Nicole Bremner

EP22: How do you solve the problem of old-fashioned, limited 2D design briefing in building projects? 'Most people do not know how to read plans, or really visualise the project from a simple document. If we can show our clients a complete 3D look of how the space will feel and work, it solves a huge amount of problems down the line.' Oli is an architect and co-founder of Ackroyd Lowrie. At AL the focus is on using VR to design and collaborate with their clients. Previous to this, Oli spent 10 years working at Architype where he was responsible for developing a modular, timber-framed construction system that was used by several London Boroughs to deliver new Primary Schools and Nurseries. Most recently Oli has spent three years as Project Architect for the prestigious £24m New Junior School for Highgate School in North London. Oli passionately believes in working closely with clients, makers and builders to deliver projects in a collaborative manner. This approach, along with the revolution in 3D pr

EP21: What Simon can’t draw isn’t worth illustrating. His unique ability of being able to visualise in minutes a vague thought and idea in his clients’ mind-eye; bringing concepts to life in simple yet compelling sketches, is like watching a maestro at work. Simon has over 24 years worth of practical experience in both residential and commercial interior design, having worked for global agencies and clients in London, Milan & Sydney Australia. Clients include Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge, Moda In Pele for House of Fraser, and Dennys. And with a background education in furniture design, Simon's creative process brings a very full spectrum of detail to his work. More recently Simon founded his own interior design practice in London where he and his talented team craft unique environments for a multitude of clients across many dynamic sectors including retail, F&B, hotel, workplace and residential. In this podcast: - the changing design of work spaces and its effects - finding a connection with clie

EP20: 'The funding puzzle is quite organic. What was once the way to get funded can be affected by the economy, lenders own situations, changing needs of the borrower, interest rates, geo political situations...' After a career in Corporate Banking helping large listed companies with their funding needs, Piragash Sivanesan set up Totum Finance in order to support SME businesses and property developers improve their access to finance. He has worked at KPMG , Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, across credit, front office, restructuring and turnaround divisions, in a career spanning over 14 years. In this podcast: - seeing through the ups and downs of financing a project - crowdfunding and changes in the lending landscape - starting your own finance business. Piragash has worked with London Central Developments on several projects, working tirelessly to get results. I'm grateful for all the support he has given through some fairly hair-raising moments. Piragash is also a member of th

EP19: Greg Pope is a property developer and investor located in the North West of England. After successfully selling his large estate agency business Greg concentrated on building his property development and finance business. As an entrepreneurial property developer, Greg has looked to fund his developments with creative finance consisting of angel investors, crowdfunding and his own capital. A range of developments have been completed by Greg which include commercial to residential conversions, new build apartment blocks and private luxury housing. Greg devotes a lot of time to building a social profile and connecting with other like-minded people and growing the group brand under which he operates his businesses. In this podcast: - Developing quality homes and products - Crowdfunding developments and social media - Building a brand and becoming an entrepreneur - Building a finance business sector. The Magnus Group have a crowdfund going live this week with Simplecrowdfunding.co.uk and are featured in Prop

*COMING SOON - BRICKING IT - ON AUDIOBOOK* Want to create a stunning property portfolio and still have time to go to the kids’ school plays? Want to get started now and learn while doing it? My book Bricking It takes you into the world of property development from first purchase to scaling up the business and growing an internationally-known brand. - Choose a strategy which suits your skills and your lifestyle. - Create an attractive brand so investors and partners come to you. - Learn as you go, being prolific not perfect! Here is a 5 minute sample from the audio version of my book, coming soon to Audible. About the Author For Nicole Bremner, property was not an obvious choice. An ex-banker with three kids to work around, she had tried all the usuals - photography, cooking, even knitting. None of them allowed her to contribute to the family finances in the way she wanted. Since her first property development in 2010 (her own home), Nicole’s gross development value has risen to over £120 million. Most recentl

EP18: What defines success when it comes to personal style? Style consultant, fashionista and former model Lizzie Edwards joins Nicole to talk about dressing for work and making an impact through your personal style. Starting her style career early, Lizzie was 'spotted' by Storm model agency and spent much of the 1990’s working as a fashion model living in London, Milan and Paris and working with some of the leading fashion photographers including Rankin, Corrine Day, and David Sims for magazines The Face, I-D and Dazed & Confused. She also worked for fashion magazines such as Elle, Marie Claire, and Glamour and as a fit model with designers including John Galliano, Jasper Conran, Karl Lagerfeld, Chloe, and Issey Miyake. In 2005 she set up her Style and Wardrobe Consultancy combining this grounding in fashion with a talent and love for shopping and effortless style, and an interest in personal development. ‘I loved advising people on what to wear, and it was a joy to see how my skills helped peo

EP17: Having left school Ollie started to look for a "real" job. To keep him in petrol money for his racing cars Ollie started selling discontinued bathroom products on eBay. His eBay strategy snowballed and he never found the "real" job. Instead, Ollie focused on building his bathroom product company. At just 19 years old the Bathroom Cellar was incorporated and now has a distribution hub, office and showroom based in Kent. Seeing the frustration involved in buying full bathroom suites from multiple retailers and wholesalers Ollie came upon the idea of selling full bathroom suites perfectly curated to your individual bathroom. In 2017 he founded Salacia of London, a disruptive, online bathroom brand alongside long-term family friend Jamie Dixon and Creative Director Simon May. In early 2018 I came onboard as the marketing director. Ollie lives a life that many people only dream about with winters spent in Barbados and summers in St. Tropez. His passion really lies in fast cars and one ver

EP16: From a standing start of just one property, 30 years later Avi Dodi’s high-end commercial and residential property development portfolio boasts a global reach spanning the UK, Israel and the US. In 2013, Nicole and Avi became partners and formed London Central Developments - the development partner to East Eight - now developing around 300 units together. Here Avi joins Nicole at April 2018's Quorum Property Club to give insights into his long career in development including: - Keeping construction costs competitive - The UK and London market currently - Building a loyal team in property With a focus on sourcing interesting sites, Avi has navigated the vagrancies of the UK property market to become an expert in creating and handling property and development opportunities. His two sons have recently graduated from university and now work alongside him and with staff who have been with him from the beginning.Support the showDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to

EP15: Property Investor, author and Londonphile Sally (Jing Wang) talks about what it’s like to be a Chinese Investor in London - a perspective you don’t often get to hear. Born in China, she has spent the last 17 years working, living and investing in property in the UK. Author of two property books Buy Smart: what you need to know when investing in UK properties, and her latest book being released this week EXTRAordinary: a peek into UK property magnets’ minds, she has a unique perspective on the property market. The Chinese version has been picked up by one of the best publishers in China and is going live nation-wide from the 12th of May. In this book, she has managed to interview some of the top property ‘legends’ in the U.K. including the founder and chairman of the Berkley group. The book is full of untold stories, fascinating facts, and timeless wisdom. She is the Founder and Director of SJW UK Property Investment Ltd. A company focused on helping the Chinese with their property investments in the UK

EP14: In property, there's one thing which ALWAYS needs to be perfect - the numbers. Lisa Conway-Hughes is a financial adviser at a wealth management firm in the City of London. She is a Chartered Independent Financial Adviser and also a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (PFS). This is the highest qualification a financial adviser can hold and less than 2% of PFS members have reached this. I met Lisa at Sister Snog and we often chat about the relationship between people and money. Lisa has featured in national newspapers such as The Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Independent & The Daily Express commenting on issues as diverse as retirement planning, setting up a savings plan, getting out of debt, and protecting your financial future. Lisa is a Chartered Financial Planner, Independent Financial Advisor, and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society (PFS) - the highest qualification a financial advisor can hold. There are currently only 1300 Fellows of the PFS in the UK. Lisa holds advanced qu

EP13: Rob Lee is a social media speaker, trainer, and strategist, specialising in helping brands to develop a meaningful presence on Snapchat and Instagram. Rob has developed and run several industry-specific workshops, including #PropertyGoLive with Nicole, and ‘Snapchat and Instagram for Recruitment’, which has been attended by brands including BBC Worldwide, Barclays, Virgin Trains and The Ritz. He also has a passion for the charity sector and works closely with the Salvation Army Housing Association, teaching homeless young people how to use social media storytelling in a positive way to improve their relationships, career and community.Support the showDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent that of the host. Always do your own research.

EP12: Voted one of the top 100 young property professionals in the UK 2012 and the only independent consultant make that list (Property Week's 'Hot 100'), Alexandra Notay’s areas of expertise include city economic development, real estate, regeneration and sustainability. She has led projects in London, Moscow, New York, Istanbul, Barcelona and many other global cities. Alex operates as an independent advisor to a range of global organisations from the public and private sectors, providing strategic advice and initiative leadership. Her client portfolio includes Grosvenor, Cushman & Wakefield, IPD (Investment Property Databank) and the Greater London Authority. Alex also sits on a number of boards, including the World Economic Forum’s Building Retrofit Steering Board, the UK Green Property Alliance and as an observer member for the UN ECE Committee on Housing and Land Management. Alex is also on the advisory committee for an independent UK charity promoting educational and career opportunit

EP11: Alex Harrington-Griffin, a seasoned entrepreneur in two continents, brings together insight into over 100 land deals, 45-years of family experience, from football clubs to graveyards, and a network of over 100 developers through his private Developers Boardroom group. Ongoing Land Director of award-winning property development firm Coeur de Lion Property, and founder of TrustedLand, the UK’s first land transaction advice platform, Alex believes strongly in business ethics, transparency and bringing land buying into the 21st century. Alex offers audiences an upbeat, inspiring and authentic presentation. Whether chairing development panels or unique and original industry insights. Alex thoroughly enjoys his philanthropic work, as a LandAid nominated Charity Ambassador and Larches Community Trustee.Director @ TrustedLandFounder @ Developers Boardroom;Support the showDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest

EP10: Rob co-founded Crowd with Us, an FCA-approved FinTech property crowdfunding platform in 2014. As a qualified Master Mariner (Ships Captain) Rob has worked both commercially in the shipping industry and on several of the worlds largest privately owned yachts for some of the worlds wealthiest and most influential people, including a senior member of the Saudi Royal Family and former richest man in the world. Since purchasing his first property in London in 2002, with six months vacation per year, in the years that followed he continued to expand his portfolio, refurb, develop and raise investor funds alongside his day job. This eventually culminated in the formation of Crowd with Us. Rob has vast operational and project management expertise is used to running and working alongside large teams and has extensive experience in managing and budgeting multi-million-pound projects. Having retired from the sea Rob is now entirely focused on Crowd with Us. Instagram: rob_wilkinson46 Facebook: Rob Wilkinson Linked

EP9: Property sourcing has become a popular trend for many people wanting to get into property. Sourcers – are you being compliant? There is regulation around sourcing which few property professionals know about. Property sourcer and trained architect Laura McLoughney has a layered previous experience in Healthcare & Operations for urgent and primary care services in both UK & Ireland, with responsibility for data protection policy & process implementation and adherence. She advises start-ups on data protection processes and has a real desire to ensure that private data is well protected at a time when we share more and more online. On today’s podcast: Property sourcing – what makes you compliant? GDPR – what you need to know about data protection e.g databases as of May 2018 Project Management tips and CRM.Support the showDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent that of t

EP8: Robin ​is ​the ​CEO ​of ​Bamboo ​Auctions ​and ​Duomo. ​He ​qualified ​as ​a ​corporate ​solicitor in ​London ​and ​practised ​for ​a ​number ​of ​years, largely ​in ​the ​TMT ​and ​Corporate ​Real Estate ​sector. It ​was ​personal ​experiences ​of ​the ​auction ​sector ​that ​prompted ​Robin ​to ​found Bamboo ​Auctions, ​with ​the ​belief ​that ​property ​transactions ​should ​be ​fast, ​certain, transparent ​, and ​excellent ​value ​for ​money. Duomo ​takes ​this ​fundamental ​belief ​and ​applies ​them ​to ​the ​new ​homes ​market. The ​first ​come ​first ​serve ​reservation ​system ​is ​outdated. ​Being ​at ​the ​back ​of ​the ​queue means ​buyers ​could ​miss ​out ​on ​their ​dream ​home. With ​Duomo, ​buyers ​can ​place ​their ​highest ​offer ​online ​for ​individual ​new ​build properties, ​with ​the ​chance ​to ​increase ​that ​offer ​over ​the ​sale ​period. ​The ​highest ​offer when ​the ​sale ​period ​ends ​reserves ​that ​property. In ​his ​spare ​time, ​Robin ​enjoys ​playing ​and ​following

EP7: Matthew Siddell has been investing in property since 2001. An experienced entrepreneur, property investor and property developer, he has bought, developed and sold many millions of pounds worth of property. He has also helped countless other people with their property-related challenges. Matthew is a regular public speaker and the founder and host of PPN Knightsbridge, a joint venture with Progressive Property. Since it began in 2015, thousands of people have attended to listen to Matthew’s contacts discuss a variety of entrepreneurial and property-related topics some of which have been filmed and can be viewed here. Matthew is also the founder and host of property developers club Quorum which gives investors, developers and professionals the opportunity to collaborate, share contacts and knowledge, and massively accelerate their progress.Support the showDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers d

EP6: Gavriel is founder and CEO of REalyse, the UK's leading big data analysis platform, helping property developers and investors to better understand the market, its opportunities and risks. Having previously worked in derivative structuring and quantitative finance with several hedge funds, he joined Quintain and then Essential Living, overseeing analytics across their £bn developments. The lack of fast, accurate, and reliable data in the market is what prompted him to create REalyse.Support the showDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent that of the host. Always do your own research.

EP5: Starting out as a software engineer in Silicon Valley, John made his first investment when he was 25. A ‘nothing down’ deal after a weekend seminar on the same. Yes, a Saturday and Sunday weekend seminar followed by exchanging on a purpose by Monday afternoon. They did not say you had to go slower. John is a proper software engineer who spent years working on interesting projects with famous people and companies you would recognise. In the 1990s John moved to London to take up an IT role at Swiss Bank Corp. The oldest of the 3-big Swiss banks. After some mergers, the name changed to UBS. These days, John is a multi-national landlord with property from Hawaii to Bradford. Yes, a spread of 11 time zones and multiple legal systems. Real estate really is all about finance the legal details. Having received a lot of help from others along the way, John is happy to speak with people when they have questions. He runs an Ask John hotline where people can book in for a 20 minute call. No strings. Just a bit of ‘P

EP4: Andrea is a writer and communications consultant in the property industry. She most recently worked as Head of Marketing and Communications EMEA at CBRE Global Investors where she oversaw the corporate and programme marketing, press, branding and internal communications in the region. Andrea began her career as a journalist at Property Week before moving on to be editor of EuroProperty for seven years. Following this, she worked for various industry bodies including the Urban Land Institute as well as spending three years as a director and interim CEO at INREV in Amsterdam, and one year at its sister organisation ANREV in Hong Kong. She is currently working as a consultant in the industry while working on a book about the history of the modern European property industry.For more information, visit Women Talk Real Estate Support the showDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. The view and opinions of the guest speakers do not represent tha