, transparency, relationships and the future of public sector procurement, before the panel took questions from the audience. “In the last 18 months we’ve developed a new strategy on how to target and position ourselves on frameworks and it is really important to us as a business,” started Zoe. “It is a strategy that I’m very passionate about and we can evidence the added value and development of long term relationships. The best frameworks are mutually beneficial to both client and contractor, helping bring projects to site quicker and more efficiently, whilst enabling all delivery partners to share best practice and improve productivity. This was a great event with a lot of audience engagement, and it certainly showed that there is a lot of uncertainty around public sector procurement, which I believe could be supported by the use of frameworks to provide transparency and add value to the process,” she continued.
Four new appointments have taken place at This Land™, who appointed established property leaders as Non-Executive Directors. Susan Freeman, David Meek, Jeremy Miller and Richard Steer join the company with significant experience in various aspects of the property industry. Susan Freeman is one of the UK’s foremost property lawyers, with a wealth of knowledge and influence in the real estate sector as recognised by her ranking as “The Woman Who Knows Everyone” in Bisnow’s ‘The 51 Most Influential Women in UK Real Estate’. Susan’s breadth of experience and extensive property industry network will be a welcome asset for This Land™. She joins as a Non-Executive Director by David Meek who holds over 30 years of senior executive and board experience in Tier 1 global financial institutions, real estate and technology companies, such as JP Morgan and Citi, currently serving as a Non-Executive Director in the Middle East on the Board of one of the region’s leading retail banks and asset managers. Led by Chairman Steven Norris, This Land’s™ Board will also be bolstered by the appointment of Jeremy Miller and Richard Steer. Jeremy has served as Non-Executive Director and Chairman for a raft of innovative businesses related to property and finance, including Countryside Properties and Centerview Partners, whilst acting as a trusted advisor to many FTSE100/250 companies. Richard Steer is renowned for having spearheaded the growth of property consultancy, Gleeds, into a major global brand, increasing UK turnover more than six-fold in the process. Richard was recognised in 2017 as Building Magazine’s Personality of the Year. “I am both delighted and incredibly excited that This Land™ has secured the services of such an established group of industry leaders as we continue to grow and develop the business. Susan, David, Jeremy and Richard are all towering figures in their respective fields, bringing a breadth of top–level experience and their own invaluable specialist insights to support This Land’s™ growth ambitions,” commented David Gelling, Managing Director of This Land™. “As Managing Director it will be of immense value to me to be able to call on such a high level of expertise to the business as we forge an exciting future for the company. We believe in long term value and seek to fulfil our mission to deliver new homes and neighbourhoods that will reinvigorate the quality and reputation of UK housebuilding,” he added.
GuestReady, a global short-term rental company, has acquired BnbLord, the largest Airbnb management company in France, to form the GuestReady Group. The combined company will be the leading provider in Europe managing more than 2,000 properties with a wide range of services to property owners, agents, and developers. GuestReady has been setting an unprecedented pace in the property management industry quickly rising to the top in the complex area of short-term rental management. Since its launch in the summer of 2016, GuestReady acquired three competitors with BnbLord marking the last and largest acquisition to date. Founded in 2015, BnbLord operates across several cities in Europe with a dominant presence in France and Portugal. Last year the company generated more than EUR 10M in revenue for its clients. This acquisition follows the deals announced by GuestReady last December when the company acquired Oporto City Flats, the leading short-term rental operator in Northern Portugal, and took over the management of the portfolio of French Airbnb manager We Stay In Paris. Switzerland-based GuestReady Group now serves more than 2,000 properties through its brands GuestReady, BnbLord, Oporto City Flats, and Easy Rental Services. The offered services include everything that is required to turn a vacant home into a thriving listing on Airbnb, online and offline. Since this year, GuestReady is also offering business-to-business services to property developers and property agents, allowing them to tap into this fast-growing market. “We are extremely excited about this acquisition because it allows GuestReady to propel forward and become the largest service provider in the vacation rental industry. Since we started, we have been very focused on operational excellence and building a property technology system that allows us to automate non-core processes. We can run our large portfolio of properties efficiently thanks to a sophisticated tech platform that we have built in-house over the past years. Without much additional added complexity we can scale our portfolio multi-fold over the coming years,” said Alexander Limpert, Co-founder & CEO of the GuestReady Group. The whole team of BnbLord will join the GuestReady Group and all jobs will be maintained, with the founding team of BnbLord taking senior management positions at the GuestReady Group. “We have been friendly competitors of GuestReady for the past couple of years and we are excited to now join forces. The industry is maturing quickly and we are happy to become part of the technology leader in this space. With our shared experience we will be able to further accelerate growth,” said Léo Bonnet, Co-Founder & CEO of BnbLord.
These days, people who don’t have a concrete real estate investing experience turn to rental properties to diversify investments and get good cash flow for the future. After all, a rental property can be one of the best investments you can make. If you handle it right, you can surely earn more profit and allow yourself to have reserves when an emergency arises. If you’re looking to invest in rental property in San Diego, here are the essential tips to consider from the get-go: 1. Sit down and do some research Whether you’re buying rental properties or not, it’s important to do your own research before calculating how much returns you can make from your investment. Here’s how you can do your research: -Look into the neighborhoods where you can purchase properties and gather information as to how much the rent is. -Consider some factors such as the location, nightlife, and accessibility to restaurants, schools, hospitals, and many more that may affect your income. -Find out the usual rental fee in San Diego per night, week, month, and for long-term. -Educate yourself about San Diego’s mortgage rates and how these rates can significantly impact your real estate purchases. 2. Pay debts first In some cases, real estate investors carry debt as part of their investments. However, if you have outstanding loans, medical bills, or children who will go to college, investing in a rental property in San Diego may not be the right option. You should make sure that the cost of your debt is lesser than the return from your property. From there, it’s then necessary to pay down debt to avoid putting yourself in a situation where you don’t have money to make payments. 3. Look for the right rental properties When all your goals and finances are in order, it’s time to shop for rental properties. This is usually the most enjoyable part of investing in real estate. For instance, you don’t have to walk around San Diego and search for a property. Instead, you can check many websites that provide a virtual tour for all potential properties available in the area. These sites also provide better insights to help you decide what kind of property you’re eyeing to buy. Should you choose to invest in rental properties in San Diego, you can get information from a real estate directory to make sure your buying experience is worth it. 4. Prepare the down payment and beware of high-interest rates We know that investment properties typically require you to pay a large down payment, which means more stringent approval requirements to comply with. You need to set aside a higher percentage rate than the one you put down on the home you’re currently residing. On the other hand, investing in rental properties may also require you to borrow money from lending institutions. However, you should be aware that the cost of borrowing money entails higher interest rates than your usual mortgage interest rates. Keep in mind that you should have a low mortgage payment to ensure it’ll not consume your monthly profits. 5. Make negotiations on the property After searching for a rental property, you need to make an offer. At this point, you should start negotiating your offer to potential sellers. However, you should bear in mind that negotiating takes a lot of work and calculation to make sure you get the right numbers before you purchase. -During the negotiation, don’t forget to listen to what your seller may say as the information will be necessary along the way. -When making a counteroffer, you should consider factors such as the closing date, inspection contingency, the seller’s potential financial concessions, and many more. -If you find it difficult to negotiate, ask for the assistance of a real estate agent to help you win the negotiation. -By that time, hopefully, you and the seller have come into the same terms to get the property sold in your favor. 6. Rent out the property After you’ve got the property inspected and have the keys in your possession, you should begin renting out the property in San Diego to potential tenants. Below are ways to get some tenants for your rental property: -Advertise it by showing the house to those who are interested. -Pre-screen possible tenants by looking at their proof of income and some references. -Allow them to walk through the house so they’ll know if they really want it or not. -If they show interest, give out the forms and ask them to fill in some vital information, such as names, social security numbers, employee information, previous addresses, phone numbers, and many more. -Determine whether they can sustain the rental costs and fees of the property. -If they can, prepare the lease agreements and get the payments settled out. Conclusion As with rental property investment in San Diego, you should still keep your expectations realistic. If you pick the wrong property, the result can be catastrophic. Follow these tips to make sure you get the perfect property that will secure a good cash flow from start to finish. Once you master the right practices, you’ll be able to ensure a better future for you and your family.
Based in the heart of the Middle Eastern region, luxury property developer Eagle Hills has partnered with independent global creative agency Crowd to transform its website to a more SEO and user-friendly digital platform. Eagle Hills asked Crowd to develop a fully content managed solution that provides the best usability for users to navigate, explore and register their interests. The website is a robust, sales funnel that generates leads. “The new website had to act as a hub for Eagle Hills’ development projects throughout the world – showcasing plans and rendered photography of in-development properties,” said Tom Berne, Studio Director at Crowd Dubai. “Our challenge was to showcase the developer’s leading iconic destinations in a confident way that speaks to an ‘inner-directed’ consumer who appreciates great design. Eagle Hills wanted a direct approach, so we kept the website clean and simple to communicate a positive message to the appropriate demographic,” Tom added. A comprehensive content management system allows Eagle Hills to manage every aspect of their site and seamlessly integrate into their existing CRM system. Key design details include luxury and modern photography to reflect the developer’s brand message and services. Eagle Hills’ vision is to become the world’s most-admired real estate company by developing integrated communities that provide smart innovation, high-quality products, and services. It is one of the few developers that have adopted an e-commerce approach with their innovative thinking and showcase their passion for modern living through a dynamic digital platform. Since the launch of the new website, there has been a steady increase in traffic because of the optimisation activities added to the site. The website has won three CSS Design Awards in the Best Innovation, Best UI and Best UX Design categories. It has also been listed on the professional web design and development competition body – Awwwards.
A slowdown in property transactions, with home buyers and sellers taking more caution amidst economic uncertainty, has been registered. This is due to the housing market being left in a state of lull because of diminishing demand among foreign buyers and pending Brexit negotiations. Compared to a year ago, homeowners wanting to sell their property are finding themselves having to wait a lot longer and buyers are taking more time to make decisions. At the beginning of 2016 the average buyer took 53 minutes during the viewing process to make a decision on whether or not to buy a property. However, buyers this year took an average of 65 minutes to finalise their decision, with an average of 2.4 viewings. While in 2017 it took 96 days for the ‘sold’ sign to go up, it now takes 102 days. The buying process is also taking 23% longer than it did in January 2016, with 27% of buyers now asking to view a property three times before submitting an offer. Even when homeowners have found a potential buyer, more than a third of deals have fallen through. This is perhaps down to the lack of buyer confidence in the run up to Brexit negotiations. These failed deals have cost consumers an estimated £270 million a year. Slower property transactions have also affected buyers. News of falling house prices has been met with concern from those wanting to sell their property. A cautious approach by sellers hoping to make a profit has meant that buyers are finding their bids undermined through a practice called gazumping. Gazumping is where a seller retracts an offer after receiving a higher bid from someone else. This is especially becoming an issue in Sheffield, where more than a third of buyers have reported being victims of gazumping. The south east has been most affected by this housing market lull, with house prices in London falling by 0.8% over the course of last year. The UK’s capital now has the second-slowest property market, after Blackpool. The average property in the capital now takes 126 days to finalise a deal, 15 days longer than in 2017. Further still, houses in London worth more than £1m are taking a whopping 171 days to sell. The forecast for 2019 much depends on the outcome of Brexit. The sales market, especially within the south of England, is likely to remain as it is until a deal has been confirmed.
An analysis conducted by MediaVision of property brand searches across more than 200 residential, commercial and portal/online companies revealed a market predominantly down year on year with pockets of stellar performance from some. Of the top 10 brands with the highest monthly search volume overall, only four saw a positive uplift in brand demand YoY. Of the top 50 overall, more than half saw a decline in brand demand over the last year, which indicates just how tough and diverse the landscape is right now. For brands in the fiercely competitive online property sector, an increase or decrease in brand search can be attributed to several things: the effectiveness of the marketing strategy, market-related factors, the economy, changing consumer habits or the efforts of rival brands. Fortunately, positioning from a volume perspective and a robust marketing strategy can have a significant and direct impact on brand demand. Residential brand frontrunner is Dexters with an increase of 6% YoY. The London agency chain beat out Savills, Knight Frank and Foxtons, who all saw a decline in brand demand. Dexters made the news back in 2016 by shedding 20 different brands and a holding business to become a single entity that now has over 70 branches across London. The brand has since expanded even more by co-marketing homes acquiring and rebranding more businesses. With aggressive growth in the market since launching and subsequent status as one of the most valuable start-ups in the world, WeWork leads the way this year with a 58% increase in brand demand. Flexible office space has become a major disruptor in the real estate industry. With spaces offering co-working, shorter leases, stellar coffee and a greater sense of community for small teams and corporates, demand has increased around the globe in recent years. WeWork has tapped into this growing trend by appealing to an industrious audience that wants more from an office than just a desk space. Aside from its massive size – members are projected to hit 400,000 by the end of the year – the brand captures news attention with details like amped up amenities, innovative networking events, beer taps, food bars and more – all tied together by a strong marketing strategy. With an increase in brand demand at 31% YoY, industry disruptor OnTheMarket has become a major competitor to property portals Zoopla and Rightmove, who both slipped from the top spots with a decreasing brand demand. The big portals are still far ahead in terms of volume but there is no doubting OnTheMarket’s trajectory.
Pure Commercial Finance, the Cardiff-based commercial finance brokers, carried out a research to reveal whether purchasing property near a football stadium is a worthy investment. The research found that homes near football stadiums are experiencing property price increases considerably higher than the UK average. The brokerage’s campaign combines Land Registry data and previous reports by mortgage lenders to highlight previous property surges near new English sports stadiums such as The Emirates Stadium and the Etihad Stadium. It also predicts areas which will likely see an increase as the result of future redevelopment. “The statistics are compelling, it’s great to see that as a result of the development of new football grounds its proven to not only stimulate local infrastructure investment, regenerate tired or unused areas of the cities but to create an unprecedented rise in house prices in the immediate area of redevelopment,” said Ben Lloyd, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Pure Commercial Finance. If the same average growth is seen in the next two decades as that seen in 1997 to 2017, investors can expect an average 450% increase in property prices for buildings near Premier League stadiums, according to the research. Saying that, developments coming out of Millwall FC are definitely worth keeping an eye on. The New Den, which is Millwall’s current stadium, opened in 1993 just a few miles from London’s financial centre. In August 2018, it was reported that the club had appointed architects to draw up plans for its community programme, which involves pre-planning what the club requires in order to meet Premier League requirements. The average property price in nearby postcodes is around £505,000 – up more than 33% in the last five years, and 292% in the last two decades – and, if the club is redeveloped, this could see local property prices positively affected. Research has also revealed that investing in property surrounding West Ham, Fulham and Arsenal’s stadiums could achieve healthy returns on investment. Whereas property with the highest price per square metre can be found near stadiums belonging to Chelsea, Fulham, and Arsenal. One of the biggest increases in past property prices could be seen surrounding Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium in North London. The average home value in the postal district surrounding Spurs’ stadium rose more than seven and a half times in the two decades between 1997 and 2017 from £59,638 to £450,104. Zoopla states the current average price around White Hart Lane is just under £460,000.
Housing needs in the UK are changing amid declining levels of home ownership and lifestyle shifts. Rather than the traditional ‘buy-and-hold’ model, residential housing needs are shifting towards developments that are built for rent and aimed towards a specific demographic who are at a particular life stage. As such, funding needs are changing to support these types of developments and this should lead investors to consider new ways of accessing the property market. Why is the UK property market experiencing change? Homeownership levels have fallen dramatically among the younger generation over the last thirty years. In 1991, 67% of 25-34 year olds were homeowners compared with 36% in 2014. Meanwhile, private sector renting more than doubled between 1980 and 2014. This is not just a UK phenomenon. In the United States, for example, home ownership fell to its lowest level in more than five decades in 2016. Declining homeownership is resulting from both cyclical economic forces as well as longer-term structural trends. While economic pressures have been important contributors towards declining homeownership, especially among millennials, longer-term lifestyle shifts are also having a significant impact. The way people live and work is frequently less structured and standardised than in the past, and there appears to be less desire for people to be held down by long-term commitments. Coinciding with the advent of the ‘gig’ economy has been rising numbers of self-employed and contract workers over the last twenty years, suggesting a more mobile and flexible workforce. Nonetheless, while both the residential and commercial property sectors are experiencing significant change, new investment opportunities are opening as developers adjust their product offerings to meet evolving economic conditions and lifestyles. In fact, some of the most innovative developments are happening in the residential market. Co-living benefits the individual and the community ‘Co-living’ is an area of particular interest and future growth. These developments, which at this point are mainly focused in London, cater for young professionals’ more mobile lifestyles. They offer the convenience of all-inclusive costs, covering rent and bills as well as services such as cleaning and gym membership. This market is further developed in the United States and the evidence suggests widespread popularity in metropolitan areas such as New York and Oakland, California. In addition to convenience, this type of living arrangement combines the benefits of feeling part of a community while at the same time offering individual privacy. Occupiers have shared living spaces, but they can also retreat to their own fully furnished private apartment. It presents an attractive choice for young people, especially as a national survey recently found that 16-34 year olds experience feeling more lonely than older generations. However, it is not just the investment potential that these types of new developments hold for investors. Co-living and other purpose-built rental developments may also hold wider economic benefits that could help the struggling UK high street. How can investors take advantage? Investors can access these types of purpose-built rental developments through development finance or bridge loans, which are secured by the underlying assets and offer higher yields relative to UK government and corporate bonds – typically between 5% and 8% per annum net of fees. With banks and building societies retrenching from lending in the post-financial crisis years, this market presents a growing opportunity as developers look to secure funding from a diverse range of sources. Although still at an early stage of development, operational assets are a logical, modern way to benefit from an evolving and changing UK property market. By Tom Brown, Managing Director at Ingenious Real Estate
