Commercial Property Blog
All posts tagged: Awards
Barrie's Big Winners of 2010
Readers may have choked on their breakfast this morning as they read the Daily Telegraph front page headline `Brace yourself for a 5% interest rate’.
I will therefore try to cheer you up with my awards for the year.
First, the news on interest rates, courtesy of an interview with Monetary Policy Committee executive director of markets Paul Fisher.
With inflation set to hit 4% in 2011, Fisher warns that rates will inevitably return to more `normalised’ rates of around 5%, which would be far from comfortable for most property concerns.
The property industry has been saved from further carnage by the low interest rates of the last two years, but rates at 5% could start to topple the whole deck of cards.
All of a sudden all those properties and companies that are just covering their interest payments with income start to see their sums come apart – a few voids and they are up the creek.
It adds up to an unappetising economic picture: the MPC will have to raise interest rates to get inflation back to its target of 2% - but at the same time unemployment is on the rise.
So, to cheer you up as you head off for your Christmas break, here are my gongs for 2010:
Property Company of the Year: Hammerson – a blizzard of activity under new boss David Atkins, very much the modern, considered face of REITs.
Best Agencies (Small): H2SO and GM Real Estate – Paul Smith’s H2SO has thrown itself into a recovering West End market. Gibbon and McCurley’s GM has proved that you don’t have to be huge to make real waves in the London investment scene.
Best Agency (Big): CB Richard Ellis – after Jones Lang LaSalle stormed back to lead the investment league tables in 2009, the Green Machine cleaned up in 2010, dwarfing rivals’ activity levels.
Good Bank/Bad Bank: Lloyds Banking Group stepped up a gear in 2010, making some bold calls. But where was Royal Bank of Scotland? You feel its problems are so huge it still doesn’t know where to start.
Enterpreneur of the Year: So far – the prize has to go to Peel boss John Whittaker. He arrived on the world stage in recent weeks by agreeing to sell the Trafford Centre to Capital Shopping Centres, triggering Simon’s bid.
And don’t forget that he is also ushering in a new era for the North-West at Media City with the arrival of the BBC and ITV.
Developer of the Year: Tony Pidgley: the Berkeley boss cleaned up in London, where so many still feared to tread.
I am manning propertyweek.com on Christmas Eve, with my colleagues James Whitmore and Kat Baker on duty on December 29, 30 and 31.
Look out for a `Location, Location, Location’ noughties special at 19.55 on December 30, though, where I have my say on the decade’s amazing property boom.
Barrie blogs on new deal for PW fans
Subscribers to Property Week don’t have to pay any more than their fee for the magazine – they continue to get full access to propertyweek.com for free.
But anyone who wants to read more than six articles in 30 days will also have to pay, either by taking a joint magazine and online subscription or an online-only subscription at a reduced rate.
We think that asking £139 for a combined Property Week and propertyweek.com subscription is amazing value, particularly compared with other far more expensive deals.
Not only will you be reading the best journalism in business, but you will also have full access to a site which was re-designed to general acclaim last week.
We have improved navigation, paying particular attention to your regional needs.
So click on any of our regional sections and you will see all the relevant market data, professional news and analysis on that region straight away.
This way you can find all the news and deals most relevant to you straight away – all in one place, online. Then, come Friday, you can read more exclusive news, analysis, markets and professional information in the multi-award winning Property Week.
We think this is an ideal, and highly competitive, way to reward the loyal followers of our magazine.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Winter awards rush is good for us
Winter is upon us and it seems to bring a never ending series of awards dinners.
For all industries they give a measure of who is at the peak of their game and for the entertainment industry it provides a relatively cheap source for extra entertainment programmes!
Well, having just picked up the Best London Property Management Company of the Year Award at the inaugural Property Management Awards, hosted by the independent publication for the flat sector, News On The Block; the feelings pretty good!
Chainbow also managed to get two finalists in the Porter of the Year Award. Only fair to give a name check for Red Houjabi, who is based at The Water Garden in Canada Water and also for Anthony Coker who works at Oppidan Apartment in West Hampstead.
Congratulations Red and Anthony!
Winning an award is always a great achievement and for Chainbow it shows the industry we do practice what we preach – fantastic service, two-way communication and open, honest reporting.
I like to think we set a high standard in an industry that is known for poor service. Winning this award is a nod in the right direction for us.
It is great that there is finally an award ceremony for the property management industry to aspire to. Let us just hope it leads to the industry standards rising.
A pause for celebration...
Apologies for not blogging on Friday afternoon - I was celebrating with my team.
I took a rare, impromptu half day after one of the best days in the journalism calendar the Periodicals Training Council Awards, where the best young business and consumer magazine journalists are honoured.
The reason for the visit to The Anchor at Bankside?
Our own Occupiers Correspondent Hardeep Sandher was not only named New Business Features Journalist of the Year, but also New Journalist of the Year overall.
This is an amazing feat, given that Hardeep was up against the best young talent from BBC magazines, Elle, Wallpaper*, Shortlist, The Times magazine, Company, New Scientist and our own sister title `Building'.
I was also with Jenny Rigby, our highly talented news correspondent, who was Highly Commended in both the New News Journalist and the New Features Journalist categories.
So forgive me, because Hardeep, Jenny, Lucy, Shep and I were otherwise engaged before I tottered off home to Mrs Barrie and the kids at 6.30pm.
Normal service will be resumed this week.
Celebrating another nomination
Today propertyweek.com is celebrating another award nomination - this time Best Website in the IBP Awards 2008.
That follows our recent nomination in the BSME awars for best business website.
It shows we are heading in the right direction - although we know there is a long way to go.
In fact unlike most journeys this one has no end - that's got to be the thing about the web.
You can keep driving forward but you will never get to the edge because the edge keeps moving.
Every week i hear about or come across some new software - or hardware - which is showing yet another potential direction the web could take. I love it.
The constant excitement.
My favourite of recent times has to be Qik.com if you have a compatible mobile phone you can stream live video from your phone to the web - that's right.
Not from the web to your phone like everyone is tryiong to do but the other way. You can be out on the street and see something exciting happening and you can broadcast live video from where you are standing to the www
it's amazing - although so far all i've managed to record is some footage of my football injury (broken nose), and a few shots of my desk at work - oh and one of me after a few beers in my kitchen trying to impress mates in the living room who were watching the live broadcast...of my kitchen.
Surely i will shoot that elusive money-making video footage soon.
anyone got any other great new uses for the web - or just great new websites?
The video has landed
Okay, so it took me a while to edit - largely because i've never had any Premier Elements training - but the video from last Thursday's IAS Awards is on the site.
You can see it here
I'm actually almost proud of it - although there is no doubt a lot of room for improvement and one day i will be acutely embarrassed by it, no doubt - but i think considering i had one camera, one mic, no editing training and a day job to do - it ain't half bad.
We normally pay thousands of pounds to have these post-event videos produced - admittedly more professionally - but i think with a little editing training and some more equipment i could do a passable job.
And that is the great thing abou the web - it's ideal for people who like 'having a go'.
What do you reckon? Be kind....please.
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