Ian Coull passed away in the early hours of the morning aged 65.
Property figures who had worked with or knew him have paid their respects to the industry figurehead.
David Sleath, SEGRO chief executive, said: “Everyone at SEGRO is deeply saddened to hear of Ian’s passing. Ian was one of the most generous people I have ever met. He was a great friend and colleague and a real inspiration to me and many others in our industry. He loved sport, property, business and life in general and will be sorely missed by the many friends he made across all walks of life. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”
Melanie Leech, chief executive, British Property Federation, said: “All of us at the BPF are deeply saddened to hear the news about Ian. I was honoured to present him with Honorary Life Membership of the BPF last year reflecting his huge contribution both to the industry and to BPF, where as president he oversaw some important milestones for the industry, including the introduction of REIT legislation and the conception of the Scottish Property Federation. He will be greatly missed.”
Tim Johnson, development director, Chancerygate, said: “He was charming man and great company. He always had a word to say and as an agent he was always very approachable to talk through opportunities. He is a very respected figure in the industry and one of the leaders in the shed market.”
John Burbage, Burbage Realty, said: “I first knew Ian in the Texas Homecare days. He was always great fun, passionate about rugby and had a great sense of humour. Business wise, he always got to the point without messing around. He was a big personality and hugely respected throughout property, and the acquisition of Brixton Estates was one of many highlights in his fantastic career.”
Graham Brown, director of industrial, Savills, said: “He was a very good mover in the market place, and oversaw the acquisition of Brixton Estates which he then molded into SEGRO. He was very active and a very powerful man.”
Mike Hussey, chief executive, Almacantar, said: “It never mattered how long the interval was between chance or scheduled meetings with Ian, he was always pleased to see you, could rattle off all your recent activity and have time to offer help and support. A bastion of integrity, good sense and reassurance. He was a brilliant listener and would have an uncanny knack of identifying the key issue in any discussion. Above all, though, he was an incredibly nice man and spending time with him at leisure or work was always a positive experience. When I left Land Securities, he rang me and said: ‘Mike, its Ian. Many think you are mad. Difference between them and me is I know you are! You don’t need any help, you never have, but I’m hanging around if you want.’”
Chris Templeman, head of property acquisitions and development, Sainsbury’s, said: “He was a larger than life character to whom I will always be grateful for giving me my job at Sainsbury’s in 1990. I remember him as a robust but fair man – if you got the call to go to his office on the eighth floor of the old Stamford House, you knew it was important and that you’d probably done something wrong However Ian would always be sure to explain how to improve next time. That was particularly so for the first board paper I submitted at Sainsbury’s. I’d quoted at length what the acquisition agent had said about the site in question and why it was such a good deal. Ian took me to one side and explained that he couldn’t care less what the agent thought about the site… he was only interested in my view. This has stayed with me since and remains a story I often share with the new members of my team.”
If you have any tributes or memories of Ian that you would like to share, email amber.rolt@estatesgazette.com or tweet @amberrolt or @estatesgazette
