The developer behind a packed pipeline of central London schemes has picked its next chief executive, readying a fresh push to win work as the capital’s office market looks to its post-pandemic future.
Bradley Baker will become chief executive of Co-Re in January, having joined the company in 2018 from Knight Frank, where he spent three decades and founded its central London tenant representation team.
David Ainsworth, a founding director of Co-Re and its chief executive since 2014, will become executive chairman, while non-executive chairman and former chief executive Chris Strickland will retire.
The changes are the latest example of real estate developers, asset owners and agencies being led into the Covid-19 pandemic by one pair of hands and led out by another. In a period of upheaval across most asset classes, the company’s next leader believes most parties are on the same page.
“We have a market now where occupiers are very aspirational,” Baker said. “Developers such as ourselves, we share those aspirations completely. And investors [do too]. So there is a unique alignment here and the excitement for us is to make sure that we are delivering the sort of products fitting right into the sweet spot.”
Plans for Baker’s promotion have been under way for some time but began to be given what Ainsworth calls “serious” consideration at the start of this year.
“We have had a very successful period of three or four years of growth, and are continuing to grow with new hires,” Ainsworth said. “We felt that the business needs to move on to the next stage and it was time for a proper transfer and succession. This is the right time to do it, on the back of a fantastic year.”
Headcount has roughly doubled in the past three years to 17 employees. Recent hires include associate director Jonathan Walker; senior development manager Alex Parsons; and assistant development manager Dolunay Dogahan.
Baker is not planning a dramatic overhaul, but a continuation of helping ensure the company wins big business and is able to attract talent.
Co-Re schemes include Old Park Lane Management’s 450,000 sq ft 20 Ropemaker, EC2, majority prelet to law firm Linklaters; M&G Real Estate’s Fitzrovia, an 85,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme on Tottenham Court Road, W1; and the landmark redevelopment of the former ITV studios on the South Bank, on which it is working with Mitsubishi Estate.
As the capital recovers from the pandemic, the incoming chief executive is hopeful of a supportive market. Earlier this year, Co-Re grilled occupiers on their outlook for the city’s standing over the next one, three and five years. Baker said the sentiment was upbeat on “the influence and importance of London growing” . “That’s coming from some of the very top occupiers in central London,” he added.
Prelets at projects where the company is on site suggest occupiers are now putting pandemic-driven inertia behind them, added Ainsworth, who believes companies are fast realising they need to move quickly for the best space.
“Some people who had [once] said ‘We will hold back on making a decision’ are now saying ‘Thank goodness we made those decisions when we did’,” he said. “They realise that it is quite tight for the right kind of space, and they could get marooned if they don’t make these decisions.”
He added: “People always used to talk about London being cyclical, which it is to a degree, but there is a consistency of importance and a sense that the occupier needs to be in the best possible space.”
That’s not to suggest the definition of the best possible space isn’t changing. Baker said: “The trends we all talk about, such as ESG, were already on the agenda before the pandemic hit. But the pandemic has come along and turbocharged every single one.
“That’s a positive thing for the quality of the buildings which central London will be delivering.”
Positive, but still a challenge, the new chief executive added, as he pointed to sustainability as the most “demanding” issue, “but rightfully so”.
“If there are to be brand new buildings, and the demolition of an existing structure, there need to be some very compelling reasons for that,” he said. “So there is no surprise some of our schemes are refurbishment, some of them are brand new – but the brand new ones are happening when there’s a very good case.”
To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@eg.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @EGPropertyNews