Enterpeneurs Gerald Ronson - Heron International, and Nick Leslau - Prestbury Investment Holdings Ltd together with agent Franco Sidoli - Franc Warwick shared the highs and lows of ‘A Lifetime in Property’ at Young Norwood’s debut Property Reception. The event was a great success. More than 200 young professionals attended the evening, held in Central London, to learn from the experience of the leading players in the UK and international property markets. The event raised over £30,000 for Norwood, the UK leading charity for children and families.
A champagne and sushi reception provided the perfect networking opportunity, followed by an entertaining panel discussion led by Giles Barrie, Editor of Property Week. Barrie invited the outspoken property men to share the secrets of their success and give their views on the current market and opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Advising young propertiers on how best to invest, Nick Leslau said, ‘In the current overexuberant market there are deals to be done but it’s important to exercise extreme caution and to invest low down on the risk curve, especially outside Central London. Investors should stay away from properties with short leases and short histories.’
Giles Barrie invited panellists to reveal the driving force behind their property careers. For Gerald Ronson there was no hesitation to as to why he enjoyed being at the helm of Heron, he told the audience, ‘I love what I do. If you love what you do and you’ve got persistence and staying power then I think you’ve got a good chance of success. You’ve got to learn your business, be patient and be prepared to be in it for the long term.’
Franco Sidoli told the audience that the pleasure in the business was that ‘Now, I can deal with the people I want to work with. It’s a people business and you need to build trust with people to succeed in the long term.’
All three men agreed that in the property business, reputation is everything and playing the long game was the key to success.
The event finished with a lively auction where ringside seats for Amir Kahn and Audley Harrison’s next fight and a helicopter flight over London sold for £1000 each and the raffle raised £800.
Young Norwood fundraiser, Sara Parish said, ‘We’d like to thank Gerald Ronson, Nick Leslau, Franco Sidoli and Giles Barrie for giving us a really entertaining evening last night and sharing their experiences in the property markets. Knowledge of the property markets is key to the success for young professionals in the property sector and this was a great opportunity for them to learn from the experience of the leading property men and to network with colleagues and peers.
We’d also like to thank our sponsors, City & Docklands as well as everyone who attended and made the evening a great success. The money raised will help Norwood, the UK leading children and families charity, to support children and adults with learning disability and social difficulty to reach their full potential in life.
The YN Property Committee
James Abrahams
Daniel Abrahams
Dean Clifford
Simon Deen
Ross Freedman
Liane Green
James Lass
Jonathan Nash
Hadley Newman
Simon Rinder
Richard Starr
Shaun Simons
For more information or to register your interest for any events please contact the YN Fundraiser on 020 8420 6804 or e-mail alisa.fleishman@norwood.org.uk
