EDITOR’S COMMENT In this column, around 100 days ago, in a roundabout way I compared U+I to Donald Trump, saying its then newly installed chief executive Richard Upton would have the same task as Joe Biden and would need to unravel a lot of damage to make U+I great again.
It may have been an unfair comparison, but the imagery was sound.
This week, as Upton got to the end of his 100-day review, he had to report “hugely disappointing” results. I can’t think of a time when I have ever heard a chief executive be so honest in their delivery of poor numbers. There’s usually some sort of spin, but this was a proper “these are rubbish, here’s what we are doing to fix it” analysis of some painful figures.
I take my hat off to Upton for that.
Knowing that a root-and-branch review of the business was vital, that hard decisions would need to be made, that what was okay in the past was definitely not okay today, and that change was inevitable, is something that every good leader should be prepared for and be prepared to do.
If only another real estate institution and its chief executive could do the same.
Upton has had to admit that U+I overstretched itself. That it went for glamour, not gain. It did too much, paid too much – to its people and on its premises (there’s another parallel here, but I can’t quite put my finger on it…) – and probably gave away too much of itself too.
That admission has led to it slashing it staff numbers almost in half (42%) between 1 April 2020 and 30 June 2021 and running a strict rule over its assets, creating a big disposals list.
Upton has moved quickly too, already securing £54m of the £130m of proceeds it expects to receive from disposals by the end of its 2022 financial year.
It is the Rita-Rose Gagné approach of nothing being off the table if you want to turn a business around.
“You don’t fall in love with your assets,” she told EG earlier in the year. “If the price is right, all assets are on the table.”
Upton is convinced U+I will be great again. He is “absolutely determined” that the years of underperformance by the developer are over and it now has the strong foundations in place to build back better.
“We believe our regeneration model, married to the right capital and aligned with the government’s focus on rebuilding economic growth and levelling up, is more relevant than ever,” says Upton. “But failings in execution and the wrong capital have undermined our ability to deliver the model successfully.”
Again, if only another real estate institution could have the same self-awareness and humility to admit that it failed and needed to reset its entire business to better deliver for its stakeholders.
Upton’s job is far from over, of course. The reset following his review may be done, but now U+I needs to move into the stage of proving that it has taken the right actions and really can “fulfil its huge potential to create more proud, inclusive and thriving communities that are good for people, society, the economy and our shareholders”.
Exciting news from the EG team this week. We have been shortlisted for a flurry of BSME Talent awards, with Pui-Guan Man and Emma Rosser both being recognised for their excellent reporting, our art editor Nigel Peters for making everything look so good, and our video and events team for some cracking visual productions this year. Please join me in congratulating our talented team.
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