Property Focus: The Interview – Peter Gomersall
PETER Gomersall is head of the national construction industry scheme team at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Leeds-based Mr Gomersall is also a senior manager who has worked on employment issues for more than 30 years, both for HMRC and, for the last 10 years, in practice.
He has extensive experience of assisting organisations of all sizes, in both the public and private sectors, in designing and implementing bespoke benefit arrangements to suit the cost requirements of the organisation and the needs of the workforce.
1. What are your views of the current state of the commercial property and property development markets?
“It’s the same all over Yorkshire but certainly if I look out of my office window I can visibly see the slowdown on property development.
“It’s very difficult times and although I don’t like wishing my life away if the upturn is scheduled for early 2010 I wish it was New Years eve tomorrow!”
2. What key challenges and pieces of legislation do you think will most affect your sector over the coming months?
“I think winning contracts and keeping costs under control will continue to be the key challenges for the foreseeable future.
“We are working with a number of our clients using PwC’s concept of ‘Managing in a Downturn’ to help them through these difficult times.”
3. Why do you think Yorkshire is a good place to do business?
“I really like the honesty of the people I deal with in the Yorkshire business community, straight talking let’s you know where you stand, as an adviser that’s crucial.”
4. Which is your favourite building/development in Yorkshire and why?
“The Alhambra theatre in Bradford is fantastic, during the day or at night it looks great, but being a Bradfordian I may be biased.”
5. If you could improve anything in the region, what would it be?
“I’m a 25 year season ticket holder at Bradford City so probably the standard of our professional football teams. I’d like to see the three top West Yorkshire sides all playing in the Premier League, I’m sure that would help the region raise its profile.”
6. What barriers have you had to overcome during your career and how have you overcome them?
“I don’t think I have hit any barriers, I see things more as challenges, it just means that you need to be able to manoeuvre your way around them and not let them hold you up or slow you down.”
7. What was your first job and how did you enter your current line of work?
“When I left school I wanted to work with animals so became a Zoo Keeper at Windsor Safari Park and then joined the Inland Revenue (as it was known before being HM Revenue & Customs). I joined the profession from HMRC 11 years ago and lead PwC’s National Construction Industry Scheme team.”
8. What do you most enjoy about your job?
“That’s easy for me to answer: meeting people.”
9. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“Be yourself don’t try to be something that someone else wants you to be.”
10. And the worst?
“I really can’t think of anything, I’d like to think that all advice that has been given to me has been meant constructively and may not always apply all the time but will apply at different times to different circumstances.”
