The countdown has begun to the biggest, most important gathering in property. A gathering where the great and the good, the rising stars and those who are already lighting up the sky, the techies and the dinosaurs, all get together to rub shoulders, press the flesh, eat, drink and be merry, and maybe, just maybe, pick up a coveted EG Award.
On 19 September, the industry will gather at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, W1, to celebrate the achievements of the year. The best in the business, as judged by their peers and clients, will walk away with one of EG’s freshly designed awards – a trophy asset as much in demand as a City skyscraper.
But the awards are about so much more than the winning. Hundreds of need-to-know industry players will fill the room at the Grosvenor House this year, a watering hole for the best of the real estate sector to not just celebrate but network and maybe even secure a deal or two. It is the hottest ticket in town. Will you be there?
Meet the judges
More than 50 of most influential and outspoken experts from across the real estate sector judged the 2017 EG Awards, delving deep into the entries submitted and objectively and fairly identifying the best of the best. Included among this years’ judges were:
Joe Borrett, director of real estate & construction (EMEA & India), Google
Borrett started his career as a member of the international roll-out team for Colt Telecom following the deregulation of the European telecoms markets. This took him to many cities and placed him at the heart of many large projects. Today, Borrett works in the tech industry. He joined Google in 2007 and is now a director of real estate and construction for EMEA, India and parts of Asia Pacific. He oversees a portfolio covering 64 cities and six time zones.
Matt Crompton, joint managing director, Muse Developments
Crompton is joint managing director of Muse Developments, the national regeneration and development specialist. With around 30 projects across the country, from Scotland to the South West, Muse’s development pipeline extends beyond 15 years and has an end value of more than £2bn. The company’s 20m sq ft portfolio is evenly split across residential, offices, retail/leisure and industrial.
Tony Gibbon, founding partner, GM Real Estate
Gibbon is a founding partner of the real estate advisory practice GM Real Estate, formally known as BH2, the firm generally regarded to be the leading niche operator in the central London market. His career started in 1981 at Prudential and he co-founded BH2 more than 20 years ago.
Charlie Green, co-founder, The Office Group
The Office Group, the British pioneer of shared workspace, was founded by Green and co-chief executive Olly Olsen in 2003. This summer it attracted some £500m of investment from real estate giant Blackstone. Green started his career in commercial agency, qualifying as a chartered surveyor, before working at property investment and development business MWB Group. With TOG, he and Olsen set out to challenge the commercial property sector by offering a viable alternative to traditional leases, typically targeting smaller businesses in the creative, media and digital sectors.
Thomas Meager, group director of property, Primark
With an honours degree in urban land economy from the University of Westminster, Meager’s career started at Chesterton in 1989 where he worked in investment and development. His first move into retail came when he was hired as a property acquisition manager at Lidl in 1995, where he was part of the original team in charge of introducing the German discount food store concept to the UK. From Lidl, Meager moved to Marks & Spencer, initially to drive the neighbourhood foodstore concept, but was soon acquiring the mainline department stores and several years later became head of property development for the group. In 2003, Meager was approached by ABF/Primark to lead Primark’s property department. Since his arrival at Primark the business has seen a marked change in its profile and today has more than 330 stores trading from more than 13m sq ft net retail sales space in 11 countries.
Click here for a full list of the judges >>
Work the room
As talk of the automation of roles increases, and artificial intelligence slowly seeps into the property world, the value of human relationships in business will grow. Forging strong and varied bonds within the industry will become vital to succeed. And where better to do that than in a room full of the leaders in industry. At this year’s EG Awards expect to see the crème de la crème from the agency world, the chief executives of the country’s biggest and best propcos, the movers and the shakers, the next generation that will be the future of your business, the techies that can disrupt or enable the industry, dependant on whether you welcome or ignore them.
Already committed to this year’s event are Aviva Investors, Battersea Power Station Development, Berkeley Group, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Cain Hoy Enterprises, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Derwent London, Fixflo, Grainger, Hammerson, HB Reavis, Legal & General Real Assets, Lidl, M&G Real Estate, SEGRO, TH Real Estate and many more.
Click here for a full list of confirmed attendees >>
Feel good factor
In 2015, LandAid, the industry’s charity, committed to helping end youth homelessness in the UK. Since then it has awarded more than £1m in grants to bring empty derelict properties back into use as much needed homes for the young and homeless; has encouraged close to 100 of property’s most influential figures to pledge their support to ending youth homelessness; and in March – with a little help from the Duke of Cambridge – launched an appeal to raise at least £1.5m to help fund LandAid House, a 146-bed YMCA hostel on Errol Street, EC1, to provide around-the-clock care and somewhere safe for London’s homeless youth.
EG is proud to support LandAid and will be raising money at the awards to help it achieve its goal. Make sure you are there to play your part in giving back and helping those in need.
The entertainment
A party is not a party without a little entertainment and while EG couldn’t possibly give away exactly who will be its compère this year, there will be fun, games, competition and laughter. Previous hosts include Joanna Lumley, Jimmy Carr and Sean Lock. Will the blimp be back? There is only one way to find out…
Secure your place
Pre-dinner drinks, a three-course meal, a whole host of entertainment and a chance to walk off with an EG Award costs £335+VAT per person. Tables of 10 can be secured for £3,250+VAT. To find out more e-mail carly.mcgowan@rbi.co.uk or click here to book online.
