The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2016 - Constructors

Tony Pidgley, chairman (right) and Rob Perrins, managing director of the Berkeley Group.
Daniel Hambury/Evening Standard
30 July 2019

Tony Pidgley and Rob Perrins

Chairman and managing director, Berkeley Group

Berkeley spent much of the year warning about the consequences of Brexit and the potential loss of foreign workers from the capital’s construction force. Still, the firm remains the dominant force in London’s residential development scene and politics won’t change that. Pidgley, pictured right, and Perrins notably committed to make Berkeley the first carbon positive housebuilder in Britain. The firm also worked with the Change Foundation this year on a scheme to encourage jobless young people from low-employment estates back into work.

Sean Mulryan

Chairman and chief executive, Ballymore Group

With profits up last year, Ballymore announced plans for the second phase of its development at Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms — the first phase sold out in a weekend in 2012. The gong for large developer of the year at the Property Week RESI Awards was no less than Ballymore deserved for, as Mulryan put it, “creating a cultural economy around the areas we develop”.

Gerald Ronson

Founder and chief executive, Heron International

Last summer, it looked as though Ronson’s Heron Tower in the City might be sold off. Instead, he and his co-owners agreed a £400 million refinancing deal, which reportedly saw the building valued at £720 million. Ronson also remains a major player in the petrol station sector. He once came close to doing a business deal with Donald Trump and has expressed bemusement about the tycoon’s run for US president.

John and Fawn James

Managing director and director, Soho Estates

The portfolio originally built up by porn baron Paul Raymond was left to his granddaughters Fawn and India Rose. Fawn is the more hands-on and, with her stepfather John, is masterminding a future for the former home of Foyles book shop on Charing Cross Road and the buildings around it. The plans to construct a nine-storey building with studio space and offices, shops, a nightclub, a new courtyard and eight affordable homes are diplomatically tricky in historic Soho.

Mike Hussey

Chief executive, Almacantar

Internal cricket politics might have put paid to Almacantar’s involvement in the so-called Vision for Lord’s redevelopment — ironic given that Hussey shares his name with an Australian cricketing great — but the firm has irons in many fires. Hussey is an industry veteran who set up on his own and has the respect of his peers, not least for having emerged successfully from the recession; many did not. He backed Sadiq Khan during the mayoral race.

John Burns

Co-founder and chief executive, Derwent London

Over three decades, Derwent London has become one of the great powerhouses of the London real estate investment scene. Burns was vocal during the mayoral campaigns, warning that — whatever the outcome — it was becoming harder to get planning permission to build offices in the capital. Still, Derwent is sufficiently big to cope and share rises this year showed that the existing commercial leasing market is robust.

Janice Morley

Homes & Property editor, London Evening Standard

Wednesday’s Standard is quite literally a weightier affair thanks to its Homes & Property supplement, which has flourished under Morley’s stewardship. Find the very toughest property developer or estate agent and they still won’t be a match for Kensington’s queen of the residential market.

Rob Noel

Chief executive, Land Securities

With schemes including the Walkie Talkie and One New Change, Land Securities and London’s skyline go hand in hand. Underlying profits rose by 10 per cent in the year to March and finances were strengthened by property sales of more than £1 billion. Noel took an active role in the EU referendum debate, arguing for the Remain camp — while noting that Land Securities would be well-placed whatever the result.

Alison Nimmo

Chief executive, Crown Estate

Looking after a real estate portfolio worth in excess of £10 billion sounds like quite a stressful job, but Nimmo told the Evening Standard that sport and travel provide a degree of relaxation. The Crown Estate acquired 117 Jermyn Street in June for a whopping £67 million. It also installed “smart” street furniture at two shopping parks, complete with solar-powered USB chargers.

Crown Estate chief exec Alison Nimmo
Tom Stockil

John Burton

Director of development, Westfield

Having taken the retail experience to a new level in west and east London, Westfield continues to look south for its next development masterclass. The company’s plans for a £1.4 billion regeneration of Croydon town centre were updated this year, with its 14-hectare project set to include shops, restaurants and affordable housing. Burton says Wellesley Road will become a “European boulevard”. Work is set to begin next year.

Chris Grigg

Chief executive, British Land

The man in charge of the UK’s second-largest property group was another who put his head above the parapet during the referendum campaign, warning of the pitfalls of leaving the EU. Despite global uncertainties, British Land — the company behind the “Cheesegrater” in the City of London — saw underlying profits rise by 16 per cent and Grigg assured investors that the business was focused around long-term trends.

David Partridge

Managing partner, Argent

Argent may have decided to close its Manchester office and withdraw from its involvement in the Airport City Manchester project but that might just be London’s gain. The firm’s redevelopment of King’s Cross has been a model for 21st-century urban regeneration and it isn’t over yet — Thomas Heatherwick’s proposals, commissioned by Argent, to convert a Victorian coal yard into a shopping destination could be the icing on the cake.

Ian Hawksworth

Chief executive, Capco

The property developer announced in May that it had signed a major pre-let for its Kings Court project in Covent Garden, which will see the development of a new public courtyard, 10 retail units and restaurants and nigh on two dozen apartments. Hawksworth, a prudent chief executive who has sustained significant growth without taking on excessive debt, is no fan of London’s “trophy towers”, but believes building upwards is necessary and can be achieved without spoiling the skyline.

Harry Handelsman

Founder and chief executive, Manhattan Loft Corporation

Departures Magazine in the US once remarked that “if there is a symbol of London’s hotel boom, Harry Handelsman is it”. The man behind the Chiltern Firehouse and the Renaissance Hotel at St Pancras is known for spotting potential. He has his sights on Stratford, with the 42-storey Stratford Skyscraper due for completion in 2018. Handelsman believes the development will be “one of the most important buildings London has ever seen”.

Sammy Lee

Vice chairman, Knight Dragon

Despite some objections from local residents, the firm in charge of the game-changing Greenwich Peninsula development won a major victory last autumn when planners, and then Boris Johnson, approved a revised proposal for the area. The number of homes surrounding the O2 will now total 15,000 — a 50 per cent increase on the original plan. As the urbane Lee put it: “We have big plans for the peninsula and the team, determination and finance to deliver them.”

Ryan Prince

Founder, Realstar Living

With the capital’s housing crisis showing no sign of abating, a new way of renting has arrived in the capital courtesy of Ryan Prince’s Realstar Living, a giant of real estate investment and property management in North America. The NX Gate Apartments development is located in New Cross and has on-site resident managers to take care of maintenance issues. With rental prices starting at £300 a week, Prince says the development will “set the bar for how the rental market should operate”.

David and Simon Reuben

Founders, Reuben Brothers

The Reuben brothers topped the Sunday Times Rich List for the first time this year with an estimated wealth of £13.1 billion. They first made their fortune trading aluminium but later moved into property and have subsequently diversified further. Last year, they bought an NCP car park close to Green Park, which is expected to be turned into a £500 million luxury residential scheme.

Irvine Sellar

Founder and chairman, Sellar Property Group

Sellar Group caused a storm with its proposals for the “Paddington Pole”, a 72-storey tower which Sellar argued would be a “major catalyst for the continuing enhancement of the area”. Having proved that daring developers provoke debate, Sellar Group went back to the drawing board and came up with the 14-storey Paddington Cube. Sellar remains fully committed to his vision for the area’s transformation.

Jace Tyrrell

Chief executive, New West End Company

The man responsible for promoting London’s key shopping streets — Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street — says one of the secrets to his success has been to employ his “softer skills”. He is certainly an effective and diplomatic lobbyist. Colleagues describe him as a “whirlwind of energy”.

Toby Courtauld

Chief executive, Great Portland Estates

GPE secured a record £31.8 million of rentals in the year to March in an under-supplied West End market. Signing up Facebook to its Rathbone Square scheme was a particular coup. But Courtauld expressed concern in the run-up to the EU referendum that a subsequent political stalemate might be unhelpful to the property sector. With political machinations in full swing following June’s Brexit vote, he is having to find a way through nonetheless.

Sir Stuart Lipton

Co-founder, Lipton Rogers

The veteran developer famous for landmark buildings at Broadgate and Stockley Park is still a major force in his seventies. His Lipton Rogers company, run in partnership with Rupert Clarke and Peter Rogers — brother of architect Richard — is the developer behind 22 Bishopsgate, the 62-storey tower which will be the tallest building in the City on completion in 2019. Also under construction is his £1.5 billion project for Silvertown, the 25-hectare site next to City airport on which he plans to create a new urban district by 2030.

David Mooney

Development manager, London Wildlife Trust

When Stoke Newington’s reservoirs were put up for sale in the early Nineties, campaigners saved them from being concreted over and wildlife began to flourish. Since 2007, Mooney has made it his mission to transform the reservoirs into a public nature reserve: this year his dream was realised, as Woodberry Wetlands was opened by Sir David Attenborough.

David Mooney explores Woodberry Wetlands with Sir David Attenborough (John Phillips/Getty Images )
John Phillips/Getty Images

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani

Chief executive, Qatar Investment Authority

The QIA is the most powerful sovereign wealth fund in the world and Sheikh Abdullah looks after $300 billion of assets, including Harrods and the Chelsea Barracks site, which will be a totemic development when it is finished. Part of Mayfair has been dubbed the Qatari Quarter, such is the extent of the country’s investment in the area’s property markets.

Camille Waxer

Chief administrative officer, Canary Wharf

Having been in charge of the Wharf site for a quarter of a century, the Canadian has helped to oversee some extraordinary changes. It is thanks to her that workers there have such a wide range of retailers and restaurants at which to spend their hard-earned cash. Waxer remains as innovative as ever, bringing an art trail to the area to coincide with Sport Relief in March and promoting the roll-out of 4G mobile coverage.

Christian and Nick Candy

Developers

Despite its twists and turns, life is still sweet for Christian and Nick Candy. The siblings are behind a long list of property goldmines, including One Hyde Park, London’s most exclusive luxury residences, and Christian is in the process of turning a Regent’s Park terrace into a capacious family mansion. The brothers once borrowed £6,000 from their grandmother to set up their business, and are now worth more than £1 billion. Now that’s an impressive growth rate.

Duke of Westminster

Landowner

After the untimely death of Gerald Grosvenor last month, his only son Hugh became the seventh Duke of Westminster and inherited the family’s impressive property portfolio — including 77 hectares of Belgravia — within the Grosvenor Estate. At just 25, this pal of the Duke of Cambridge and godfather to Prince George may need some guidance, and Craig McWilliam, the esteemed director of the estate’s London division, will be the perfect mentor once he steps up as chief executive of the group’s UK and Ireland operation next year. Hugh’s in good hands.

Duke of Westminster Hugh Grosvenor 
PA

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT