Property leaders discuss gender parity ahead of IWD 2025
The theme of this year's International Women's Day is "accelerating action" and, ahead of 8 March, CoStar News heard from female property leaders about ways in which the sector could continue to work towards gender parity.
One of the main takeaways from the conversations was the importance of celebrating women and their achievements to increase their visibility. Natalie Lelliott, founder of office agency group TLG London, was one of those voices as she pointe out that "everyone wins ultimately when we lift each other up."
Others, such as Stanhope development director, Laura Collins, said shining a light on the achievement of women and the wider property sector as a whole is important for the future of the sector as it competes for top talent.
Collins said: "We need to ask ourselves the question about why people would want to come and work for us when they have other opportunities and stand out from the rest."
CBRE picks Loftus to lead Birmingham development team
CBRE appointed Laura Loftus to lead its development team in Birmingham. She joins from Avison Young. Loftus spent more than 15 years with her former employer, where she was a director, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is a British Property Federation development committee member and has a decade and a half of development consultancy experience advising the public, private and higher education sectors. Loftus' previous clients include the UK Atomic Energy Authority, West Midlands Police and multiple local authorities. In the higher education sector, she has advised the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University.
Brookfield hires UK director of leasing
Real estate developer and operator Brookfield Properties has appointed Harriet Oury as director of leasing. Prior to joining Brookfield, Oury was an associate partner at Knight Frank, where she advised landlords and developers across London for more than seven years as part of the real estate consultancy’s office agency team. The Canadian investment giant said she will focus predominantly on the London market to "create and implement effective leasing strategies, which drive value to Brookfield Properties’ five million-square-foot London office portfolio". Oury is a member of RICS and holds a master’s degree in real estate from Oxford Brookes University.
Pathways to Property adds three to board
Pathways to Property, the programme which aims to widen access to the real estate profession, has added three board members: Jacqui Collins; co-founder and chief executive of Blend; Mandeep Mangat, director at Kennedy Wilson; and Harvey Sangar, director at Opera. Collins served as chief development officer at the Urban Land Institute, where she led its European expansion over eight years. Mangat's 17-year real estate experience has spanned debt, equity and asset management, as well as having run her own education business. Harvey Sangar has 22 years' experience in real estate spanning design and project management.
Edge recruits head of distribution
European real estate developer Edge has appointed Cecile Babcock as head of distribution. The group said the appointment reinforces its commitment to attracting investment on a global scale, with Babcock adding 13 years' experience in real estate investment. She moves from Cromwell Property Group where she was in the European executive team as head of distribution. She also co-headed business development at Long Harbour, a London-based investment firm. Boudewijn Ruitenburg, COO at Edge, said: "Cecile joining the team marks an important step for Edge as we continue to attract international investment and to scale our portfolio globally."
Cluttons adds head of sustainability
Real assets advisor Cluttons has made Victoria Chater-Lea head of sustainability to help the business and its clients strengthen their sustainability standards. Cluttons said the recruit will play a pivotal role in implementing and driving sustainability initiatives across a diverse property management portfolio, working alongside head of commercial Duncan MacIver. Chater-Lea will laso work closely with individual teams to integrate sustainability considerations into the business' advisory services and strategic planning. She makes the move after almost four years at Berkeley Group, most recently as sustainability manager.