Property guru who defies the Brexit gloom

MARTIN Samworth’s office at the glass and steel London headquarters of CBRE – the world’s largest commercial property services group – directly overlooks Debenhams’ flagship Oxford Street store.

The view might be regarded as a metaphor of the collapse of the High Street and the Brexit arrow aimed at property values.

The ebullient 59-year-old Samworth, who has risen to the very top of New York-quoted CBRE as the company’s international president, based in London, takes a different view.

Not only does he see recovery opportunities on Britain’s high streets but he also reports inward investment in property is as strong as ever and the prices of upmarket homes in the UK’s biggest cities are coming back.

‘ The high street is going through a significant change. But the prime end of the market will continue. People want to socially interact. They want to go out and add a leisure experience,’ Samworth says.

An indicator of continuing overseas interest is the offer for the UK-based real estate investment trust RDI by the Australian predator Cromwell.

And AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould argued recently that British property firms were undervalued.

Over lunch in his capacious office, Samworth, pictured, shows little anxiety about what is next for the British market.

If his confidence sounds like estate agent’s bluster we shouldn’t be surprised. Samworth joined property company St Quintin directly from Birmingham Polytechnic where he studied estate management.

Some 36 years later, his feet have barely touched the ground. When we meet, he is hotfoot back from Singapore and is heading to Australia.

The roots of CBRE can be traced back to America’s most recognised realtor Coldwell Banker (CB), founded in San Francisco in 1906. In 1998, it

merged with the international arm of Richard Ellis (RE), the British firm founded in 1773.

CBRE is unrecognisable, no longer dominated by stiff, traditional surveyors. It embraces new technology, the flexible office model associated with Wework and has its own embryonic investment bank. Last year, worldwide revenues hit £16.4bn and it had 90,000 staff.

AS the possibility of a disruptive Brexit looms, much has been made of the damage to the UK’s global reputation. But Samworth is confident, in spite of survey data suggesting commercial construction and civil engineering might be stalling.

‘International investment in the UK continues. There is a strong appetite and I think in one or two parts of the world they may have pressed pause.

‘But in the last six months you have seen some of the most highprofile buildings sold. There has been a diverse appetite from Koreans, Americans and the Middle East. The Chinese may

have pulled back because of restrictions on outbound investment. US-based opportunity funds are back doing business.’ They are attracted by ‘where the pound is, there is still a foreign exchange advantage.’

It is not just London catching the imagination. He says: ‘Manchester and increasingly Birmingham now is an attraction for global investors – both commercial real estate and residential. We are selling quite a few high-end flats in Birmingham, some to the Chinese.’

One attraction is new infrastructure. ‘London is, I think, second only to Dubai in terms of the amount of infrastructure coming on stream – £258bn was the last figure I saw, way ahead of New York and Moscow.’

If the uncertainty over Brexit were to be lifted, Samworth is in no doubt as to what would happen. ‘There is investment waiting that has been deferred. That could take place and we will see something of a bounce.’ He offers a brighter perspective amid the gloom from some.

The Russians and Chinese may be less active but other overseas investors are keeping the faith with global Britain.