Norwood celebrated its ‘fab’ fourth YN Property event as tales of the Fab Four helped it raise an incredible £42,000. More than 200 young property professionals attended last night's fundraiser at the Hilton London Metropole, which was generously sponsored by Derwent London. The guest speaker was Paul White, Managing Director of Frogmore, who was interviewed by Giles Barrie, Editor of Property Week.
The evening, which also included a drinks reception followed by dinner, provided a great opportunity for YN supporters to network while raising vital funds for Norwood, which supports people with learning disabilities and children and families in need.
Mr White, whose career in real estate spans 40 years, told guests about his first significant deal as an agent, selling office space in Saville Row to the Beatles during the 1960s. He said he had already incurred the wrath of his superiors after putting the phone down on Paul McCartney because he did not believe it was him. However, greater embarrassment was to come following the Fab Four’s tour of the building.
“After they left, I went home and was telling my parents all about it, when suddenly the phone rang,” he said. “It was my boss, who was furious and started shouting down the phone at me. Apparently, I had locked George Harrison in the building.”
Mr White also reflected on the down turns of the 1970s and 90s before giving his prognosis on the current state of the market. “I don’t fancy 2010 at all,” he said. “You’ve got a change of government perhaps, although I’ve backed a hung Parliament. Property in 2011 will probably start to recover a little better. But there’s a massive amount of property – billions of pounds – that the banks have to put onto the markets, and that just hasn’t happened yet.”
He said Frogmore currently had £200m in equity but had only brought two deals in the last two years because of a lack of confidence in the market. “This is the year of unusual ‘one-off’ deals,” he said. “In the vast majority of the market, there’s very little activity. There’s very little liquidity and the banks haven’t got the money to lend.”
But he added: “It’s a fantastic industry with plenty of opportunities. I came into it at the age of 16 with three O-Levels. I could have been driving a bus.”
During the rest of the discussion and subsequent Q&A session, he gave his views on the 2012 Olympic Games, prospects for graduates, Conservative planning policy and the issue of debt in the industry, which was described as the ‘elephant in the room’.
Following the event, Mr White, who is a Norwood Patron, said: “Norwood is a wonderful cause which provides an incredible range of support to those people who need it most. I am delighted to have been able to support this event and I wish the YN Property Committee every success in the future.”
Alisa Fleishman, YN Manager, said: “This event has become one of YN’s flagship fundraising initiatives and we are thrilled to have raised over £130,000 over the last four years. I would like to thank our sponsor Derwent London, the Hilton London Metropole, and our guest speakers Paul White and Giles Barrie, whose discussion was extremely entertaining and thought provoking.
“I would also like to thank the YN Property Committee for helping to make the event such a great success, and all our guests for their overwhelming support, which will have such a profound effect on the lives of so many people with learning disabilities, and children and families in need.”
About the speaker
Paul White is responsible for overseeing and managing Frogmore and has been in real estate for over 40 years. He was appointed Managing Director of Frogmore Estates plc in April 1995 and under his leadership, the Company’s pre-tax profits increased from approximately £15 million in 1996 to £55 million in 2000. Paul led the privatisation of Frogmore Estates plc with Denis Cope and three other Directors in 2001 and formed Frogmore Property Company Limited. During the period after 2002 and prior to establishing the fund business, Frogmore invested approximately £690 million of capital. Paul then launched Frogmore Real Estate Partners in January 2006 and achieved a final close with commitments of £330 million. A second fund was closed in December 2009 with commitments of just over £200 million. Paul is a member of the Investment Property Forum and sits on the Board of the British Property Federation.
