Richard is a qualified chartered surveyor with over 15 years experience in the industry.

In 2001, joined Cushman & Wakefield, predominantly working in the Syndicated Funding Team

structuring and funding development and investments in the UK and Europe on behalf of retained

investors including his now Partner John Dunkerley at London & Capital.

In 2006, Richard joined John at fund manager BPIM working on the UK and European Funds. The

later grew from €25m-€270m over a two year period. Sectors acquired included offices, retail, out of

town retail, industrial and distribution in 9 countries.

In March 2008 Richard co-founded Apache Capital Partners Ltd with John.   Apache is a private real

estate investment management firm with offices in London and Bahrain, and specialises

predominantly in investing capital from the Middle East into the UK property markets.  Apache

currently manages two Investment Platforms focusing on the alternative sectors including;

Social Infrastructure (student accommodation and healthcare) and The Private Rented Sector.

Apache currently has over £500m AUM with a committed pipeline which with planning with

increase the portfolio size to over £1.3bn.

Richard is Managing Director and responsible for the UK business, team and strategies, the portfolio,

performance, business development and investor relations.

Zafar Bhunnoo is co-founder and co-CEO of Balance Out Living, a vertically integrated co-living platform with a pipeline of 1,900 homes across the capital. Zafar entered real estate 15 years ago, beginning his career at development manager M3 Consulting before moving on to Blackstone and then Spaces, a ground-breaking co-living developer and operator. As co-founder of Spaces, Zafar was responsible for the creation of a £250m portfolio.

With deep experience across a broad range of purpose-built operational real estate but specialising in co-living, Zafar co-founded Balance Out Living with Sarah Christie, ex-partner and development director at The Collective, in 2020. The company secured Oaktree Capital as its sole funding partner and plans to develop and operate an €1bn pipeline.

In his role in Firethorn Trust’s acquisition team, Dan was responsible for sourcing and originating deals, helping to secure a portfolio of industrial and logistics sites that was sold earlier this year to Cain International for more than £550 million. Prior to Firethorn, Dan worked at EQT Capital Partners on pan-European commercial and residential real estate acquisitions and at Tristan Capital Partners alongside Firethorn founders Peter Mather and Chris Webb.

Having been directly involved in transactions worth more than £2 billion in the UK and Europe, Dan will be responsible for deal origination, acquisitions and underwriting in his new role.

During her time with Yardi, Georgie has become fully immersed in all things build-to-rent and student accommodation. Georgie’s passion lies in being an advocate for technology in the residential space and how innovation can add value to not only the entire journey from prospect to resident, but how software and mobile applications enhance the resident experience throughout their entire tenancy. Georgie’s experience and focus spans across all residential asset classes including build to rent, student accommodation, co-living and includes a vast knowledge on the social housing market.

Katherine is the Managing Director of VervLife; a specialist consultancy, operations and creative partner for the BTR and rented homes sector engaged on multi-family, single-family and co-living communities.

Working within BTR since its genesis in the UK, Katherine is an operational expert and has a keen focus on what shifting resident behaviours and lifestyles mean for the product being brought to market, how technology can be harnessed to drive operational effectiveness and the role of intelligent asset design in enhancing investor returns.

VervLife is BCorp Pending and is committed to lead standards of social value, resident wellness and planetary awareness in the rented residential sector.

Mike was appointed as Group Co-Chief Executive in May 2022 but also heads up our Partnerships South division as CEO. Partnerships South specialises in the regeneration of public sector land, delivering mixed tenure communities in partnership with local authorities and housing associations and, in London and the Home Counties, is currently delivering over 22,000 homes across 27 projects. Mike has led several mixed-use developments and strategic partnerships which have become industry reference points for good design and community development.

Josie Parsons is the Chief Executive of Local Space, the charitable housing association with over 3,000 properties in nine local authority areas across London and Essex, which specialises in the provision of high-quality, settled accommodation for key workers and those facing homelessness.

Josie’s oversight of a significant portfolio of much-needed homes comes at a time when the massive social and economic cost of the homelessness crisis is taking a huge toll on London, with some 60,080 households now homeless and living in temporary accommodation, according to MHCLG figures.

Josie assumed this role in late 2019 with a vision to ensure that Local Space delivers its growth strategy and achieves the best possible customer experience as well as being a great place to work by becoming a ‘people first’ organisation.

In addition, she also oversees the company’s partnerships with key local authority partners.

Her leadership has enabled Local Space to be the only housing association to be awarded the Standard and Poor credit rating of AA- for a unprecedented sixth consecutive year. The rating reflects continued confidence in Local Space’s role as a long-term investor in settled housing for key workers and those facing homelessness.

Parsons joined Local Space as an experienced Finance Director in 2018 to focus on finance and treasury management having previously held broader Resources Director roles.

Andy joined Hyde in February 2022 as Group Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to joining Hyde, Andy was the Global Managing Director of Real Estate and Housing at Lloyds Banking Group (LBG). He also spent time as the Lloyds Bank Mortgage Director and Group Head of New Mortgages and Managing Director of The Equity Businesses. He worked with the UK Government to bring Help to Buy to market and led strategy, products and propositions to support LBG in maintaining a market leading position in key segments such including First Time Buyers, New Build and Buy to Let. During his time at Lloyds Andy was the CEO founder of the Housing Growth Partnership, a private equity investment fund, which supports SME housebuilders in accelerating the delivery of new homes.

Prior to LBG Andy held a number of senior roles in leading UK brands including Virgin Money, Direct Line, RBS, NatWest and Tesco

Annabel joined the M&G Real Estate property research team in May 2016, where she focused primarily on the residential market. She transferred to the residential team as Investment Manager in May 2019. Annabel is responsible for acquiring, structuring and delivering on residential opportunities on behalf of the M&G UK Residential Property Fund and the M&G Shared Ownership Fund. She also provides analytical and modelling support for both funds and explores opportunities within ‘alternative residential’ markets.

Prior to joining the business, she worked in consultancy at AECOM for nearly three years. There she provided research and analysis on a range or property sectors within the EMEA region and undertook market and financial feasibility analysis as well as working on concept development, development programming and strategic planning. Annabel has a BA in geography from the University of Birmingham. She is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and British Property Foundation (BPF).

Elly Hoult is Group Director of Assets and Sustainability at Notting Hill Genesis (NHG),

focusing on compliance, sustainability, strategic asset investment and energy provision.

Prior to this role, Elly led the integration process post-merger of Notting Hill and Genesis,

also worked at Orbit Group and A2Dominion Group. She is a Governing Board Member at the Chartered Institute of Housing and a champion of diversity, sitting on the National

Housing Federation EDI steering group.

Nicole started her planning career in 2017 working within Westminster Council’s Enforcement team. In 2018, Nicole moved to the private sector working in planning consultancy in Manchester at Aecom carrying out assessments of Local Plans and Neighbourhood Plans. Following this, Nicole returned to London and worked for a housing association looking at large urban extensions, infill sites, regeneration projects and small scale developments. In 2021, Nicole moved to regional house builder Croudace Homes to work as a Strategic Land Promoter acquiring and promoting sites through the Local Plan process for family housing.

Professor Yolande Barnes is the chair of the UCL Bartlett Real Estate Institute and has been examining and analysing real estate markets since 1986. Her current role includes re-thinking real estate, institute-building and thought-leadership.

Damien Sharkey is Managing Director of independent developer, HUB. He is keenly involved in all aspects of the business, leading the development process of its current £3.3bn pipeline from acquisition and funding through design, consultation, planning, procurement, and delivery to completion. An architect by background, Damien remains passionate about design and ensures maximum value through bespoke and thoughtful design, creativity, technical accuracy, and efficient delivery for all of HUB’s portfolio.

Established in 2012, HUB has more than 9,300 homes completed or under development across the UK from Bath to Edinburgh. HUB focusses on transformative, high-quality living schemes with intentional design, from BTR-led regeneration to pioneering adaptive reuse in city centres – including the City of London’s first co-living homes, being delivered through office conversions. Known for developing one of London’s first institutionally backed BTR schemes, HUB has continued to deliver industry leading living-led regeneration developments comprising BTR, co-living, PBSA and affordable homes.

Kerry is a partner in G&T’s cost management division and believes in collaborative working, building strong relationships with a focus on delivering best value to clients within the residential and commercial sectors. Kerry is passionate about supporting the next generation through a variety of mentoring schemes within the industry and her position as an RICS assessor, as well as championing diversity through G&T’s Building for Women network. Her wider project experience includes new build developments, refurbishment and listed buildings.

Nico has worked at Schneider Electric for over 12 years, taking up the role of Vice President of Home & Distribution in 2019. Throughout the years, Nico has been in charge of Schneider Electric’s Channel Development for Europe, playing a vital role in formulating and leading strategic transformational projects.

Nico is currently responsible for ensuring that Schneider Electric’s portfolio of smart devices, sensors and energy management solutions are front of mind with electricians, home builders and contractors. Nico brings his ability to create high performing teams, enable business transformation and encourage entrepreneurial thinking to his role. With homes becoming increasingly connected and the spotlight on the inefficiencies of UK housing stock becoming a great focus in the battle to halt climate change, Nico believes that smart technologies such as Wiser will have a large role to play in creating truly connected and efficient homes. The electrical demand in the residential is the fastest growing segment in years to come and Nico believes that Schneider Electric already have the technologies and relevant channels to bring forth these solutions from the Grid to the Plug.

Catalina joined the Manchester studio in 2021 as an Architect supporting the Feasibility team. She brings a passion for successful placemaking to her work in the residential and mixed-use sectors. She has experience working on a wide range of projects at all work stages, including large residential developments, masterplans, offices and listed buildings restorations.

Having completed her MArch degree in Architecture at Sheffield Hallam University in 2018, Catalina is now conducting PhD research there, with a focus on art-centred placemaking. In 2020, she made RIBA’s Rising Stars shortlist for her project work and her research on ethics and sustainability in architecture.

Areas of expertise:

Residential / Mixed-Use / Concept Design / Placemaking / Research

Tommy joined MRI Software in February 2022 as Product Manager and is responsible for delivering the solutions that housing associations and local authorities need to transform the way they work and improve the everyday experience for their customers. Prior to joining MRI Software, Tommy spent 9 years working across the social housing, residential lettings, and social care sectors in several housing management, policy development and consultancy roles. Tommy is a Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Chartered Member and a former board member of CIH West Midlands.

James is a recognised advocate for the residential sector, with over 25 years’ varied and relevant experience as a Project Manager and Advisor. His personal mission is to help address the UK’s housing crisis, with a full tenure spectrum being key to tackling this challenge, both in policy and in practice. Through roles at Deloitte, Greystar and GAA, alongside active sector roles including BPF and UKAA, he has become a tireless campaigner for better appreciation of Build to Rent (BTR), Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), intermediate affordable homes, and for a much-needed cultural change around renting. James was included in EG's 'BTR's 50 Most Influential’ list for 2022.

James has extensive delivery experience across all housing tenures, whether ‘for sale’, purpose-built rental or affordable. He has a broad understanding the range of priorities for investors, developers, owners, residents, local communities and policymakers in delivering successful long-term residential-led and mixed-use developments. He is engaged with the critical ESG agenda and its ongoing evolution.

Dan Foryszewski heads up the Investor Solutions in EMEA who focus on agents and owners operating properties of all asset classes. He has a strong focus on the residential space and helps organizations of all kinds created tailored ecosystems covering leasing, property management, tenant engagement, accounting and BI. As the demographics and expectations of renters have shifted dramatically in recent times, Foryszewski's deep understanding of the market has been influential in shaping the strategic development of

MRI's resident engagement tools.

Dan Foryszewski helps property managers and agents utilise an ecosystem of products to create tailored solutions for their particular requirements across the end-to-end life cycle - from back office property management and accounting to resident engagement and community building.