Property Focus: The Interview – Simon Dew

In our series of interviews with top professionals from across the property sector, TheBusinessDesk catches up with Simon Dew, managing director of Cheshire-based Muller Project Management, part of Muller Property Group.

What are your views of the current state of the commercial property and property development markets?

The commercial property and development market continues to be severely restricted by the lack of bank funding which is obviously limiting not just development activity but also transactions for existing commercial stock whether these be occupier led or investment purchases.

There are, however, signs in the market that certain institutions are starting to consider funding specific schemes that are viewed as lower risk, such as pre-lets with high quality occupiers for example, but there is still a long way to go before activity reaches a level that can be viewed as a sustained recovery.

What key challenges and pieces of legislation do you think will most affect your sector over the coming months?

The key challenges over the coming months will continue to revolve around the ongoing lack of liquidity in the marketplace and the Government’s ability to stimulate bank lending.

A key part of this process will be how banks deal with their distressed asset portfolios. With commercial investment values having fallen by circa 40% in many instances, there is still a vast amount of distressed assets in the system, which will need to be proactively worked through in order to provide financial institutions and borrowers with an exit strategy, once the recovery becomes more established.

Ireland’s newly formed National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), which is taking on  €77bn worth of bad bank debt, will undoubtedly have an effect on the UK property market as Ireland’s big five banks invested around  €15bn in UK development and investment market during the boom.

NAMA will need to secure a 10% increase in the value of these assets to break even and as such, major opportunities will exist for UK property professionals to assist in achieving this aim by devising creative business plans to add value and provide exit strategies through the successful completion of development projects.

Why do you think the North West is a good place to do business?

The North West continues to be a good place to do business for the obvious reasons – transport links, and availability of workforce – but from a property perspective, a number of recent developments have ensured that Manchester and Liverpool remain a key location for business, despite the economic downturn.

Grosvenor’s £1bn Liverpool One mixed-use scheme has propelled Liverpool up the retail rankings. Major schemes in Manchester, such as Allied London’s Spinningfields development and Argent’s Piccadilly Place, have established new major financial and business services communities in the heart of the city centre and MediaCity will add creative and media services to that list.

Despite the problems caused by the economic downturn over the past two years, it is these major schemes that will ensure that the North West emerges as a strong location for business and leisure as hopefully the recovery takes hold.

What is your favourite building in the North West and why?

My favourite building is the former Fire Brigade headquarters on Whitworth Street West in Manchester.

It’s a Grade II listed red brick and terracotta building that is considered at risk by English Heritage given its current dilapidated condition, but has the potential to be one of the city’s finest buildings if brought back into positive use again.

If you could improve anything in the region, what would it be?

The long awaited Metrolink extension will be a great improvement to Greater Manchester once completed and will hopefully make a difference to the congestion that is currently endured by all rush hour commuters.

As a keen cyclist, I would also like to see more investment into dedicated cycle routes into the city, to encourage more commuters to take to their bikes.

Delivered alongside improvements to public transport, this could make a real difference to the conjestion that Manchester currently suffers from. At present cycling is considered by many to be too dangerous to contemplate as a serious alternative to the car for commuting to work.

What was your first job and how did you enter your current line of work?

My first job was as a graduate surveyor with Storey Sons & Parke in Newcastle. I spent two years on the firm’s graduate programme and aside from getting some invaluable experience working within a busy commercial agency practice, enjoyed many nights out on the famous Bigg Market and Quayside!

What do you most enjoy about your job?

Working in the property industry is extremely varied and as such no day is the same.

The best part of the job is probably that you are not tied to the office and the success of the job largely depends on your ability to form relationships with people and get out and about in order to find opportunities for new business, whatever area of property you work in.

What barriers have you faced during your career and how have you overcome them?

I’ve been fortunate to have had a number of quite autonomous roles during my career so most of the barriers that I’ve faced have probably been from a general property development perspective due to the numerous hurdles that a developer need to overcome to successfully complete a scheme, whether it be retail or commercial in nature.

In order to deliver a successful and profitable scheme, it can take a considerable amount of time and effort to achieve planning, secure occupiers and successfully deliver a scheme on time and within a budget.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I’m a Yorkshireman so probably ‘hear all, see all and say nowt!’

And the worst?

That buy to lets were a good investment – fortunately it’s a piece of bad advice I didn’t follow.