UK Commercial Property Conference 2024

Another successful edition of our annual Commercial Property Conference was held on the 10^th of December, the success of these conference’s is largely down to our fantastic attendees, sponsors, and speakers present on the day. With 100+ attendees the conference was able to provide a fantastic, vibrant and friendly place for RICS members and other interested stakeholders to network and catch up at the end of the year. It was a pleasure to meet and greet everyone and we appreciate the support of RICS members on the day as well as the lead up to the conference. 

Mark your calendars for the next event scheduled for 2025! Stay tuned for further updates and exciting developments.

To register your interest, please contact us at training@rics.org.

Take the opportunity to have your say on what we should cover in 2025, and contact Greg Thompson, our Content Product Specialist to discuss your suggestions: gthompson@rics.org

Overview of 2024 event

Our conference was built around the most important and pressing challenges facing the UK’s commercial property sector. Offering a number of thought-provoking panel discussions throughout the day to help attendees build their knowledge and questions industry experts. Below is an example of the fascinating topics we explored on the day:

• Market and economic updates - RICS resident economist Simon Rubinsohn was joined by fellow industry experts to present on market trends, the outlook of professionals in the sector and present the findings of the RICS UK Economy and Property market update for 2024 Q4.
• Focusing on sustainability - Sustainability is rapidly emerging as a critical factor for occupiers when choosing buildings. To enhance the standardisation of green requirements, surveyors can play a pivotal role by advocating for clear sustainability benchmarks that benefit both occupiers and landowners. What are additional strategies that can be put in place for surveyors to meet the Net Zero challenge? Join us as we explore this topic in greater depth.
• Creative Spaces – a panel of industry experts from a variety of fields came together to discuss the importance of creative spaces in the UK. With creative spaces becoming an emerging sub-sector within commercial real estate, how can it improve value, generate ESG and social impacts and attract diverse groups of investors?

Speakers

• Jo Hawkings MRICS, Partner, Bidwells
• Isabelle Brennan, Senior Managing Director, Investor Relations, LaSalle Investment Management
• Simon Rubinsohn, Chief Economist, RICS
• Jennet Siebrits, Head of Research, CBRE UK
• James Roberts, Economist and UK Insights Director, Avison Young
• Munish Datta, Chair of the Business Sustainability Programme, CISL
• Sarah Bateman, CEO, Unify Energy
• Helen Newman, Group Head of Sustainability, Bidwells
• Patrick Bellew, Founder and Executive Chairman, Atelier Ten
• Greg Mansell, Global Head of Research, BNP Paribas Real Estate
• Samantha Carlsson, Senior Sustainability Manager, Derwent
• Tom Venner, Chief Development Officer, Canary Wharf Group
• Tim Gledstone, Senior Partner, Squire and Partners
• Chris Wright, Director Head of Sustainability and Decarbonisation, Avison Young
• Andrew Knight, Global Data and Tech Lead, RICS
• Tim Wood, CTO, The Arch Co
• Kate Jarvis, Co-Founder, Fifth Dimension AI
• Michael Gedye MRICS, EMEA Head of Technology Media, CBRE
• Davy Cowie, Senior Policy Advisor, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
• Clare Bailey, Director Commercial Research, Savills
• Gavin Hubrich, Head of Mixed Use Sales, Mount Anvil
• Eline van der Vlist, CEO, Space Studios
• Will Jennings, Non-Executive Director, Hypha Studios