Property Focus: The Interview
Alex Munro is the head of commercial agency development in Leeds for property consultancy Knight Frank.
1. What are you views of the current state of the commercial property and property development markets?
“It’s very difficult at the moment. The occupier market is still alright. People are wanting to do things and are doing well. The retail market is difficult but it always has been. It has always been a bit up and down.
“The biggest problem is the lack of finance. The impact of that is that it’s making people nervous across the market. It’s making the development market impossible and in the investment market people are expecting to discount on everything.
“It’s all down to the banks. Everyone appreciates there was too much debt. There had to be a correction and I don’t think anybody would disagree with that but the level of problems was more than we thought it would be.
“I think the scale of development will reduce across the board commercially and residentially. Schemes will be smaller and perhaps more realistic. Residential won’t be like anything of the scales they have been.
“There’s a market for well built and designed apartments for city centre living and I think city centre living is here to stay. But I can’t see the big tower schemes stacking up and I think most of them will be six to 10 storeys.”
2. What key challenges and pieces of legislation do you think will most affect your sector over the coming months?
“The empty rates legislation is one of the most frustrating and ridiculous pieces of legislation you’re going to come across. It’s a blatant tax grab. What I find infuriating is those officials who come on and say it’s to encourage owners to bring buildings back into use.
“But we all depend on occupiers. We all want it (a building) occupied. It’s just utter lunacy. To have officials coming on with that blind mantra makes them look like a joke.
“The Government could have got away with it three to four years ago when things were going okay.
“Energy Performance Certificates, which come in on October 1, are another piece of bureaucracy. The larger occupiers are embracing them because of corporate social responsibility.
“But we’ve got the BREEAM ratings for buildings but just because you might get an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating doesn’t mean you’ll get a good EPC.
“It’s a Government driven by straplines.”
3. Why do you think Yorkshire is a good place to do business?
“Because it’s a wonderful place to live – an opportunity to get the right work/life balance.”
4. What is your favourite building / development in Yorkshire and why?
“Don’t have a real favourite but very impressed by what public realm can do to improve the profile of a city. Sheffield has some excellent examples around the Heart of the City development and the railway station.
“Bridgewater Place in Leeds has also raised the bar for the region in terms of mixed use development.”
5. If you could improve anything in the region, what would it be?
“The public transport network. We have some excellent networks in places but it is very patchy and congestion strangles the major conurbations.”
6. What barriers have you had to overcome during your career and how have you overcome them?
“I don’t believe that I’ve faced many barriers and where I’ve had frustrations I’ve overcome problems through determination and persistance and of course a bit of luck which is essential in business!”
7. What was your first job and how did you enter your current line of work?
“Probably hay bailing in the Yorkshire Dales – great fun. Although my father was a surveyor I got into the profession through helping organise a rugby sevens team for Ian Forbes, the former senior partner of Donaldsons in Leeds.
“He asked me if I’d considered it and offered me the opportunity to work over the summer months post university before I went travelling for a year. I enjoyed it and he offered me a full time job on my return.”
8. What do you most enjoy about your job?
“The variety of work and people who you deal with. We tend to deal with all the professionals involved in the development process which makes it all very interesting.”
9. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“I cannot recall a best single piece of advice but for me its always taking a step back before diving in with a full opinion. It doesn’t mean I’ll hold back, but at least I’ve considered it first.”
10. And the worst?
“Nothing really worthy of comment.”
