Estates Gazette Property Podcasts

Speaker: Steve Coulson CEO and founder, Kitt  Chair: Tim Burke, editor, Estates Gazette While capital continues to chase a narrow pool of prime trophy assets, the industry may be looking for value in the wrong place. This episode explores the "missing middle", the vast majority of the UK office market consisting of smaller, operationally under-managed buildings that represent the sector's biggest untapped opportunity. We discuss why the future of UK offices isn’t in new developments, but in the strategic transformation of existing stock. Join us as we break down why the modern arbitrage is purely operational and how investment-grade managed space has officially arrived as the next evolution of the office model.

Speaker: Bev Craig, leader, Manchester City Council  Chair: Evelina Grecenko, senior reporter, Estates Gazette  Greater Manchester has spent a decade as the UK’s fastest-growing city region, with productivity consistently outpacing the national average. This success is no accident; it is the result of a long-term leadership approach and a consistent vision that integrates investment in skills and public health to drive a genuine increase in quality of life. In this episode, Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, discusses how the city region is leveraging its trailblazing devolution powers to deliver a £38bn boost to the UK economy by 2035. We explore the launch of the Good Growth Fund, a landmark vehicle designed to pump-prime 2 million sq ft of employment space and nearly 3,000 new homes in its first wave alone.

Speakers: Nick Mumby, partner, Gowling WLG  Chair: Tim Burke, editor, Estates Gazette Real estate is increasingly an operational business rather than a passive investment play. As funding conditions stabilise and sentiment improves, private capital is gravitating toward sectors where hands-on operating capability can drive performance and create value beyond traditional financial engineering. This episode explores how investors and operators are navigating today’s sustained capital costs defined by viability pressures, constraints and persistent planning friction. With living sectors continuing to attract capital and overseas investors weighing regulatory and macroeconomic risks, the ability to value-add and execute rather than just allocate is emerging as the key differentiator. If returns in 2026 are shaped by delivery, execution and operational discipline, where is private capital placing its bets and what does the next phase of operational real estate activity look like?

Speakers: Stacy Eden, head of real estate, RSM   Kelly Boorman, partner – head of construction, RSM Chair: Akanksha Soni, news editor, Estates Gazette Real estate may be regaining confidence, but the fundamentals are shifting. We're joined by RSM to unpack the findings of its latest Real Estate 360 survey and explore what’s really driving market sentiment in 2026. With 64% optimistic about the year ahead, funding conditions easing and living sectors still leading allocations, is the recovery story finally gaining traction or are viability pressures and tax constraints still holding the sector back? From planning delays and rising development costs to the policy levers government can, and can’t, pull, this conversation will examine the mechanics of delivery in a higher-for-longer environment. We’ll then pivot to technology. With one-third of firms implementing AI this year and smart buildings topping the innovation agenda, how are data, automation and cyber resilience reshaping risk management and occupier experience? If you want to understand where capital, construction and technology intersect in 2026, this is the conversation you won’t want to miss.

Speakers: Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool City Region Chair: Evelina Grecenko, senior reporter, Estates Gazette Liverpool City Region arrives at MIPIM 2026 with a record £11bn pipeline and a 10-year mandate to expand the economy by a further £10bn. This is no longer a vision of what could be, it’s a roadmap of what is being built. In this episode, mayor Steve Rotheram details how the region's largest-ever investment fund is fuelling high-growth clusters in life sciences, AI, advanced manufacturing and clean energy. We’ll explore the emerging Mayoral Development Corporation designed to strip away planning friction and fast-track 17,500 new homes across the city's historic North Docks, as well as the planned £5bn transformation of Liverpool Central Station. Join us as we discover why Liverpool is the UK’s frontline for institutional capital in 2026. 

Speakers: Chair: Shifali Gorka, reporter, Estates Gazette Jill Anderson, acquisitions manager, Whitbread  Jonathan Langdon, senior acquisitions manager, Whitbread  We’re diving into the hotel investment race in London and Edinburgh with the experts leading the charge. Learn how affordable brands like Premier Inn are winning the battle for "impossible sites” and get the inside track on the future of UK hospitality development. We’ll also discuss whether there’s a shared playbook for growth in both cities, how market conditions compare, and what challenges lie ahead for operators and investors. Whether you’re active in the sector or tracking UK hotel investment, this is the MIPIM conversation to catch.

Speakers:  Mike Brough, strategic director regional growth, Cardiff Capital Region  Gemma Clisset, partnerships director, Lovell  Chair: Akanksha Soni, news editor, Estates Gazette  Real estate regeneration isn't just about laying bricks; it’s about solving the complex puzzles of stalled sites and brownfield land. Across the UK, thousands of homes remain "unbuildable" due to viability pressures, leaving communities in limbo. But in South East Wales, a new blueprint for delivery is emerging. In this episode, we dive into the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) Housing Viability Gap Fund, a targeted £35m programme designed to breathe life into derelict land. We explore how this "evergreen" approach to investment is converting 230 acres of brownfield into 2,500 new homes.

Speakers: Chris Pilgrim, UK Head of Capital Markets, Avison Young  Richard Day, head of debt advisory, Avison Young Chair: Tim Burke, editor, Estates Gazette For over a decade, London has reigned as the world’s most "magnetic" city for capital, but as we move through 2026, the global leaderboard is tightening. While London remains the premier safe haven for international investors, cities like Tokyo, New York and Sydney are strategically competing for the same pool of institutional and private wealth. In this episode, we sit down with Chris Pilgrim (UK head of capital markets) and Richard Day (head of debt advisory) at Avison Young to dissect this shifting gravity. We’ll explore how foreign capital is diversifying into high-growth UK assets and how savvy investors are leveraging deep liquidity to secure the next generation of prime real estate.

Speakers: Stuart Woolgar, chief executive, Global Guardians   Chair: Akanksha Soni, news editor, Estates Gazette As the UK faces a widening gap between vacant commercial stock and urgent residential need, the traditional development model is being challenged to move faster. Following a high-level discussion at the London Stand at MIPIM on alternative housing models, this episode serves as a strategic debrief on how property guardianship is reimagining the "standard" build. We’re joined by Global Guardian’s Stuart Woolgar to discuss how guardianship provides an immediate, risk-mitigating solution for owners of empty buildings while delivering tangible social impact. Exploring 15 years of proprietary data infrastructure, we discuss the ability to mobilise and populate properties in as little as 30 days, turning dormant assets into vibrant community hubs.

Birmingham isn't just growing; it’s getting younger. With major projects and investment including HS2, the BBC at Digbeth and the Birmingham Sports Quarter acting as a massive gravitational pull, the city is transitioning from potential to proven delivery. In this episode, Joanne Roney (managing director, Birmingham City Council) discusses how the city’s project pipeline is setting new benchmarks for delivery in the UK. We’ll explore why Birmingham’s status as one of Europe’s youngest and most diverse cities is the ultimate de-risking factor, creating built-in, long-term demand for high-quality urban living. We’ll also dive into the exciting plans of the Birmingham Central Heart’s prospectus, launching at MIPIM 2026. A bold vision reimagining the connection between the business core and the future HS2 terminus. Spanning eight key sites and a partnership of major landowners, these plans are set to transform the public realm. This isn't just about buildings; it’s about a city raising its sights through active travel, culture, and civic pride. If the future of investment is shaped by delivery and operational discipline, Central Heart is where Birmingham is placing its biggest bet.

LISTEN Derek Griffin, head of acquisitions at Whitbread, speaks with Estates Gazette reporter Shifali Gorka about how the branded budget hotel sector has evolved in the last decade, why Premier Inn has become such a household name, and what the future holds for affordable travel. Derek talks about what’s driving Premier Inn’s rapid expansion across the country despite the increasing cost pressures in this tougher economy, and why the real estate industry needs to understand the wider social and economic impact of the hotel sector. A must-listen for anyone who wants to learn about where the budget hotel sector stands today and what the future holds.

What happens when an industry veteran, a NextGen co-chair and Estates Gazette’s news editor sit down to talk honestly about diversity, leadership and the changing face of property? Marking Real Estate Balance’s 10th anniversary, Sue Brown, managing director at Real Estates Balance and NextGen committee co-chair Kevin Boakye lift the lid on gender parity, social mobility, the fax era, access to the sector and why inclusion isn’t a "nice to have"; it’s the industry’s biggest competitiveness challenge for the decade ahead.

Stephen White, partner at Daniel Watney, joins Estates Gazette to unpack the upcoming business rates changes and their implications for the office sector. From who stands to gain or lose, to how landlords and occupiers can best prepare, this conversation explores the complexities of the upcoming changes and offers some strategies to prepare you for it.

Jack Kelly, CEO of Office Ready Tech, speaks with Estates Gazette reporter Dom Plaskota about the often-overlooked role of technology in driving operational efficiency across office buildings. They explore how tech quietly underpins tenant satisfaction and asset performance but is only noticed when it stops working. A must-listen for anyone looking to future-proof their office operations.

Hear from private sector players about opportunities that innovation zones and knowledge quarters unlock for the built environment. How could we build further on the success of these initiatives?

Kier Property gives fresh touch of paint to Pall Mall as Liverpool City Council unlocks the development. Hear from the firm's development manager Meg Sweeney about the features that differentiate the scheme. 

Hear from young professionals in the built environment about the gaps in employment, skills, and housing. Is this challenge unique to Liverpool or nationwide?

Having positioned itself as a culture and leisure destination, the city looks to become a go-to place for other industries, too. Hear from Liam Robinson, leader at the Liverpool City Council, about turning ambitions into action.  

As cities and towns are being rethought and revamped, Estates Gazette and Avison Young brought together a group of built environment stakeholders to discuss the challenges in urban regeneration, the new thinking they need to show, and the changing mixes of asset classes being brought into focus in new visions. Listen to the panel, conducted at the UKREiiF conference, to hear insight from: Hattie Charlier-Poole, senior development manager, Henley Investment Management Chris Cheap, principal, managing director transactions, Avison Young Matt Cross, deputy director of markets and regions, Department for Business & Trade Mona Hassan, chair, Liverpool City Region Future Impact Board William Scoular, head of business development, Investec  Tom Sleigh, chair of the planning and transportation committee, City of London Corporation Chaired by Tim Burke, Estates Gazette's editor

In this panel discussion, Nathan Atkinson, co-founder of Rethink Food, a not-for-profit with a focus on fighting food insecurity and food waste, discusses the organisation’s work with Savills, which has supported the venture since 2019. Speakers: Nathan Atkinson, co-founder, Rethink Food Emma Saunders, director, commercial human resources, Savills Olivia Sutcliffe, associate director, Savills Earth Chair: Tim Burke, editor, Estates Gazette