When it comes to who calls the shots in UK property, international players continue to edge up in the power stakes. Investment into the UK, and London in particular, hit its highest level since 2007 last year with over 70% of the money entering the commercial office market coming from abroad. In the first of three mini power lists, Emily Wright and Ben Stupples present 10 key overseas contacts to add to your little black book.
Mark Carney
Who? Governor, Bank of England
Power list credentials: The Canadian former Golden Sachs man headhunted by Osborne to succeed Sir Mervyn King. Hailed as the Don Draper of the banking world. Praised for his handling of the Canadian banking system during the global economic crisis and for keeping the country’s property “frothy”, can he bring his Midas touch across the Atlantic?
Up until now… Carney’s first week in the job last month couldn’t have gone much better. The FTSE 100 rose by around 6% within five days of him starting work and his “forward guidance” strategy won instant praise across the banking and economics sectors. The fact that he was at his desk by 7am on his first day having taken the tube into work did his reputation no harm.
What next? Has Carney’s good start been more serendipitous than agenda-setting? We’ll see. Unwinding debt and rebuilding confidence will be the keys to recovery. And as for his impact on the property sector – it will be a while before the full impact of his decisions becomes clear.
How to get a meeting: Brush up on your knowledge of ice hockey and hardcore heavy metal bands. Carney is a fan.
Christine Lagarde
Who? Managing director, International Monetary Fund
Power list credentials: Her influence over fiscal policy – particularly across Europe – has a massive impact on the real state sector across the continent. Plus she clearly puts the fear of God into Osborne.
Up until now… The first female head of the IMF and the 8th most powerful woman in the world according to Forbes, packs a punch in pearls. In terms of her specific UK involvement, she recently called on Osborne to rethink his austerity package to be “more flexible” and to make more tax and interest rate cuts, all of which will have a knock-on effect for UK property.
What next? Despite declaring in June that the Euro may cease to exist within three months, Lagarde, in a dramatic U-turn, recently announced her optimism for the currency. “I think that there is a bright future for Europe,” she said, “and there is a bright future for the Eurozone and for the euro.”All good news for Europe’s real estate sector.
How to get a meeting: Invite her to a vegetarian restaurant and order the elderflower cordial. Lagarde is one of France’s extremely rare veggie tee-teetotallers.
Ahmad Al-sayed
Who? Head of the Qatar Investment Authority
Power list credentials: As of July, the 37-year-old was handed the keys to an investment chest valued at $100bn (£65bn) – plenty of which will be directed towards UK property. Up until now…The former lawyer has a pretty serious set of credentials to back up his appointment. Known as “The Qatar Iron Man”, he was chief executive of Qatar Holding, the sovereign fund’s investment arm, for four years before new Qatari Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim (known as HBJ) shook things up after his father’s abdication in June. Ahmad al-Sayed replaced Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim as part of plans to accelerate Qatar’s handover to a younger generation.
What next? With plans for billions of pounds worth of Qatari investment into the UK, Ahmad al-Sayed is suddenly one of the most important influencers in UK property. He worked on deals including the 2010 purchase of Harrods and the merger of Xstrata and Glencore but will his reported tough negotiating skills make doing business difficult?
Find him on… LinkedIn. It seems that even the toughest of negotiators ensure their social networking portals are fully up to date.
The Canadians, led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)
Power list credentials: Canada’s pension funds have made it their mission over the past 18 months to target the UK for more investment, ploughing £6.4bn into UK projects from property to infrastructure with CPPIB leading the pack.
Up until now… CPPIB has been particularly active over the past few months. It acquired a 33% stake for £307m in the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham in May in a joint venture with Hammerson. In July it purchased a 50% stake for £173.9m in eight central London office properties alongside Hermes.
What next? The Toronto-based firm is unlikely to disregard the UK as a primary location for investment any time soon based on recent deals success and London’s strong position in Europe and globally. All eyes will remain on the Canadians in general and CPPIB in particular to see where they – and their vast investment pot – go next.
How NOT to get a meeting: Ask them where in America they are from.
Karsten Kallevig
Who? Global head of real estate asset strategies, Norges Bank Investment Management.
Power list credentials: The head of the Norwegian Oil Fund has been making waves in UK property and is looking at more investment opportunities both in and out of the capital.
Up until now… Kallevig has already demonstrated both the appetite and the eye for the big transactions. It has taken in a 25% stake in Regent Street (£448m), a 50% stake in Meadowhall (£762m), launched a $1.2bn joint venture with US pension fund manager TIAA-CREF and bought £248m of sheds from LondonMetric Property with Prologis in July.
What next? At the time of writing, Norges hadn’t closed the deal to buy Blackstone’s 50% stake in the Broadgate Estate but are in the running.
How to get a meeting: Put a for sale sign over your property (if it’s worth a few hundred million).
Chad Pike
Who? Senior managing director, Blackstone Europe
Power list credentials: The American millionaire property tycoon is one of the biggest spenders in the UK with as much power to shape the real estate market as to rile up his home counties neighbours.
Up until now… The man with the money who is not afraid to go fishing for a big deal, Chad Pike, senior managing director of Blackstone Europe, has been and will be involved in some of the biggest deals in the UK.
What next? Pike likes chunky, trophy assets. Don’t expect little plays, this firm wants to land a prize-winning catch. And with a new head of its European industrial business LogiCor in Mo Barzegar, that spending will not be contained to London offices.
Likely to be found… The Three Daggers in Edington – his local pub. Literally – he bought it when he moved into the village.
Max Sinclair
Who? Head of Wells Fargo’s London Commercial Real Estate office
Power list credentials: Over 30 years in property banking
Up until now… Sinclair has spent 30 years in property banking and led the team at Eurohypo until very recently. Now heading the UK lending operation for Wells Fargo in July following its £4bn buy-out of the Eurohypo book.
What next? Wells has been reluctant to put a figure on how big its appetite for UK stock will be but it is no secret the Americans are hungry. Expect even larger deals than those traditionally done by Eurohypo among the usual fare – and soon. Sinclair should be every aspiring borrowers’ rekindled best friend.
How to get a meeting: Sinclair is well-known for being extremely approachable, so it may be easier than you think. But maybe wait until after August when the deal has closed.
Xu Weiping
(AKA Mr Xu)
Who? Chairman, ABP (China) Holdings Group
Power list credentials: Developer Xu Weiping – known as Mr Xu – has arguably become a figurehead of the overseas investors to emerge from the Chinese real estate market with plans to build London’s next financial district.
Up until now… Xu attracted the attention of the UK’s media this year with the closure of the deal he had set his sights on when he arrived in London in 2008. In May he signed a £1bn deal with Boris to regenerate London’s Royal Docks for Asian businesses, creating crucial new business links between the UK and the Asia-Pacific region.
What next? Xu plans to sell leases of up to 175 years on half the scheme to make money on it. Though some property developers remain sceptical, he predicts that the site will eventually generate £23m a year.
Najib Razak
Who? The Prime Minister of Malaysia
Power list credentials: The man with his finger on the button of the continuing Far Eastern investment in UK property.
Up until now… Malaysia spent £1.4bn in the UK last year alone and dominated headlines after sealing the £400m Battersea Power Station deal back in July 2012.
What next? Razak told the Financial Times last month that Malaysia is planning an upswing in investment in the hopes of becoming “a major player in the London property market”. He added that the Employees Provident Fund, the largest Malaysian government pension fund by assets, is “flush with cash and needs to take some of the surplus abroad”.
How to get a meeting: Develop some high end residential.
China securities regulations commission
Power list credentials: In a position to regulate how much, or little, major Chinese investors plough into UK real estate
Up until now… As the body overseeing trading, custody and settlement of equity shares, bonds and investment funds, CSRC has always been powerful. It’s only now that Chinese firms are focusing on UK investment that it has a greater impact here.
What next… Could continue to influence and regulate what Chinese insurance investors and big investors into the UK market do and do not spend
How easy is it to get a meeting on their home turf? Easier as of January with the introduction of the 72-hour Visa waiver to Beijing.
Additional reporting by Jack Sidders
