The top 50 collaborators in real estate, as decided by the EG team and a panel of judges, showcases those in the industry working hard together with peers, politicians, the public and technology to deliver an improved public realm and property sector.
In partnership with Avison Young, DWF, U+I and VU.CITY
50Boris Johnson and Donald Trump
This collaboration could be the world’s most dangerous: two livewires with the nuclear codes for two of the globe’s most powerful nations. Who knows whether the UK’s “special relationship” will flourish under the new regime in Downing Street, but it is in the interest of everyone if they learn to work together.
49MIPIM
MIPIM is still where all the good deals get done. A week in Cannes in the sun, strolling down the Croisette hunting serendipitous meetings, and knowing that the industry’s great and good are all in one place is a recipe for successful collaboration.
48The Windsor Group
The Windsor Group – the gathering of all the senior partners from the major agents – clearly does not and would not collaborate on anything business-related. But this collection of industry leaders is finding ways to work together for the greater good of the industry, picking up on issues that affect the ability of the sector to attract talent, from diversity or people-related perspectives or from a digital transformation perspective.
47Helsinki’s Oodi Library
Helsinki’s new library goes far beyond books (although there are thousands of them on its shelves). It is intended to act as a “living room for residents” – users can socialise, create art, read or relax. They are encouraged to come with their families, book a meeting room, use the space to work or hold events. Situated next to the Finnish Parliament, it is the ultimate collaborative space.
46Changing the Face of Property
Rival firms including Savills, JLL and Knight Frank, plus many more, have joined together to make sure property continues to recruit the brightest young talent. This organisation works to promote property as an exciting career choice for the next generation.
45VTS
Portfolio management software VTS claims to reduce deal cycle time by 41% by centralising data. It is a great example of how tech enables companies to create one place where teams can work and communicate – improving efficiency and speeding up processes to enable tenants to sign leases faster.
44Real Estate Balance
Networking group Real Estate Balance is using its connections to tackle the gender imbalance in the industry. To date, 80 chief executives have signed up to its Commitments to Diversity, and it is encouraging members to approach their bosses personally to have conversations about how firms can improve. With seminars and high-profile events on the cards, these guys are not holding back.
43UK Regeneration
After nine years, UK Regeneration, the company fronted by Jackie Sadek, finally got consent for its first pilot village of 1,500 homes on a site close to Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. Nine long years of negotiation and collaborations.
Sadek admits the dream of being able to deliver a large-scale development without compromising the natural environment would not be becoming a reality without partnerships. Particularly those formed with Central Bedfordshire Council, Biggleswade Town Council, the South East Midlands LEP and Homes England. Could this be the perfect public private partnership? Only time will tell.
42New West End Company
The New West End Company is a global business partnership of 600 retail, restaurant, hotel and property owners working across some of the world’s most famous shopping streets and representing more than 150,000 people. It has become a powerful – and collaborative – voice for businesses and the wider community.
41Pathways to Property
Pathway to Property offers a range of activities for young people to raise awareness of study and career opportunities in property in a bid to address some of the industry’s diversity problems. The summer school it ran this year was its biggest yet.
40David Lunts and Jules Pipe
David Lunts, executive director of housing and land at the Greater London Authority, and Jules Pipe, deputy mayor, planning, regeneration and skills, form a vital partnership for the property industry within City Hall. As Sadiq Khan continues to prioritise other issues, property would get a poor hearing were it not for these two.
39British Property Federation
When it’s not all up in ministers’ faces, the British Property Federation is informing best practice, finding the next generation of talent in the sector, and driving change, particularly this year around the industry’s perception among Joe Public.
As the sector changes and shifts, its role in uniting professionals and championing property to government is more important than ever.
38Cain International
In August 2018, Cain International acquired a majority stake in real estate lender Fortwell Capital, providing £400m of investment capital to the company. The partnership is mutually beneficial, enabling Fortwell to continue to expand its loan book, while allowing Cain to enter the specialist market for small and medium-sized loans under the Fortwell brand. Together, the pair provide access to real estate finance for developers across the full spectrum of loan sizes and products.
37PLACE
PLACE (Pan-London Accommodation Collaborative Enterprise) is a new approach to tackling homelessness.
Through the scheme, London boroughs are able to use modular housing units to increase the supply of temporary options for people needing a home. It is the first time UK local authorities have joined forces to acquire modular temporary accommodation, and could go some way to tackle the capital’s homelessness problem.
36Places for People and Urban Splash
These two companies continue to be a force to be reckoned with in transforming unloved sites. Their work at Port Loop in Birmingham is gathering pace, and they recently secured government funding with Homes England to help develop modular units at the site.
SEE ALSO: Places for People: Delivering the homes that society wants
35Landsec
The team at Landsec has taken steps to improve its social collaboration this year, hitting its long-term target of getting 1,200 disadvantaged people into employment. Its approach to community employment is helping to address significant skills gaps in the construction and building maintenance sectors, and enabling ex-offenders to gain training and employment in scaffolding and window cleaning at heights. It has just set a stretching new target to generate £25m of social value by 2025.
34Capital West London
Last year, the West London Alliance commissioned an inward investment and international trade programme that has become “Capital West London”, uniting the seven boroughs – Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow – to promote west London to a global audience and showcasing development sites. The group provides a central point of contact for anyone interested in the region, maximising investment and development opportunities.
33Nigel Hugill and Robin Butler
These two show no signs of slowing down: their regeneration vehicle Urban & Civic grew its net asset value per share by 9% in the past 12 months, and continues to tackle some of the largest development sites in the country. With another 6,500 new homes at Waterbeach, Cambs, in the pipeline, this duo have plenty more up their sleeves.
32Avison Young – Entrepreneur in Residence
In October 2018, Rupert Parker, Avison Young’s head of futureproofing, started the Entrepreneur in Residence programme. His three aims were to help start-ups find a market, to enable Avison Young to subsequently adopt the technology, and to introduce the firm’s clients to the latest innovations. Avison Young provides a six-month residency in its London office, and has gone from having no exposure to technology innovation to shaping the real estate tech industry.
31Design for Performance
The Design for Performance initiative is an industry-funded and backed project that was established to tackle the performance gap for new office buildings. Its ambition is simple: to make sure that buildings meet their design specifications by developing a rating scheme, identifying pioneers willing to develop a new approach, and working with industry bodies to ensure the sector is pulling in the same direction.
30Grosvenor
Grosvenor has stuck its neck out to say what others won’t: that the public does not trust developers and councils when it comes to large-scale development. The company is arguing for a new approach to housebuilding and has committed itself to making sure the public is enabled to weigh the value and costs created by development, increase transparency, and help communities to engage with the development process.
SEE ALSO: Grosvenor hunts for its Post-It note moment
29Supa Campus
The Office Group is doing lots to help fledgling businesses get a foothold. One of its innovations is Supa Campus, a three-month boot camp aimed at providing the training and tools for young entrepreneurs to beat the “two-year curse” and ensure a sustainable, successful business. Participants attend weekly masterclasses and workshops, hosted by professionals from firms including Apple, Facebook, EE and Bacardi.
28LCR’s Leake Street
Despite an international reputation as a street art hotspot, Leake Street Arches had previously been overlooked for development due to its challenging location. Step forward LCR, which successfully worked with local groups and negotiated a 250-year lease from Network Rail and the Department for Transport to take over the site. It set about transforming the public realm and added eight new shops, focusing on working with independent local businesses.
27CREation
The founders of networking group CREation spotted a gap in the market and ran to fill it. Now, they organise fun, free events where those starting their careers can meet and mingle with others in the same boat and even those already established in the industry, facilitating collaboration at the bottom of the career ladder, as well as the top.
26LondonMetric Property and A&J Mucklow Group
As the industrial sector continues to go from strength to strength, LondonMetric Property snapped up fellow London-listed company A&J Mucklow Group to become a £2.3bn logistics group earlier this year. LondonMetric said the merger will provide it with access to a “substantial portfolio of distribution and industrial assets”, expanding its footprint without incurring normal purchaser costs.
25NearSt
NearSt is making it possible for members of the public to search thousands of products in hundreds of shops all in one area – and has teamed up with Google to allow you to search a retailer’s inventory from your sofa. Its founders say: “We believe that shopping from real shops should be easier and faster than buying online.”
24Lendlease and Google
Lendlease has partnered with Google to jointly undertake the development of three major areas in the San Francisco Bay Area in California in a deal which has created a formidable pairing. The companies will deliver new mixed-use neighbourhoods with up to 15m sq ft of residential, retail, hospitality, and other associated community uses, establishing Lendlease as a major force in Silicon Valley.
23Mayfield Partnership
U+I, LCR, Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester are transforming the former Mayfield depot, which has been empty for more than 30 years. In May 2018, the team’s Strategic Regeneration Framework was adopted by the city council and this year it has begun detailed planning for the first phases of work. This will include a large part of the Mayfield Park which will create a £1.1bn mixed-use neighbourhood on the 24-acre site.
22Exeter Science Park
This science park – backed by Devon County Council, East Devon District Council, Exeter City Council and the University of Exeter – has already facilitated significant private sector growth and is on track to grow from 200 to 700 high-value jobs by 2020.
The park encourages entrepreneurs to move from hot desks to office space in the Science Park Centre and the Grow-on Buildings, which were completed in 2018 and were fully let before opening.
21Leeds City Region and Channel 4
Leeds City Region showed what can happen if an area pulls together to make a business case for its future by winning the race to become the new home of Channel 4.
Its success in luring the broadcaster to the city will benefit not only the immediate jobs market, but related sectors, including production companies.
20GVA and Avison Young
Avison Young this year completed its takeover of property consultancy GVA, a move that establishes the company as one of the largest commercial real estate advisory businesses in the UK
The potential for experts from both companies to work together is huge – Avison Young’s operations now have 19 offices and 1,600 employees in the UK alone.
SEE ALSO: Avison Young appoints 15 female principals after GVA deal
19Apex Airspace and Homes England
In January, then communities secretary James Brokenshire announced that Homes England would provide £9m of funding to Apex Airspace for modular homes to be built on top of some of London’s buildings. In total, 78 homes will be built under the three-year deal, proving that thinking outside of the box sometimes gets you government funding.
18CBRE and Telford Homes
CBRE’s surprise £267m takeover bid for Telford Homes shows that sometimes the best collaborations are the least obvious ones. The US property services giant wants to benefit from Telford’s foothold in the build-to-rent sector, while Telford’s shareholders will be glad of the equity injection.
17UK Green Building Council
In May, more than 120 business leaders wrote to the prime minister urging the government to adopt the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendation for a UK 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target. A third of the signatories were members of the UK Green Building Council, showing the appetite for joined-up working on climate action from the construction and property sector.
16WiredScore Home
Broadband rating service WiredScore chose the UK to launch its WiredScore Home certificate aimed at build-to-rent landlords. It has already signed up customers including Legal & General, Patrizia, Long Harbour, Town Centre Securities and Argent, with around 4,000 homes on its books. Collaboration only happens if people can connect.
15Transport for London and Grainger
Grainger and Transport for London have teamed up to deliver more than 3,000 new homes across eight London sites, all of which will be for rent. The deal is a major step forward for the build-to-rent model, which is becoming the tenure of choice, especially in the capital where young people have been priced out of the market. Other major public landowners could take note.
14Andy Street
The West Midlands mayor has done more than most to bring organisations together to improve his area. As well as his work on homelessness, joining up local services in a task force to improve homelessness prevention, he launched the UK’s first Local Industrial Strategy earlier this year.
13Freehold
Freehold has gone from strength to strength since Taylor Wessing’s Saleem Fazal and TFT’s David Mann established it in 2011. The organisation, which hosts networking across the property sector for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender professionals, now has more than 1,200 members and holds numerous events each year. But in a sector where diversity still lags behind, there is plenty more it can do.
12Fifth Wall
Fifth Wall was already making waves when it entered this list last year, but after a $503m fund raise in July, it is pushing forward with intent. The company says its real estate venture capital fund is the largest proptech investment pool raised to date and its 50-strong investor base is the largest consortium of property owners ever assembled.
Founded in 2017, Fifth Wall seeks to invest in companies which will actually benefit its investor base – the ultimate collaborative investing.
11Boris Johnson and Sir Edward Lister
Could this be the most powerful partnership in the UK at the moment? Sir Edward, known for his calm orchestrating of Boris Johnson’s time as London mayor, is at his right-hand side once again in Downing Street. The property industry may breathe a sigh of relief – Sir Edward is no doubt a sensible voice in the prime minister’s ear, and is bound to fight for the built environment’s cause.
10Urban Splash and Sekisui House
Urban Splash’s tie-up with Japanese housebuilder Sekisui House shows the value in collaborating with international partners. The company is a pioneer in modern methods of construction and is now invested in Urban Splash’s new House division.
Although it is early days, the hope is that the deal will provide a significant boost to the UK’s modular housing industry and will help to speed up production of much-needed new homes.
SEE ALSO: Meet the man bringing Japanese MMC to the UK
9Open Doors
Empty shops are being turned into vibrant community centres under new plans to revitalise Britain’s struggling high streets through a government-backed plan. The Open Doors project, which is being piloted in five towns, works with organisation Meanwhile Space to match public and private landlords of commercial properties with community groups offering services to local people. Opportunities range from wellbeing classes and business support sessions to mentoring for social enterprises. The sites are available free of charge to local community groups to use – Open Doors just makes the introduction.
8L&G and Oxford University
Faced with a lack of affordable residential and commercial space and a booming city population, Oxford University signed a £4bn deal with Legal & General to build science parks and thousands of homes for staff and students over the next decade. Without suitable accommodation, the university would struggle to attract the best research graduates and retain staff. But L&G’s involvement provides a sustainable way to grow into the future.
7Havering Council and Wates joint venture
Havering Council’s work with Wates amounts to one of the most ambitious housing regeneration projects in London and shows how a genuine 50:50 partnership between a local authority and a private sector company can help move the dial on housing delivery. Using funding from Havering’s Housing Revenue Account and investment from Wates, the project will deliver 3,000 homes for local people over the next 12-15 years, increasing council-rented accommodation by 70% and doubling the amount of affordable housing.
6Waterside Places: Muse and Canal & River Trust
Waterside Places is a partnership between regeneration company Muse Developments and waterways charity the Canal & River Trust. The pair are transforming underutilised urban waterfronts to create mixed, vibrant and sustainable places.
As landowner, the Canal & River Trust brings expertise and insight into sustainability, environmental issues, local knowledge and community engagement, while Muse leads on design, development, lettings and sales. Since its inception, the partnership has completed projects with a total development value of £280m, delivering more than 800 new homes and commercial space.
5Innovation Gateway
The Innovation Gateway is an alliance of organisations taking a unique approach to reduce the operational costs, risks and environmental impacts of their buildings. Partners including Tesco, Heathrow Airport, Royal Bank of Scotland, Kingfisher, Unite Students, Nottingham City Council, Places for People, Greene King and the University of Glasgow are working together to share experiences, best practice, performance data from pilots and sourcing the innovations they need to address their common challenges.
4Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Harwell Campus, an internationally renowned 710-acre science and innovation campus near Oxford, is a public private partnership between U+I, Harwell Oxford Partners, the government-backed Science and Technology Facilities Council and the UK Atomic Energy Authority. More than 200 organisations are located at Harwell, employing more than 5,500 people. The campus’s success relies on developing links with the broader research community – both in the UK and internationally – to make sure Harwell evolves to seize tomorrow’s opportunities.
3Kexgill Group and University of Hull
The University Quarter is a unique partnership between the University of Hull and the Kexgill Group to provide students with the highest standard of accommodation and support within a five-minute walk of the campus. It has been dubbed the UK’s first “hybrid hall”, combining independent living in houses with the social and safety benefits of living in hall accommodation.
The partnership made £60m of investment to create 200 new homes, plus two new halls of residence for students by owning entire streets – the first time a university has bought a site adjoining campus for university accommodation of this kind.
Richard Stott, managing director of the University Quarter and Kexgill Group, says: “The University Quarter is more than just student accommodation – we are creating a thriving, supportive community.”
2Built-ID
Meaningfully engaging local communities is a problem that vexes even the most socially minded developer. But Built-ID is changing that with Give My View, its new community engagement tool.
The platform allows communities to vote on key aspects of a scheme, such as whether they would prefer a playground or water feature in the public realm space. This brings together developers, councils and local residents to shape the built environment for the better.
Residents can prioritise concerns they would like the scheme to address, visually convey their emotional response to design, and vote on which elements are most valuable to them. The platform increases engagement: feedback is no longer only given by those who are able to attend planning meetings.
In the first month of its launch, there was a 2,078% increase in people engaging and collaborating compared with the traditional methods in the private sector. In the public sector, there was an average increase of 1,373%.
The end result is better places that evolve through effective communication and collaboration, driven by a community that has helped shape its spaces to best serve its needs.
Fresh off the back of pilot projects with the likes of Grosvenor, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council, City of London Corporation, Redrow and Barking Riverside, Give My View has the potential to transform the way developers work with communities in the future.
1Newcastle Helix
The closure of the Scottish & Newcastle Tyne Brewery in 2005 was a major blow to Newcastle, a city already feeling under-invested in compared with some of its southern counterparts.
But out of the ashes of this major local employer a world-class science and business area is rising, brought about by a partnership between the council, university and a major investor.
The 24-acre site was snapped up by Newcastle Council, regional development agency One North East and Newcastle University with the ambition of creating an innovation zone to propel Newcastle to a successful future. The redevelopment of the area promised a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combine space for businesses alongside new homes.
Almost 14 years later and the scheme – since rebranded Newcastle Helix – has weathered challenging times, including a recession, the closure of One North East, and the search for a funding partner. Legal & General was brought on board in 2016, making an initial £65m investment to fulfil the project’s aims to help everybody live easier, healthier, longer and smarter lives by addressing national and global challenges.
Now the area is beginning to come into its own. It is home to the National Innovation Centre for Data and Ageing and the National Centre for Energy Systems Integrations. The residential zone includes 62 “future homes” showcasing residential technology, while the Urban Sciences Building provides high-resolution building services monitoring. A National Green Infrastructure Facility is in place and construction of a rapid-charge electric vehicle filling station will begin soon. There are now more than 40 small and medium businesses on site, and Siemens has opened a laboratory.
The next phase of construction comprises a second major office building, a private residential development for the rental market, a hotel and a multi-storey car park. Another phase comprising a residential neighbourhood and further commercial elements will follow.
None of this would have been possible without the vision of the partners, and their commitment to working together to ensure the needs of local people and the city’s economy were being met over a number of years.
