Editor’s comment: Neil Thompson’s career aspirations

News

30 March 2017

Great Portland Estates’ December announcement that board member Neil Thompson was leaving was a little different from the usual bland Stock Exchange fare.

“Neil has played an integral part in GPE’s success over the last 14 years, 10 of which as a member of the board, however, we were unable to find a role within the group which matched Neil’s career aspirations,” said chairman Martin Scicluna.

Neither party said it, but you didn’t need an overactive imagination to envisage the robust discussions that led to this parting of the ways.

More than that, the announcement signalled Thompson’s ambition to run a big property business, an ambition realised in spades this week. He will take over as UK chief executive of Brookfield Office Properties, giving him responsibility for perhaps the most prominent property portfolio in the City of London.

Always highly regarded in development circles, Brookfield will be delighted with its new hire. Thompson will be no less pleased at grabbing such an influential role at the world’s largest owner of real estate. Surely this is one that does match his career aspirations.

Thompson knows his new employer well. He forged a strong relationship with Brookfield during the development of its 900,000 sq ft joint venture with GPE at 100 Bishopsgate, EC3. Brookfield bought out GPE in 2014.

It raises a question, of course. Brookfield owns a 50% stake in Canary Wharf Group, which will continue to be headed by Sir George Iacobescu. Thompson and Iacobescu will make a formidable pair of generals for Ric Clarke, Brookfield’s real estate field marshall.

For now, the business is clear that they are very separate roles.

But it’s not inconceivable that one day the two businesses could be run more closely together. With Iacobescu already 71 years old, could that be the job that meets Thompson’s next ambition?

■ Lord Darling of Roulanish – Alistair to his friends – delivered the third EG/Peter Wilson lecture at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, on Wednesday evening. His assessment of the current state of the Brexit glass erred on the side of half empty, you won’t be surprised to hear.

But there was much more that was significant in a lecture that drew a clear line between the global financial crisis, the austerity that followed and the nationalism that has come in its wake.

What resonated most for me was his fear that the civil service would struggle to cope with legislative change when the legal detangling demanded by Brexit occupies so much Whitehall time. If true, those expecting major reform of business rates, stamp duty, or anything else for that matter, should prepare to be disappointed. Full coverage of what was a fascinating lecture to follow.

■ EG is innovating again this week. After launching our new brand, website and magazine a few short weeks ago (yes, I know: it seems longer than that), we are now launching our first workflow tool.

EG valuations360 has been developed with the market. An online platform developed exclusively for valuations businesses looking to maximise their profitability, the tool places EG’s real estate data side-by-side with a streamlined report management system. It will, our user groups tell us, speed up valuations, reduce risk and ensure consistent, reliable reports. Take a look at www.egi.co.uk/valuations360 for more.

Editor’s comment

Great Portland Estates’ December announcement that board member Neil Thompson was leaving was a little different from the usual bland Stock Exchange fare. “Neil has played an integral part in GPE’s success over the last 14 years, 10 of which as a member of the board, however, we were unable to find a role within the group which matched Neil’s career aspirations,” said chairman Martin Scicluna. Neither party said it, but you didn’t need an overactive imagination to envisage the robust discussions that led to this parting of the ways. More than that, the announcement signalled Thompson’s ambition to run a big property business, an ambition realised in spades this week. He will take over as UK chief executive of Brookfield Office Properties, giving him responsibility for perhaps the most prominent property portfolio in the City of London. Always highly regarded in development circles, Brookfield will be delighted with its new hire. Thompson will be no less pleased at grabbing such an influential role at the world’s largest owner of real estate. Surely this is one that does match his career aspirations. Thompson knows his new employer well. He forged a strong relationship with Brookfield during the development of its 900,000 sq ft joint venture with GPE at 100 Bishopsgate, EC3. Brookfield bought out GPE in 2014. It raises a question, of course. Brookfield owns a 50% stake in Canary Wharf Group, which will continue to be headed by Sir George Iacobescu. Thompson and Iacobescu will make a formidable pair of generals for Ric Clarke, Brookfield’s real estate field marshall. For now, the business is clear that they are very separate roles. But it’s not inconceivable that one day the two businesses could be run more closely together. With Iacobescu already 71 years old, could that be the job that meets Thompson’s next ambition? ■ Lord Darling of Roulanish – Alistair to his friends – delivered the third EG/Peter Wilson lecture at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, on Wednesday evening. His assessment of the current state of the Brexit glass erred on the side of half empty, you won’t be surprised to hear. But there was much more that was significant in a lecture that drew a clear line between the global financial crisis, the austerity that followed and the nationalism that has come in its wake. What resonated most for me was his fear that the civil service would struggle to cope with legislative change when the legal detangling demanded by Brexit occupies so much Whitehall time. If true, those expecting major reform of business rates, stamp duty, or anything else for that matter, should prepare to be disappointed. Full coverage of what was a fascinating lecture to follow. ■ EG is innovating again this week. After launching our new brand, website and magazine a few short weeks ago (yes, I know: it seems longer than that), we are now launching our first workflow tool. EG valuations360 has been developed with the market. An online platform developed exclusively for valuations businesses looking to maximise their profitability, the tool places EG’s real estate data side-by-side with a streamlined report management system. It will, our user groups tell us, speed up valuations, reduce risk and ensure consistent, reliable reports. Take a look at www.egi.co.uk/valuations360 for more.