The Return: Property & Investment Podcast

Send us a TextDubai housing and ESG with Dr Michael Waters, Director of Studies for Real Estate at Heriott-Watt University and Anna Clare HarperIn Anna's words:Dr Michael Waters, Director of Studies for Real Estate at Heriot-Watt University, joined me on the podcast this week.Highlights include:The genesis and journey of Dubai real estate - including how not being a democracy makes it easier to build to a long term visionWho buys Dubai housing and why, from tax benefits to glamourFinancing and the recent decriminalisation of loan defaultsSustainability: mandatory green building codes, ratings and international ESG standardsGuest website: https://www.hw.ac.uk/dubai/profiles/teaching/michael-waters.htmGuest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-michael-waters-mrics-71b43622/Sponsor website: immo.capitalSponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: annaclareharper.com

Send us a TextBuilding new build housing at scale with Cedric Bucher, CEO of specialist PRS fund manager Hearthstone, and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:I was delighted to speak to Cedric Bucher, CEO of Hearthstone Investments, specialistPrivate Rental Sector fund manager with 1,400+ homes under management.We covered:The case for new builds vs existing propertiesInstitutional investors reporting requirementsMoving towards sustainable UK residential propertyGuest website: https://www.hearthstone.co.uk/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedric-bucher-8490329/Sponsor website: immo.capitalSponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/Host website: annaclareharper.comHost LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

Send us a TextESG responsibilities and the benefits of becoming a B Corp with Professor Andrew Baum, internationally-respected real estate professional, academic and author and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:I had the chance to chat to Professor Andrew Baum about the E, S and G responsibilities of investors, developers and professionals in real estate, and what it means to become a B Corp.Andrew is one of the most influential people in real estate and proptech with credentials include being Chairman at Newcore Capital Management (a B Corp), Strategy Partner at PiLabs, Advisor at IMMO, on the Investment Committee at CBRE Investment Management Indirect and as Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. He has also written six books on real estate investment with combined sales of over 75,000 books - including the books I used at Cambridge!Highlights include:Mission-focused prioritisation and the importance of economic sustainabilityThe collective responsibility of property ownersSystemised altruism as a B CorpThe practicalities and benefits of B Corp statusGuest website: https://www.newcorecapital.com/team/andrew-baum/2Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-baum-303a014/Sponsor website: immo.capitalSponsor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/immoinvesttech/Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/Host website: annaclareharper.com

Send us a TextUK’s first 100% renewable district heating scheme with Emma Fletcher, MD of Evera and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:I had a fascinating chat with the brilliant Emma Fletcher about the UK’s first 100% renewable district heating scheme and Housing Association development challenges - two massive topics at the heart of environmentally and socially responsible residential property.Emma is the Managing Director at Evera, a partnership of four Housing Associations in the East of England - which collectively owns and manages over 100,000 homes. She’s also the Chair of Swaffham Prior Community Land Trust, which is developing a ground-breaking village-wide renewable energy supply.In short, she’s a pretty incredible role model for leading socially and environmentally responsible change in residential property.We covered topics including:The importance of public-private partnerships in propertyHow to strengthen and support communities, rather than just building housingThe generational skills gap in constructionDiversifying property developmentGuest website: everahomes.co.ukGuest LinkedIn: Emma (Veale) Fletcher | LinkedInHost website: annaclareharper.comHost website: immo.capitalHost LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

Send us a TextResearch vs practice in property with Professor Franz Fuerst, leading real estate academic at the University of Cambridge and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:Professor Franz Fuerst is the leading light in real estate research, in particular as it relates to sustainability.So he’s the perfect person to ask about the undeniable gulf between academic research and what happens in practice in the real estate industry.And, with the rise of machine learning and the democratisation of data, the risks ahead are growing.We talked about topics on this theme including:Reputation, funding, profit and vested interestsAcademic-business partnerships - and how the European real estate industry differs from the American pharmaceutical industryBiases in research, in particular when it comes to ESG, andThe future of real estate research - and how real estate businesses can use it to their advantage.https://www.landecon.cam.ac.uk/directory/dr-franz-fuersthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ffuerst/https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/https://immo.capital/

Send us a TextHow software can solve the multi-trillion dollar waste problem with May Al-Karooni, Founder of Globechain, the leading ESG reporting and reuse marketplace worldwide and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:Trillions of dollars of usable fixtures and fittings are thrown away each year.Most of us don’t even know the financial cost of this waste, let alone the environmental cost.So how do we solve that problem?I had the chance to chat with May Al-Karooni, the Founder of Globechain.com, which is the leading ESG reporting and reuse marketplace worldwide.Topics include how Globechain’s 10,000 members are using software to measure and manage their ESG impacts and recycle unwanted fixtures, fittings and furniture - from 40,000 carpet tiles to a single office chair - with an average time to find a new home of just 20 minutes.Guest website: https://globechain.com/Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/may-al-karooni/Host website: annaclareharper.comHost website: immo.capitalHost LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

Send us a TextWhat does inflation mean for real estate investors? With Andrew Baum, internationally-respected real estate professional, academic and author and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:To find out, I sat down with Andrew Baum, one of the most influential people in real estate and proptech. His credentials include being Chairman at Newcore Capital Management, Strategy Partner at PiLabs, Advisor at IMMO, on the Investment Committee at CBRE and as Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School. He has also written six books on real estate investment with combined sales of over 75,000 - including the books I used at Cambridge!Highlights of this episode include:What asset classes make sense to invest in in an inflationary environment?How real estate hedges investors against inflationWhat the cost of living crisis really means - socially and commerciallyGuest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-baum-303a014/Host website: annaclareharper.comHost website: immo.capitalHost LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/

Real estate expert Anna Clare Harper discusses key market trends and changes of the last 4 years. Topics include the impacts of political uncertainty on real estate, using tech for good and avoiding proptech hype, and her new book on Sustainable Residential Investing.

Send us a TextCan tech solve the climate change problem? with Roelof Opperman, Partner at leading proptech venture capital firm, Fifthwall and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:Real estate is responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions. And reductions have flatlined…So how can we use tech to solve the climate change problem?I spoke to Roelof Opperman, Partner at leading proptech venture capital firm, Fifthwall, on this topic.Highlights include:If considered a country, the cement industry would be the third largest CO2 contributor in the world behind only the US and China.The commercial advantages of climate action in real estateThe most exciting innovations at each stage of the carbon life cycle - combining material sciences with green finance and real estate to scale their positive impactCheck it out via the link belowhttps://annaclareharper.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/https://fifthwall.com/https://uk.linkedin.com/in/roelofjopperman

Send us a TextHow to measure and improve sustainability of real estate with University of Cambridge Professor Franz Fuerst and Anna Clare Harper.In Anna's words:I loved chatting to leading green real estate economist, University of Cambridge Professor Franz Fuerst, about measuring and improving the sustainability of real estate for the podcast.Topics included:How the urgent situation in Ukraine affects important work in environmental performance of buildingsThe impact of Goodhart’s Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure"How we can understand and improve both potential and actual environmental and social performance of buildings, from knowing the limitations of EPCs to measuring spatial efficiency, walkability and ‘walkacity’https://www.landecon.cam.ac.uk/directory/dr-franz-fuersthttps://annaclareharper.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/