Nick Hirst is a Principal Director at architecture and design firm, tp bennett. From Build to Rent and

student housing to superprime apartments and high-density tall buildings, tp bennett is designing

innovative residential solutions for both end-users and developers.

Currently working with both leading developers and smaller independent specialists, Nick recently

led the development of residential and urban design standards for a Housing Association with a

national remit.

He is also working in Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth on a variety of residential projects

exploring new build to rent and co-living models. With experience in developing BTR in permitted

development and masterplan contexts, Nick also works across many other sectors including, health,

education, mixed-use, hospitality, heritage and conservation, all for a wide range of public and

private sector clients. He is a member of the Urban Design Group, the Chartered Institute of Housing

(CIH), and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC).

Hayley Holness is an Investment Director in Lendlease’s Investment & Capital Markets team in Europe and is responsible for transactions across various asset classes.. Hayley joined Lendlease in 2018 from Tishman Speyer’s acquisition team and her experience includes acquisitions, dispositions, development, asset management, and business strategy across the EMEA region.

Jonathan is an experienced Chartered Surveyor specialising in complex mixed-use central London development schemes. He has been leading the delivery of the Paddington Square RPBW scheme since he joined Sellar in January 2018. Prior to this he was head of Oversite Development for Crossrail responsible for the delivery of 3.5 million sq ft of office, retail and residential space above the central London stations and raising £500m towards the cost of building the railway.

Gordon is the Head of Planning & Public Affairs at Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) which oversees the delivery of the 9m sq ft regeneration of the Battersea Power Station site.

Prior to joining, Gordon was Team Leader – Major Applications at Southwark Council where he facilitated high profile developments including 1 Blackfriars and London Bridge Station redevelopment.

As well as his role at Battersea Power Station, Gordon is a Planning Committee Member at Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation and member of the Nine Elms Vauxhall Strategy Board.

Katia is an architect and urban designer with twenty years’ experience working on a wide range of projects from large-scale masterplanning and regeneration schemes through to architecture and interior design.

In the UK, Katia’s work has focused on transformational mixed-use developments, including High Street Quarter and Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow, the Rochdale Riverside retail and leisure quarter near Manchester and the reimagining of Rackhams department store in Birmingham, as well as the regeneration of Luton and Camberley town centres. Katia has also been responsible for projects in Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Turkey, Bahrain, UAE, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Thailand.

As a member of the architectural NGOs Article 25 (Development & Disaster Relief) and Architecture Sans Frontières UK, Katia has been involved in community and regeneration work overseas. She is currently collaborating with LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security on a research project about Architecture and Peace: how design can address gender inequalities. She is actively involved in mentorship programmes within tp bennett and externally with RIBA and Westminster University.

Harry is the RTPI’s Infrastructure Specialist, focusing on all elements of infrastructure planning from transport to energy and climate change. Having previously worked on some of the nation’s biggest infrastructure projects, Harry now leads on research projects including Green Growth Boards, Planning Agencies and an upcoming project on planning and water.

Richard Vernon is a partner at Ashurst and the head of the real estate department for EMEA/US.

Richard has unrivalled experience in acting for both developers and local authorities on large mixed-use and transport led regeneration joint venture schemes, strategic land acquisition for large-scale commercial and residential development, and for both landlords and tenants on major office, retail and leisure pre-lets and lettings and leading asset management teams across real estate portfolios.

Richard is ranked as a 'Leading Individual' for Real Estate by both The Legal 500 and Chambers. Key clients state "Richard is very experienced, considered and calm, and a good person to have alongside you in difficult negotiations" and "he instils confidence and is extremely collaborative - we definitely couldn't have achieved everything we have without Richard as part of our team" .

Emma was appointed Chief Operating Officer of British Land in January 2025. Prior to this, she jointly led the company's 53-acre Canada Water development project in central London. She joined British Land in 2014 and became a member of the Executive Committee in 2019.

Emma is Chair of TEDI-London, a higher education provider for future engineers founded by Arizona State University, King’s College London & UNSW Sydney. Also a Non-Executive Director of Assura plc.

Before joining British Land Emma spent 7 years at Landsec where she delivered a number of central London developments and oversaw their strategic land portfolio. She previously held development and land management roles at Barratt and Crest Nicholson.

Heather leads the delivery of Grosvenor’s sustainable development pipeline across Mayfair and Belgravia She has extensive experience in town planning, property and development, and has a track record of delivering highly low carbon, award-winning developments. Prior to joining Grosvenor, Heather led Cambridge University’s largest capital project in its 800-year history, the North West Cambridge Development, a 3,000 home extension to the city of Cambridge. Heather was previously a director of town planning at AECOM, where she led planning and regeneration initiatives across the UK and abroad. Heather is member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and also a Board member of the Islington & Shoreditch Housing Association.

Christian Stocker is the Acquisitions Director of JTRE London. Originally trained in architecture, especially on Central London residential developments, he completed a Masters degree to become a Chartered Surveyor as part of a move into development and acquisitions. In 2014, he co-founded Sons & Co that was acquired by JTRE in 2020, when he joined the Board of JTRE London.

Oliver runs the London commercial development team in Margaret Street. He started at Savills in 2005. Oliver and his team focus on the disposal and acquisition of commercial and mixed use development opportunities in London. In conjunction with this, he provides strategic development consultancy and option appraisal advice to landowner, investor and developer clients in order to extract full value from every opportunity.

Iain is a Director in the London planning team based in Margaret Street. He started at Savills in 2017 having previously been at Bilfinger GVA and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Iain and his team provide a range of planning consultancies services focusing on large central London mixed use development opportunities. Iain advises a range of landowner, investor and developer clients to deliver high quality places across the capital.

Tolga Necar is a Principal Consultant at CACI. With over a decade’s experience, he specialises in the use of new data techniques to uncover the changing relationships between People and Place. Tolga joined CACI’s Property Consulting Group in 2019 and heads up the Residential and Mixed-Use sector with a particular specialism in placemaking. Through leading innovation and tech solutions in the area, Tolga is helping his clients create commercially attractive and sustainable places that respond to their audiences’ needs.

Lukáš Sásik is the Director of International Operations for J&T Real Estate (JTRE), one of Central Europe’s largest real estate developers. He is responsible for the diverse portfolio of projects outside the company’s home nation of Slovakia. Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, JTRE has managed some 50 projects in nine countries with a combined development value of £1.4bn creating 10.8m sq ft of space.