Berkeley Group managing director Rob Perrins took to the podium on the 31st floor of the Shard at the latest event in the Property Finance Forum calendar.
More than 100 finance specialists gathered for breakfast at Aqua Shard at London Bridge, SE1, to hear the former accountant give his views on doing business in the residential property sector – and beyond.
Introduced by PFF chairman Julius Gottlieb, Perrins offered some advice gleaned from his decade at the housing specialist: there is no low-hanging fruit any more.
To be a residential developer you need expertise, opportunities and patient capital, he said.
Despite the challenges in the sector – not least the fact that much-needed development land is locked up in the wrong hands – Perrins said current market conditions do present some opportunities.
He advised the attentive finance directors, fund managers, bankers and principals to raise as much money as they can now, whether it be through private placement or a rights issue, saying: “Put your finance in place before you need it.”
