When EG revealed in summer 2021 that the former chief executive of Homes England and lifelong public sector servant Nick Walkley was joining Avison Young, you could almost hear the communal “huh?” as the news landed in people’s inboxes.
If you were a betting person, there is no way you would have ever put money on him joining a firm which, despite many different names and ownerships, is one of the oldest, most established traditional surveying firms in the country. You probably would have put money, however, on him shaking things up a bit.
Which is exactly what he has done. After joining as principal and president of UK strategic advisory in September 2021, Walkley was promoted to run the UK business in June last year, with his former boss Jason Sibthorpe taking a larger EMEA role and tasked with growing the AY business in Europe.
After a few months settling in, bringing in some big-thinking, fresh approach-taking and unapologetically direct-talking allies, predominantly in the form of former Lendlease strategist Kat Hanna, Walkley has unveiled a sweeping restructure and refocus for AY in the UK.
A redundancy programme launched at the end of 2022 saw many of the “old guard” take voluntary redundancy. Walkley says the process was, of course, painful but the business tried to be as transparent as possible and to move at pace.
“We had to be quick,” he says, “so we could come into the new year talking about the future. This is not a programme to downsize our capabilities. This is about discovering the scale of our competence.”
The three Cs
Competence, confidence and collaboration. Those are the three words Walkley is focused on at AY. He says he has a “deeply aspirational” vision for the business. He is ready to transform the business from one where people are still unsure how to properly pronounce its name, where some might still call it GVA – or even Grimleys – to a business where everyone says its name proudly and with confidence.
“The industry is full of people who used to work for us,” says Walkley, “I would like it to be full of people who want to work here.”
To do that, he is giving himself – and the employee-owned business – six months to get its new strategy in order. That new strategy has four core prongs: be the UK’s preferred adviser; be the people for place; have confidence about capabilities and capacity; and grow its capital markets offering.
All four of those prongs aim to showcase AY’s multidisciplinary approach. For Walkley it is about showcasing the “power of the connections” the business has and how it can create more than the sum of its parts.
For him, the skills the business has in planning, valuation and project management should lead to business in capital markets, in lease advisory and so on. “We want to create real social value,” says Walkley. “The value that comes as a result of a transaction.”
He cites the work the firm has done with the Far East Consortium in Manchester as an example and how that relationship has centred on more than just securing planning. It has been about creating new communities for Manchester, new homes, an attraction for businesses and further investment.
Expertise in the UK regions – alongside London – will be the bedrock of the new Avison Young, building on the foundation the old business had. “People for place” is an often-repeated phrase by Walkley. For him – and for the new AY – utilising real estate to create place, places for business, places for people, places that thrive, is exactly what businesses like his should be doing.
“We want to deal with the full life cycle,” says Walkley, “and create a platform to genuinely take on the real challenges that real estate faces.”
To do that, he says, he needs boots on the ground in every major conurbation in the UK. He is on a mission to be the dominant player in the UK regions, with real people who know those cities well giving real advice to clients.
The firm already has offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle, and has just opened a new 11,000 sq ft office in Manchester at Aviva Investors’ 11 York Street.
“This investment is an illustration of our commitment to our brilliant Manchester team and the region itself,” says Chris Cheap, principal and managing director of Manchester for AY.
And you can expect more from them. Especially in Ireland, where Walkley – a self-confessed fan of Dublin – sees a “big opportunity”. As revealed by EG, last month, the firm has just won the mandate to find new occupiers or other solutions for 24 Argos stores in the Republic of Ireland.
And Walkley hasn’t forgotten his old boss Sibthorpe either. The work he is doing in Europe to grow the business will be fundamental in strengthening the UK business too.
“We want to bring our UK capabilities together with what we are doing in Europe and start guiding European investment into the UK,” says Walkley.
For Walkley it is about utilising the connectivity of being part of a global brand, working with the global leadership – and being inspired by them – to ensure the UK business delivers on its ambition.
Playing to a different tune
And he just wants to get on and do it. The public sector man gone private still struggles with the sporting analogies so prevalent in property circles, so instead turns to his comfort area – music.
He recounts a Bob Dylan tale and a live recording of Like a Rolling Stone.
“The first two minutes is a mess,” says Walkley. “People are trying to get it right but can’t. It all breaks down and then Dylan shouts at the drummer: ‘Stop hitting them, and just play!’ That’s what we want to do.”
It’s a novel analogy. But maybe that’s the point. Walkley wants Avison Young to be different from the rest. He wants it to be the firm that wants to lead in capital markets but wants that to be part of a wider capability that puts the needs of a place first.
Aside from the “painful” redundancy programme Walkley had to undertake, he is clearly having fun as the man in charge with growing the business in the UK. He is enjoying life in the private sector, and when talking with him it is evident that he is determined to give the “big boys” in the industry a run for their money.
“We want it to be uncomfortable out there for the others,” he says with a wry smile. “This is not a comfy strategy. This is deeply aspirational, and we are investing deeply in that. We are investing to wow our clients and we are deeply confident in our ability.”
He adds: “People think ‘What’s that bloke from the public sector doing running a commercial business?’ And I want them to think that. But I know a lot about business and finance. And what would be the point of doing the same career and not learning?”
In a world where the business of real estate is becoming increasingly entwined with the public sector, where its ability to deliver for place, as Walkley puts it, is dependent on being able to talk to government, both central and local, perhaps “that bloke from the public sector” is exactly who you want at the helm. His success will depend on whether he – and AY – can actually play the drums, or just hit them.
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews
