PropCast

Private markets demand local intelligence, not just scale argues Aviva Investors director Jonathan Bayfield. In this week's podcast, in partnership with Property Week, Jonathan joins Andrew Teacher to discuss how a £50bn private-markets platform uses independent research, operating partners and bottom-up intelligence to allocate capital across living, logistics and offices, and why AI may strengthen the case for the best buildings rather than destroy it.

Amanprit Arnold, founder of Disability Urbanism and DeafCity Hub, joins Andrew Teacher on PropCast to explain why she deliberately avoids the word ‘accessible’, what disabled households’ spending power means for landlords, and why Stratford, South Kensington and Oxford Street are the real tests of London’s inclusive design ambitions.

A year into his role as Head of Policy and Campaigns at Abri, former British Property Federation residential policy lead Theo Plowman joins Andrew Teacher, to explain why the sector’s hard-won settlement is only the start, and why pension capital, shared ownership reform and a dose of self-confidence will decide what comes next.

Abri may be one of the UK’s most significant large-scale housing organisations you have never heard of. It owns and manages almost 60,000 homes, stretching from Somerset and Bristol through a Hampshire heartland to Bracknell, Berkshire and, through Octavia, west London. As Andrew Teacher observes on this week’s PropCast, that scale would make it comparable in size with a FTSE 100 company, were it listed. For context, Grainger, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, owns just over 11,200 rental homes; Abri owns more than five times as many. Even adding Unite Group’s 64,000 student beds to Grainger’s total (and beds...

In the latest episode of PropCast, Chris Riley of Bywater Group and Oliver Lowrie of Ackroyd Lowrie discuss what it takes to design, fund and deliver co-living at scale, why timber construction halves upfront carbon, and what the sector’s rapid growth means for institutional capital.

“Design shouldn’t cost extra,” says Oliver Lowrie, co-founder of Ackroyd Lowrie, the architecture practice behind a growing number of London’s co-living schemes. “Gone are the days when you hired a star architect to produce something that looked amazing but wasn’t buildable. We know what the thing’s going to be built out...

In this week's PropCast episode, Andrew Teacher, co-founder of Lauder Teacher, speaks with Raoul Malhotra, founder and CEO of Orka Investments, about building a £700 million real estate manager in just a few years. From partnering with global institutional investors to navigating volatile markets, the discussion explores why operational expertise has become a defining advantage in today's real estate sector.

For two decades, finding somewhere to rent in Britain has meant typing a postcode into Rightmove or Zoopla and scrolling. Steven Charlton thinks that is a thin idea of search, and he has built a platform to prove it. nHabit, which reaches the App Store and Google Play in mid-June, lets renters describe the life they want in plain language and hands back neighbourhoods they would never have thought to type in. “Instead of following the herd to the same old postcodes,” Charlton says, “our aim is to let people search the way they’d plan their perfect holiday with Cha...

For two decades, finding somewhere to rent in Britain has meant typing a postcode into Rightmove or Zoopla and scrolling. Steven Charlton thinks that is a narrow interpretation of what search can be – hence why he’s set up nHabit, which reaches the App Store and Google Play in early June. nHabit will let renters describe the life they want in plain language, analyse London across those characteristics and give back neighbourhoods they would never have thought to type in. “Instead of following the herd to the same old postcodes,” Charlton says, “our aim is to let people search the way th...

Three decades on from joining a graduate scheme during one of the deepest property recessions in living memory, Marcus Phayre-Mudge, fund manager and partner at Thames River Capital, has watched the listed real estate sector cycle through booms, busts, structural change and a creeping crisis of confidence between boards and shareholders. Speaking to Propcast host Andrew Teacher, the long-serving manager of TR Property Investment Trust delivers an unvarnished assessment of governance, manager-investor alignment, communications and the persistent question of scale that continues to challenge the UK market.

Phayre-Mudge begins by setting out a framework he still uses...

Tom Sleigh, Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee for the City of London Corporation, is the youngest planning chair the City has ever had, and potentially the country. Working in one of the most important square miles to the UK economy, infrastructure must be at the heart of all decisions made.

The City has undergone a revival in recent years, driven largely by the macro and micro trends since the end of COVID. As Chair of the Planning and Transport Committee, Sleigh acknowledges he has got a lot of plates spinning to keep things running smoothly...

From banking to building, this week on PropCast we are joined by Homes England’s Innovation Lead Ed Jezeph. With an insight into Homes England’s new bank, modern construction methods what positives there are for the future of housebuilding in England.

Ed starts by saying how excited he is for Homes England to be launching a bank, noting how it is a natural progression for them as an organisation. Whilst the investment directorate within Homes England has existed for over a decade, largely focussed on debt lending and more recently equity investment and guarantees, this has prov...

Michael Keaveney, Director of Land, Development and Acquisition at Grainger PLC, has spent nearly eight years helping to reshape the country's largest listed landlord into a focused, operationally driven Build-to-Rent specialist. In a wide-ranging conversation for Propcast, he covers the logic behind Grainger's in-house model, the progress of its joint venture with Transport for London and a detailed proposal for how social housing in England might realistically be funded.

Keaveney arrived at Grainger two years after chief executive Helen Gordon, stepping into a business in the process of significant transformation. From a standing start of one delivered...

Across England’s south coast, a quiet experiment in coastal regeneration is under way. Partnering with local authorities across Torbay, Weymouth and Dover, a JV between Milligan and Willmott Dixon is proving how some of the country’s forgotten towns can be revitalised for new generations. Milligan’s Stuart Harris and Willmott Dixon’s David Atkinson speak to Andrew Teacher alongside David Carter from Torbay Council.

In this week’s episode of PropCast, José María Pons, joins Andrew Teacher, co-founder at Lauder Teacher, the global strategic communications agency, to discuss the founding of SQUARE – a discrete Ibiza-based event for a select number of industry leaders in Ibiza.

In this week’s Propcast in partnership with Property Week, Andrew Teacher discusses with Peter George from Ealing Council about urban development. As Strategic Director for Economy and Sustainability, he oversees six departments spanning planning, housing delivery, economic growth, schools, leisure facilities and building control. He argues that the emphasis on economy is no accident.

In this week’s Propcast in partnership with Property Week, Andrew Teacher discusses with Adrian D’Enrico of Atrato how Social Housing REIT has rebuilt confidence in specialised supported housing. The episode explores the sector’s turnaround, its measurable social impact, and how private capital can help address a 27,000-home shortfall if supported by clearer regulation and policy backing.

Speaking on this week’s PropCast, in partnership with Property Week, Davies explains how Bloom was formed, why ultra-urban warehousing is fundamentally different from traditional last-mile logistics and why specialism matters more than ever in today’s higher-for-longer interest rate environment.

In the latest PropCast in association with Property Week, Lee Coward, Head of European Investments at Oxford Properties, joins Andrew Teacher to discuss the redevelopment of the London Stock Exchange building, Oxford’s expansion across Europe and Australia, and what today’s capital markets really mean for real estate investors.

In the latest episode of PropCast Harry Glatman, Head of Alternative Capital Markets at DTRE and Matt Smith, Head of Science and Technology, join Lauder Teacher co-founder Andrew Teacher for a conversation on the direction of travel across real estate sub-sectors and the integral role of data in providing value-add advisory services.

In this week's PropCast, in partnership with Property Week, Andrew Wishart, senior UK economist at Berenberg, talked through where the UK economy really stands, what the next 12–24 months might look like, and what all of this means for real estate investors, developers and occupiers.

A tighter fundraising environment, stickier inflation and higher interest rates continue to muffle capital flows but against that backdrop, higher performing companies are those able to attract and retain the best talent, Nick Hammond tells Andrew Teacher.

On this week’s PropCast in partnership with Property Week, Bill Wilson, head of applied artificial intelligence at NTT Data, joins Lauder Teacher’s founding partner Andrew Teacher to explore how AI can help businesses scale by unlocking the untapped value in the real estate sector’s vast datasets.

In the latest episode of PropCast in partnership with Property Week, hosted by Lauder Teacher co-founder Andrew Teacher, dealmaking veteran John Slade – who has witnessed the London market’s many booms and busts – speaks candidly about timing, client relationships, and why the capital remains the world’s foremost real estate destination.

On this week’s PropCast, Octopus Capital’s head of real estate, Ed Clough, joins Lauder Teacher’s founding partner Andrew Teacher to discuss how Octopus is harnessing its cross-sector investment strategy to scale living, care and renewable energy assets across the UK and Europe, while using its strong track record to build trusted partnerships with global investors.

In this week’s PropCast, in partnership with Property Week, Andrew Teacher speaks with Melissa Murphy KC about her unconventional journey from prosecuting pirate radio DJs to becoming one of the UK’s leading planning barristers. Murphy shares insights on affordable housing, compulsory purchase powers, and heritage protection — all while reflecting on how curiosity, conviction and balance have shaped her remarkable career.

This week on The PropCast, in partnership with Property Week, Andrew Teacher, Founder of Lauder Teacher, sits down with Halima Aziz of Criterion Capital. Halima’s journey into hotel real estate has been anything but conventional. Growing up under the watchful eye of Criterion Capital’s founder — and renowned property entrepreneur — Asif Aziz, she gained a first-hand education in the world of real estate long before entering it professionally.

On the latest episode of PropCast, our co-founder Andrew Teacher is joined by John Lewis Partnership’s Katherine Russell and Anne Breen of Aberdeen Investments to discuss how their partnership to deliver rental homes is creating long-term value for investors and communities alike.

The latest PropCast, hosted by Andrew Teacher and in partnership with Property Week, features Ben Lee, Head of Data and AI at Bidwells, who explains how generative AI is already changing what ‘knowledge work’ is and what successfully integrating tech looks like in the property industry.

This week’s PropCast, hosted by Andrew Teacher, brings one of Irish real estate’s most forward-thinking and innovative executives, Colin MacDonald. MacDonald, having followed an unconventional path into property, puts forward a compelling investment thesis as well as offering sage wisdom on the dos and don’ts of commercial real estate in an increasingly complex market.

In this week’s PropCast, Marshall, the current chair of the investment committee for the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) – offers a robust, clear-eyed assessment of how pension money should be managed, what’s wrong with government pooling proposals, and why most investors are paying too much in fees. The conversation, led by Andrew Teacher, was direct, illuminating, and refreshingly free from the usual fog of institutional platitudes.

Where does ESG find itself within real estate today, and does it have a future? This type of grand strategy within the sector is what Jon Lovell, co-founder of Hillbreak, is best placed to guide, given his role as one of the first movers and shakers in the industry to recognise the need for bridging the gap between financiers and the narrative-driving sustainability types.

This week’s PropCast, with Andrew Teacher and in partnership with Property Week, seeks to engage with the big questions, ranging from the huge risk and opportunity of stranded assets, the looming deadline fo...

Data fuels every aspect of investment, and one company pioneered this change more than any other: IPD. This week’s PropCast, with Andrew Teacher, charts the incredible story of how Rupert Nabarro and the late Ian Cullen laid the groundwork for decades of institutional investment growth when they founded IPD in 1985.

Could a smarter, data-led retrofit strategy unlock billions of pounds in value for investors and governments, boosting energy efficiency and stamping out fuel poverty? These are the big questions Anna Moore, founder at Domna, believes she has the answers to on this week’s episode of PropCast.

In the latest episode of PropCast, Andrew Teacher, co-founder at Lauder Teacher, is joined by Russell Harris KC, one of the UK’s most successful planning barristers. Known for successfully battling appeals for Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street and Renzo Piano’s Shard, Harris chats warmly about his working class roots in a Welsh mining town and about his journey from defending criminals to listening to classical piano at 3am with Rafael Vinoly . He warmly narrates some of the planning sagas he’s battled through, gaining consent from some of London’s most controversial and high-profile projects.

In the latest episode of PropCast, Andrew Teacher, co-founder at Lauder Teacher, is joined by Paul May, Director and Head of Real Estate Equity Research at Barclays Investment Bank. With years of experience in the real estate sector, Paul offers valuable insights into the evolving landscape of real estate investment, asset classes, and the challenges facing the market today.

In this week’s episode of PropCast, Andrew Teacher, co-founder of Lauder Teacher, is joined by Lynda Shillaw, the Chief Executive of Harworth Group, a leading regeneration and development company. Lynda’s career is a remarkable story of evolution—one that began with humble roots in South Yorkshire and led her to become the CEO of a FTSE 250 company. In this candid conversation, Lynda discusses her upbringing, pivotal career moments, and her journey in reshaping Harworth into a powerful player in the UK real estate market.

Fresh from delivering a sector-leading set of results and winning the RESI Award for Large BTR Operator of the Year, Rob Hudson, CFO of Grainger, joins Andrew Teacher on this week’s PropCast. Hudson reflects on his career journey, Grainger’s impressive growth, and – as one of the City’s only openly gay CFOs – the important role diversity plays in the corporate world.

In this week’s PropCast, Andrew Teacher, co-founder of Lauder Teacher, is joined by Simon Ricketts, one of the founding partners of Town Legal and a leading expert in planning law. Ricketts, who has spent over 25 years shaping the UK’s legal landscape, talks about his career journey, the evolution of Town Legal, and some of the key challenges facing businesses in the planning and development sector today.

In this episode of PropCast, Andrew Teacher, co-founder of Lauder Teacher, is joined by Zsolt Kohalmi, Global Head of Real Estate and co-CEO of Pictet Alternative Advisors. They discuss Pictet’s unique approach to alternatives, the shift in real estate investment strategies, and how cultural differences across Europe influence investment decisions. Zsolt offers insights into the evolving demand for private assets, the impact of macroeconomic trends, and the growing focus on sustainability in real estate.

In this week’s episode of PropCast, Andrew Teacher, co-founder of Lauder Teacher, is joined by DJ Dhananjai, CIO for Edmond de Rothschild’s UK Real Estate Investment Management business, and James Whidborne, Head of Residential Fund Management UK. They discuss the platform’s conviction-driven investment strategy, which focuses on delivering much-needed rental housing across the UK.