Driving Footfall: Retail & Mixed-Use Real Estate

Tom is Chief Development Officer at Canary Wharf Group, responsible for delivery of the 12 million sq ft development pipeline. The pipeline includes Canary Wharf’s North Quay and Wood Wharf developments; delivering over 5,000 homes, hotels, retail and commercial space, together with a new life-sciences campus for London. In addition, the team leads the delivery of the final phase of the redevelopment of the Shell Centre with our partners Qatari Diar.  Prior to joining Canary Wharf Group in 2022, Tom was the first Managing Director of the Euston Partnership, the Government’s largest real estate delivery partnership, and established the Property Business of High Speed 2, created to realise social, economic and financial value from real estate development. Before HS2, Tom spent 10 years at LandSec.

Ailish Christian-West is responsible for managing Get Living’s £2B build-to-rent neighbourhood portfolio and current development pipeline of circa 6,000 homes, working with investors and development partners to drive investment performance and grow the Get Living UK portfolio, targeting 15,000 homes. She leads Get Living’s ESG agenda and supports industry collaboration on a broad range of issues, advocating for a sustainable real estate sector and recognition of social contribution. In 2020, Christian-West chaired Revo, a national body representing the retail property industry during a particularly challenging time for the 30-year-old organisation due to the pandemic. She took up her current role leading Get Living’s portfolio during 2020, immediately getting to work on building a talented portfolio management team to deliver an ambitious portfolio growth strategy. She initiated the creation of the Lab E20 at East Village, an exemplar of the future of retail in residential neighbourhoods, where residents and visitors can see and buy sustainable products being designed and created in the store. She has led on investment and operational strategies to enhance portfolio performance, which are already delivering results. Christian-West has more than 20 years’ experience in UK real estate. Prior to Get Living, she spent 12 years at Landsec as an executive committee member responsible for portfolio management and operations. At Landsec, she led key strategic initiatives including the London suburban residential asset strategy, exiting secondary shopping centres and creating significant value through building a retail outlet portfolio. She spent 10 years in fund management running core-plus and opportunistic funds, including at LaSalle Investment Management, and she has served on the board of a technology startup fund. Christian-West enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children at home in London and looks forward to travelling again in the future.

Steve joined Regal in 2017 having previously worked as a planning consultant for over 10 years with involvement in a number of major and complex redevelopment schemes. He oversees Regal’s planning applications from the initial feasibility and pre-application stages through to securing planning permission.

Taking an unconventional route into architecture, Trevor Morriss designed his first building when he was just 17 years old, while working at the John Brunton Partnership. Today, Trevor is the Principal of SPPARC, the award-winning architecture and design studio he founded in London in 2007. He has lectured extensively and is a Board Trustee at the Architectural Association. SPPARC is renowned for its diverse portfolio having won plaudits for its exceptional regeneration and retrofit schemes in particular, which often tackle culturally significant projects. Recent examples include the co-design of the £1.3bn regeneration of Olympia London, the 2023 RIBA Award winning redevelopment of Borough Yards into a new retail, cultural and social hub in Southwark, and masterminding the design of the Camden Film Quarter, a unique new neighbourhood anchored by film and television production in Kentish Town.

Forget what you know about bowling - the Formica tables, boulder seats and plastic hot dogs and instead, imagine the best bar you’ve ever been in, add a ten-pin bowling alley and that’s the Lane7 experience. Starting his career with the transformation of pubs and inns, Tim Wilks turned heads with the launch of Lane7 Newcastle in 2013 when he spray-painted graffiti over millions of pounds worth of bowling tech. He has continued to turn heads ever since. Think graffiti, neon lights and cocktails all set within the quirkiest venues, everything from an empty Quick Fit garage to an old train station, Lane7 venues are far from ordinary. With 16 locations across the UK and a debut in Europe this summer, Tim shows that you can achieve tremendous growth by challenging the status quo and breaking the mould.

Andrew Hilston is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies in the London office. He is responsible for deal origination, development, marketing, asset management and investment performance for the UK operations. Andrew is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is also a Chartered Town Planner. Andrew has over 20 years of client-side property experience at UK FTSE 100 REITs Landsec and Hammerson, as well as Brookfield. Prior to joining Ardent in January 2021, he was a member of the senior management team at the sovereign wealth backed Battersea Power Station development project. Andrew has extensive knowledge of Retail, Office and Residential asset classes as well as strategic land acquisitions and dispositions. He has been involved in a number of joint venture partnerships and corporate disposals. Andrew has a BSc (Hons) in Land Management and an MSc in Property Development from the University of Reading.

In his role as country head for commercial interiors specialist, Agilité’s UK division, Daniel Hunt maintains complete oversight of UK operations and project deliveries, as well as translating the key principles of Agilité’s B Corp accreditation into strategic implementation. Daniel boasts over 23 years of industry experience across the retail, leisure, commercial fit-out, public and residential sectors, and has a proven track record of achieving successful project outcomes for high street and blue-chip clients. Having joined Agilité in 2023, Daniel has already worked on UK projects for the likes of The Social Hub, Alo Yoga and Costco Wholesale. Involved in the delivery of leading fit out projects, Daniel observes the changing trends and thinking in the industry first-hand, while his background in cost and project management sees him working closely with clients in a trusted advisory role.

Louisa Butters is the Head of Retail Asset Management for CBRE Investment Management’s U.K. Direct Real Estate Strategies. Based in London, Louisa is responsible for retail and office assets totalling c£1.5 billion, alongside the oversight of Battersea Power Station development and asset management. Louisa worked at the firm from 2006-2011, and most recently returned in 2019 after two years as an asset manager for Cadogan Estate. Prior to that, she spent 12 months with Cherwell District Council, setting up their property investment fund. She began her career in the industry in 2004. Louisa earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Birmingham, a Maitrise Science Comptable from the Universite de Bordeaux, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Real Estate Investment & Finance from the University of Reading. Louisa is also a member of REVO.

Charles is a partner in Maples Teesdale's commercial real estate team and is head of the Retail team. He has extensive experience working on acquisitions and disposals (including forward purchase and forward funding deals), and refinancing of commercial and high-value residential properties. He is also involved in day to day asset management work for retail assets, industrial parks and offices.

Sam Cotton is Head of Asset Management at Battersea Power Station, responsible for all commercial aspects of the iconic mixed-use regeneration project, which is now home to over 140 shops, bars, restaurants, leisure venues and offices, including Apple’s new 500,000 sq ft UK headquarters. Sam joined Battersea Power Station in 2015 and has been instrumental in bringing the Power Station to fruition, including determining brand mix, leasing strategy, delivery and management of the estate. Sam previously worked for Capco (Shaftesbury Capital) where he played a leading role in the transformation of the Covent Garden Estate in Central London. Prior to this, Sam held a pan-European Asset Management role at Nuveen working primarily in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy. Sam began his career with Savills as a graduate.

Morwenna Hall, a chartered mechanical engineer, is an Executive Director at Related Argent. She joined the firm (then Argent LLP) in 2011 and in addition to her corporate leadership role, has led the design and delivery of several major projects at King’s Cross, including Coal Drops Yard – a thriving shopping and leisure destination with more than 50 shops, cafes, bars and restaurants - the Fish & Coal building and Gasholder Park. Morwenna now leads on the ground floor uses, public realm vision and activation for Brent Cross Town, a new park town that brings together the very best of London’s great neighbourhoods while making the most of its natural assets and opportunities. Its most distinct local feature is a 44-acre playing field that is destined to become one of London’s great parks and home to a wide variety of new play and sports facilities. Morwenna started her career at Arup as a mechanical building services engineer. During this time, she was the lead mechanical engineer for the Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge, designed by Stanton Williams architects, which in 2012 won the most sought-after accolade in the industry – the RIBA Stirling Prize. Morwenna has featured in many publications such as Property Week’s ‘Forty under 40’ list of young entrepreneurs, disrupters and leaders and her evident passion for design led to her being showcased as one of 27 women in the 2014 ‘Women Fashion Power’ exhibition at the Design Museum, alongside Princess Diana, Dame Vivienne Westwood and Dame Zaha Hadid.”

Sarah Waller is a Lead Asset Manager at Schroders and brings her experience of managing large complex mixed-use assets to the running of the 3.5-acre Knightsbridge Estate. Working with owners The Olayan Group, she has helped the estate evolve its offer across all sectors over the last decade and position it as a London destination to live, shop, eat and work. Under Waller’s management, one-third of the estate has recently been comprehensively redeveloped. The new development sits behind the retained period facades and delivers a large mixed-use building offering seven retail units, 67,000 square feet of office space, 33 luxury rental apartments, and a rooftop restaurant. British luxury merchandiser Burberry was the first retailer to open in the development at 1 Sloane Street followed by Apple, UGG and more. Before her current role at Schroders, Sarah led the asset management team at Chelsfield. Her professional background also includes positions at the German real estate firm IVG and BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Kobi is a marketing and communications leader with over 11 years' experience across the Australian and UK markets. Kobi has led marketing strategy for internationally renowned real estate developers including Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Get Living, Royal Docks, Stanhope, WilkinsonEyre and QIC Global Real Estate, as well as the Economic Development Boards for one of Australia’s capital cities. With her extensive practical experience in real estate and destination marketing – across retail, luxury, hospitality, residential and leisure – Kobi has a wealth of knowledge and insights from the sector. She has a passion and reputation for being on the pulse of what is influencing consumer behaviour and preferences, to deliver engaging customer experiences that drive connection, visitation, and economic uplift. Kobi currently works agency side, at LCA where she leads on integrated consumer marketing and placemaking across the portfolio.

Tolga Necar is a Principal Consultant at CACI. With over a decade’s experience, he specialises in the use of new data techniques to uncover the changing relationships between People and Place. Tolga joined CACI’s Property Consulting Group in 2019 and heads up the Residential and Mixed-Use sector with a particular specialism in placemaking. Through leading innovation and tech solutions in the area, Tolga is helping his clients create commercially attractive and sustainable places that respond to their audiences’ needs.

Sally Morris-Smith is a real estate partner at DAC Beachcroft. She has over 20 years’ experience advising clients across a range of sectors including investment, finance, development and asset management for both public and private sector clients. Her current key clients include a government department, a local authority, a UK developer and a manufacturer.