The Return: Property & Investment Podcast

Send us a TextAnna Clare Harper is joined by Kia Commodore, who founded financial education platform Pennies to Pounds at the age of 21, when she realised there was a major gap in her own knowledge: money matters.Kia has since grown a significant social following and worked with the likes of Barclays, Natwest, Santander and Legal and General, the BBC and the Financial Times on her mission to demystify personal finance. So she was the perfect candidate to discuss the things you need to know but were afraid to ask about retirement planning and pensions, as part of our series on ‘How to make the most of your money’ sponsored by Cohort Invest.This episode covers topics including:Why you can’t just rely on the state pension and auto enrollmentHow to take control of your financial future and get start planning for your retirementHow to avoid common mistakes, and why now is the time to start thinking about pensions, if you haven’t already The tax benefits of diverting income to your pensionDe-mystifying the jargon, from triple lock to SIPPsMy personal favourite: FIRE, and how to be part of this global movement.Sponsor website: https://cohortinvest.co.uk/Guest website: https://www.penniestopounds.co.uk/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kia-commodore-34205a11a/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextAnn-Marie Atkins is a Managing Partner and award-winning Financial Planner at Evelyn Partners. She joined Anna Clare Harper on the podcast as part of this series on ‘How to make the most of your money’ sponsored by Cohort Invest, to discuss the things you need to know but were afraid to ask about inheritance.We covered topics including:What exemptions are available for Inheritance TaxTrusts, Family Investment Companies and other structures which mean you don’t need to pay Inheritance TaxWhen should you start thinking about your Will, and what happens if you don’tTips and tricks for how to have awkward conversations, to avoid stress and drama laterHow to protect and pass on wealth under a Labour government Sponsor website: https://cohortinvest.co.uk/ Guest website: https://www.evelyn.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annmariebanks/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextAnna Clare Harper spoke to Allen Chilten, Global Head of Capital Formation at the £750bn Schroders Capital, previously Head of Funds at Patrizia.This episode covers topics including: What makes a best-in-class ‘living’ platform? What kind of returns do investors expect from Living?How do returns from different UK Living strategies compare with each another, and other geographies? Guest website: https://www.schroderscapital.com/en/global/professional/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allen-chilten-48ab596/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextAnna Clare Harper chatted with Grainne Gilmore, Director of Research & Insights at real assets advisory firm Cluttons about what digital connectivity means for real asset operators, ESG targets and homeowners.This episode covers:What digital connectivity actually is, from phone masts to broadband capacity.Why capacity and speed are so important, for example playing a critical role in urgent healthcare delivery, facilitating the achievement of corporate ESG targets through IOT devices, or enabling families to connect with their communities.What we need to do in order to remain internationally competitive, including planning system capacity upgrades and public information campaigns. Grainne shared examples of what works in local communities, and Anna shared her thoughts on how the definition of infrastructure needs to change to align with what the UK really needs in the years to 2050.Guest website: https://www.cluttons.com/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grainnegilmore/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextAnna Clare Harper chatted with Elizabeth Froude, Group Chief Executive of Platform Housing Group, one of the largest Housing Associations in the Midlands with 49,000 homes as part of a collaboration with UKREiiF (The UK’s Real Estate and Infrastructure Forum).Topics include:How to improve the quality and green credentials of Social Housing.How to attract institutional capital to decarbonise existing social housing stock when the substantial upfront capital required doesn’t always result in higher rents (e.g. where rents are capped).What is the benefit to the exchequer of spending on social housing.How is Social Housing being used to catalyse supply chains for retrofit.Guest website: https://www.platformhg.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-froude-43b40262/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextAnna Clare Harper spoke to Gemma Bourne, Managing Director at Better Society Capital (formerly Big Society Capital) as part of a collaboration with UKREiiF (The UK’s Real Estate and Infrastructure Forum) about Impact Investing.Highlights include:Where the UK’s leading social impact investor gets its capital from, including dormant bank accounts.What other organisations can learn from 10 years of impact investing, including how to avoid ‘impact blinkers’ that distract from thorough due diligence.What a career in impact investing involves, career pathways and advice on how to shift into a career with impact, from any starting point. Guest website: https://bettersocietycapital.com/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-bourne-69808544/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextAnna Clare Harper chatted to Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Houseful which is the Business to Business part of Zoopla. They discussed what’s happening in the UK Rental Market, with highlights including:Rent growth - at its lowest for 30 monthsThe supply-demand imbalance - which is still over 2 x pre-pandemic levels What investor opportunities exist in the current market - notably existing homes What the election means for the housing and rental marketsGuest website: https://houseful.co.uk/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-donnell/ Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextAnna Clare Harper chatted to Jamie Broderick, Deputy Chair of the non-profit Impact Investing Institute about place-based impact investing - as part of a collaboration with UKREiiF (The UK’s Real Estate and Infrastructure Forum).Highlights include:What actually is impact investing, and what is place-based impact investing?Who is still investing in an environment of higher interest rates, and what do they want?Blended finance and the use of public funding to crowd in private capitalNet Zero Neighbourhoods and the importance of community for both commercial viability and practical success of retrofit.Guest website: https://www.impactinvest.org.uk/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiebroderick1/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextSustainable Investing with Co-Founder & Co-CEO of pioneer Bridges Fund Management, Michele Giddens OBE and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:If you work in sustainable investing, you probably already know the ‘Bridges Spectrum of Capital’. I discovered and loved it when I was researching my book on Sustainable Residential Investing, so I was especially excited to chat with Michele Giddens OBE, Co-CEO of Bridges Fund Management, which she Co-Founded alongside Philip Newborough and Sir Ronald Cohen - who gets described as "the father of British venture capital".Michele has 30 years experience in sustainable investing and international development finance, from chairing the Community Development Finance Association, the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing, and a Global Working Group on Policy for the G7 Impact Investment Taskforce to running pioneer Bridges Fund Management. So she is the perfect guest to talk about sustainable investing, pioneering new strategies and making financial and social returns from retrofit.We covered:The thesis behind Bridges and the Spectrum of Capital which ‘went a bit viral’How to pioneer: what we can learn from prolific pioneers about the process of bringing innovative ideas to market, for example carbon optioneeringHow to create attractive financial returns alongside social and environmental impacts in Article 9 fundsExample investments such as retrofitting an old vinyl factory with cross-laminated timber to the material health benefits for residents from assisted living schemes Guest website: https://www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-giddens-ab6b63145/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: https://www.greenresi.com/

Send us a TextHow to change housing policy with Ian Fletcher, Director of Policy at the British Property Federation and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:I chatted to Ian Fletcher, Director of Policy at the British Property Federation about how to influence housing policy.I found it fascinating to hear about:The latest on hot topics like Renters Reform Leasehold Reform and the up-coming election How policy-making actually works, from consultations with Civil Servants to lobbying Members of ParliamentWhat next for housing policyGuest website: https://bpf.org.uk/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-fletcher-15a57341⁠Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: GreenResi.com