Pride 2018: BPF president Rob Noel’s diversity agenda

Few working in property would disagree that the sector has an image problem. The Grenfell disaster, an often rogue residential sector and a lack of diversity means it is one of the least-trusted industries in the UK. Taking up the role of British Property Federation president today, Rob Noel, the chief executive of the UK’s largest property company, Landsec, is on a mission to change this. “You only have one year as president and you can only do so much – but for me there are two clear broad themes,” he says. “First is driving the emerging diversity and inclusion agenda for our industry and building a social purpose – and having a much more representative population within the real estate industry. “Second is improving the perception of the property industry as a responsible sector, performing a vital role for the UK’s economy – an essential provider of infrastructure for human beings. That’s what we do and we should all be doing it well.” Noel’s two objectives are intrinsically linked. The limited diversity in the industry means it lacks the broadness of thinking that helps it engage with the wider public. Its dominance by white males means that only a minority feel they can relate to it or are included within it. While there has been a heightened sense of awareness in recent years, and some bold initiatives have been launched, Noel says the industry should not be congratulating itself. “Real estate hasn’t even really begun on this journey yet,” he says. “We are talking about it and people are being pointed in the right direction but we have an awful long way to go. The perception is we are white, middle-aged and middle-class and not representative of society whose product we provide.” Tangible change But what is it that the BPF can do to instigate tangible change? Noel says that it does not intend to draw up a code of conduct or guidelines but that it is “really more of a convenor of practice”. “We have teamed up with Real Estate Balance, which is driving towards improving gender diversity, and with Freehold, which is about LGBT+; we have teamed up with Purple [which focuses on inclusion for the disabled] and with Pathways to Property, which is about social mobility. These are all incredibly important to drive a more diverse and inclusive industry. “Traditionally entry to the industry has been through university. What we have to do is open it up to a wider range of people. The work that Pathways to Property is doing is encouraging people of a much younger age and a much more diverse group to look at a career in real estate, which is incredibly fulfilling. It’s about getting into schools and different types of communities.” Pride 2018: How LGBT allies in property can make a difference Although Noel does not intend for the BPF to draw up a code of conduct, he supports property companies putting into place clear, measurable targets, ratios and goals for diversity. “Ratios point to targets and I am a great believer in targets, because if you have a target it drives the behaviour needed in order to achieve it. You get to your goal quicker.” Like other past presidents of the BPF, Noel has done a two-year apprenticeship as junior vice-president and vice-president prior to taking the helm. The beginning of his first term of office coincided with the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, and inevitably the body’s focus has been partly dictated by this since then. As a result, getting the ear of government has become a tougher task as it has been overwhelmed by Brexit negotiations, but Noel says that it is more important than ever that the industry makes an impact on those ruling the country. “The government is tied up in Brexit negotiations at the moment. We are just over two years in from the referendum and have just over six months to go until we are due to exit the EU, with no deal agreed yet. So it is fair to say that they haven’t got much time for other things, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bang the drum. In fact we have been banging the drum pretty loudly for the real estate industry and they are listening,” he says. Bearish outlook In recent times, Noel’s tenure as chief executive of Landsec has been notable for his bearish outlook on the London market – partly because of the prospective impacts of Brexit – but he says that this will not alter the way he goes about things at the BPF. “I don’t think it will shape my thinking. I am cautious at the moment because one of the key things for business in general is confidence. If business has confidence, it is able to invest; if it doesn’t have confidence or know what its trading environment is, it tends to step off the accelerator a bit. One of the key things we have been saying to government is that maintaining business confidence in the UK should be one of the biggest priorities leading up to Brexit.” Like all areas of business, property needs the government to provide certainty. “The most important thing is a stable tax and regulatory environment. Governments that tend to chop and change their views undermine business confidence. We need the funding and enabling of infrastructure to release land and for government to work with the industry to ensure we have the right skills – and that means skills from abroad as well – that are vital on our construction sites. “Otherwise we will not be able to deliver what everyone wants us to deliver and what government wants, which is improved infrastructure and improved housing,” Noel says. The country’s housing crisis is a weight around its neck and, according to Noel, it is essential for the government to facilitate a mature build-to-rent sector to solve the problem. Broad range of tenures “A stable environment encourages the development of housing across a broad range of tenures. It would be nice to see some leadership from civic leaders, in terms of encouraging development in their local authorities,” Noel says. “[Build to rent is] embryonic at the moment. Around 100,000 homes are built or being built by professional landlords in the UK. That is nowhere near enough. We have a housing shortage of two million units. This industry could be absolutely enormous. It will be a great asset class, encouraging many hundreds of thousands of units to be built, as long as people can make those long-term investment decisions.” Pride 2018: BL unveils LGBT targets for 2020 Taking a forward-thinking role in the nature of the residential development and the way communities can share and occupy space together is also something Noel wants the BPF to be doing, finding solutions for a growing population. “The population is ageing and urbanising, and for us it will be thinking about how communities live together – some of which will be high-rise communities. Different generations are going to be living all together and we have to embrace technology, which helps with the design, development and management of those places,” he says. The problems that the property industry is looking to solve for society are far from straightforward and rapid change is unlikely. Noel’s presidency is a continuation of a consistent path the BPF has set out and built up over recent years – but with the chief executive of the UK’s largest property company in the hot seat, influence beyond the industry should be as strong as ever. Defence against the dark arts of the CVA This year’s flurry of CVAs has infuriated landlords, which are set to be out of pocket as a result of ailing retailers. Fury peaked last month, when House of Fraser declared its intention to swiftly depart from 31 of its stores – prompting the BPF to declare that the “dark arts” of the process have a “lack of fairness and transparency”. It is advocating that CVAs affecting more than five outlets are referred to an independent third party for review. The BPF also wants insolvency professionals to follow best practice guidance of engaging with landlords as early as possible in the CVA process and for the insolvency profession to work with the BPF to set out what determines good practice in terms of voting rights and voting structures. “No one wants to see a business fail and CVAs were developed for rescues,” Noel says. “What we are seeing at the moment is a process that lacks transparency and one of the things we would love to see is a level playing field for all creditors. It’s very difficult to see what’s going on and to delve into the process to make sure it is being done properly.” The workings of the BPF Based in Haymarket, SW1, the BPF has an executive team of 27, led by chief executive Melanie Leech. Its members serve on 20 different committees, the most senior of which is the ultimate policy committee, which determines what the organisation is going to throw its weight behind. Each committee is made up of between 13 and 30 members. The presidency of the BPF changes on an annual basis, although each president has two apprentice years as junior vice-president and vice-president, with responsibilities increasing through the process. BPF presidents of the past decade 2009: Rupert Clarke 2010: John Richards 2011: Toby Courtauld 2012: Chris Grigg 2013: David Marks 2014: Bill Hughes 2015: Chris Taylor 2016: David Sleath 2017: Paul Brundage 2018: Rob Noel To send feedback, e-mail david.hatcher@egi.co.uk or tweet @hatcherdavid or @estatesgazette