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Category: Features

  • Meet TREIO, the real estate investment office with unique experience in commercial property

    Finito World meets Georgina Badine and Robert Stokely, two of the founding directors of the boutique firm with expertise in an overlooked asset class

    For a good while now, it’s become a normalised aspect of high-net-worth portfolios to have an allocation for real estate – but until recently, this has tended to be synonymous with the residential side, especially superprime properties in central London.

    But you don’t hear so much about commercial property. That’s partly because of the prevalence of broker fees and real estate funds which can sometimes be difficult to understand and poorly run. But it’s also because not enough people know that this asset class also has many legitimate attractions.

    The Real Estate Investment Office (TREIO) was set up in 2020 at the outset of the pandemic to give a select group of high-net-worths access to this intriguing – and all-too-often overlooked – opportunity.

    The firm was founded by three directors, Robert Stokely, Chris Horler and Georgina Badine with collective experience designed to gel perfectly for the task at hand.
    Stokely explains his own background: “I’ve been in the property business for 25 years, in investment and acquisition, and in asset management. I also had a spell as a Law of Property Act Receiver following the 2008 crash, where I was working with Nationwide Building Society and others on their non-performing loan books.”

    Badine, meanwhile, started as a corporate banker at Barclays. “My Relationship Director in my first post got me involved in the credit side, and I found I had a real interest in it. I love getting under the skin of businesses,” she explains.

    Badine’s expertise is especially helpful when it comes to commercial property, where the financial strength of the tenants will underpin the attractiveness of the overall investment, in a way which isn’t the case on the residential side.

    When I meet with the two of them, Horler is in Switzerland due to Omicron restrictions, but I speak to him later by telephone. “I make sure the assets are held in the right structures,” Horler explains.  So it’s a compelling mix: there are the property skills of Stokely in investment and asset management; the credit skills of Badine; and then Horler’s structuring and finance skills. Badine adds: “We all bring different strengths to the business.”

    These different kinds of experience give shape to the advice which TREIO gives clients. “We’re not risk-averse, but we are risk-aware,” as Stokely puts it, noting both his own time as a receiver, and Badine’s expertise on the credit side. What comes across is the firm’s passion for the asset class, and its commitment to thoroughness and a holistic service.

    So how did they meet? The three of them came together at the multi-family office Sandaire (now part of Schroders) where they provided a unique property offering to that firm’s dozen or so ultra-high-net-worth families: “Traditionally, families have invested in residential property, often in central London and in real estate funds,” Stokely explains. “But it’s quite difficult to align those investments to your investment criteria and it’s hard to discern between the good funds and the poorer ones. And once you put your money into those funds, it can be hard to get your money out, especially if they gate.”

    After the sale of Sandaire, the three of them decided not to move to Schroders, though TREIO retains good referral relationships with that organisation. During the Sandaire days, in spring 2019 – before anyone knew about spike proteins, or supply issues arising from the pandemic – clients were worried about the inflationary outlook. “Inflation has always been at the forefront of families’ minds,” Stokely recalls. “Inflation is the big ever-present danger which erodes their wealth.”

    Happily, commercial property as an asset class is able to navigate that problem: “The advantage of commercial property is that it’s linked to the real economy,” Stokely continues. “In an inflationary environment, when prices go up, rents follow suit. If you’ve constructed your portfolio in an appropriate manner, you can catch those inflationary rental increases year by year.”

    There’s clear sense to this – and it will not be lost on clients who have bumped up against the difficulties of accessing the sector. “At Sandaire, we found clients found it hard to access appropriate investment opportunities,” Stokely explains. “The property business is based on transactional fees, and brokers have an incentive to do deals particularly as they approach their financial year end. That creates a misalignment between the interests of the investor and the interests of the broker.” Badine says: “What we’ve done is to invert that business model. We charge our clients a fee for managing their real estate allocation.”

    This might not sound radical – but in its quiet way it is. It essentially aligns TREIO with the broader private client world, but in relation to an asset class numerous wealthy individuals understand all too little. “It’s the difference between the professional, and the trusted advisor who is looking out for their clients,” Badine explains. Stokely adds: “Someone said to me the other day that I’m an analogue adviser in a digital world – and I’m happy with that!”
    My guess is that clients will be too. People do not want robots; they want relationships. Badine explains the distinction: “Brokers do deals and we do long-term relationships. For us, the relationship doesn’t end with the transaction.”

    At the outset, TREIO works closely with each client. Stokely says: “The start of the process is establishing what kind of investments are appropriate for the client in terms of risk profile, holding period, sector and geographical location.” It doesn’t stop there; Stokely lists other considerations. “Does the client want a trophy asset in central London? Do they have a preference as to sector? Are they trying to achieve something in terms of ESG and sustainability? Do they want one tenant or multiple tenants.”

    It’s a rigorous process in other words – and again, one that a broker, worried about their transaction fees, won’t enter into. TREIO therefore offers unique access to an unusually promising asset class. The firm also works in concert with chief investment advisors and wealth managers to make sure that the right asset is acquired – and once acquired, that it’s properly looked after. “Once we acquire a property, we oversee the management, including rent collection, rent reviews, reviewing leases, and capital improvements to the buildings,” Stokely says. “We then continue to report to the client or their financial advisors so long as that asset remains in their ownership.” So what are the firm’s fee structures? “They’re structured in such a way that we’re paid for the management of that allocation – sometimes with an additional performance-related fee.”

    The beauty of the model is that the firm is also able to work with existing wealth managers.

    “We’re not in competition with Schroders – they’re happy to make introductions to us,” Badine explains. “I’ve also met a number of wealth managers who value what we do, as it reinforces their offering. What they can say to their clients is: ‘Why not allocate 20 per cent of your wealth to commercial property? We know the right people.’ It makes their offer more complete as it’s something they don’t do in-house.”

    The firm already has strong links with some private banks, and is seeking to grow those in 2022 – but always with a view to establishing the right kind of relationships. “We want to be trusted advisors for the long term, as we were at Sandaire,” explains Badine.

    The entrenched nature of the firm’s client relationships means that the firm is also able to offer an audit service. “We can do forensic analysis of whether a fund is performing as it should be, whether the managers are managing the fund well, or taking excessive fees,” Stokely says.
    Badine adds: “We also provide audits on existing commercial property holdings, often in relation to ESG.” Stokely also points to a problem Finito World readers might need to be aware of: “With the direction and pace of travel on sustainability, some investors will be left with unlettable or unsaleable assets as they’re non-compliant. Amazingly, a lot of investors are seemingly oblivious to this.”

    That opens up onto an interesting generational aspect about this particular asset class. “Property is an asset which is naturally understandable across generations,” Stokely explains. “At Sandaire, we found that where we had a private equity offering, the younger generations were enthusiastic about the tech element, for example, whereas the patriarch or matriarch might be doubtful about it.  Property is of enduring appeal across generations. It’s something which brings generations together, and you sometimes see families unite behind this asset class. Both generations can bring something to the table, whether it be sustainability, or architectural appearance.”

    There is real passion here. As we keep talking, I am also impressed that there’s such a strong sense of identity about the business, even at this early stage. Stokely says: “Because we’re a small business, and want to remain like that, we can invest time in building those in-depth relationships with our clients. We don’t want to grow to a size where we lose that.”

    And listening to them, you certainly wouldn’t bet against them. This is a firm with a rare ethos and expertise, which presents a real opportunity for high net worth individuals.

    Christopher Jackson is News Director at Finito World

  • The Kickstart Scheme in retrospect

    Finito World

    The government’s Kickstart Scheme came to a close in March of 2022. The scheme was designed to make it easier for employers to create jobs for people 16 to 24 years old on Universal Credit. Around 300,000 people took part in the scheme, which cost £1.9 billion.

    Kickstart covered the full National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week over six months, as well as necessary National Insurance and pension contributions. Employers also received £1,500 per job created in order to cover training, IT, PPE, and uniforms if necessary.

    The price comparison website Small Business Prices analysed the Kickstart Scheme to find where the most roles were filled, which sectors were most popular, and what age groups benefitted most from the programme.

    Overall, 68% of the Kickstart roles were filled in Great Britain. Scotland saw the highest numbers, with 73.7% of roles filled. In England, the West Midlands saw the most roles filled, at 73.3%, followed closely by the East Midlands, the North East, and Yorkshire and The Humber. Wales filled 65% of the roles available.

    Of the available jobs, the animal care sector saw the highest level of employment at 80%. The creative/media and law sectors had 78% of their roles filled, followed closely by science and research as well as computing technology.

    Most people who took advantage of the scheme were between 22 and 23 years old. Under 18s and 25-year-olds were least likely to find a job through Kickstart, with less than 1% of successful applicants being from those age groups.

    Credit: SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk

  • A look at the video game industry

    Patrick Crowder

    In the past 30 years, video games have gone from something experienced in an arcade, or on a home computer by a very select few, to a massive industry which makes upwards of £155 billion per year. The online gaming platform Solitaired analysed data from Indeed UK to find the highest paying roles and the best places to work in the video game sector.

    If you want to earn big money in the gaming industry, the best way to do it is to become a game developer. Game developers code and test the software which makes the idea for a game come to life. On average across the UK they make £43,469 per year. Game developers in London have the highest pay, at £59,940 per year.

    If coding doesn’t interest you, have no fear, as the second highest paying role in video games doesn’t require it.  Marketing managers are in charge of creating campaigns to find an audience for a game, and to promote that game in a way which maximises sales. They make £38,278 per year on average, making this a great way to get into the industry if you don’t have a background in computer programming. London is also the place to go for video game marketing, where you will see an average salary of £43,178 per year.

    An important yet oft overlooked role within the video games industry is that of the Quality Assurance tester. Before a game rolls out to the public, QA testers have to figure out every way that the game can be broken. When a game has millions of players, they will find new and innovative ways to mess things up by odds alone, so a good tester has to predict multiple failure modes and address them. QA testers make £35,919 on average, though those who work in Cambridge make £46,976 per year on average.

    3D artists create everything you see when you play a video game, from your favourite characters, vehicles, and weapons to the mountains you climb, and the trees you accidentally drive into. They make £35,828 on average, but London-based 3D artists earn about £43,616 per year. For those with an inclination towards the visual arts, this can be a great career which uses your creativity to earn a good living.

    If you want to get into the video game industry from a background in business, consider becoming a video game producer. Rather than dealing with coding or creating the art of a game, producers do the necessary jobs which players rarely think about. Marketing, budget, contract negotiation, and scheduling all fall under the video game producer’s umbrella, making it a role with considerable variety. They make around £33,796 per year across the UK, but producers based in Liverpool make the highest wage for their role in the country, netting around £38,802 per year.

    These are by no means the only roles available in the video game industry – far from it. Like any business, IT services, HR, market research, and sales representation are all necessary, along with writing the text and script for a game, voice acting characters, and translating games into different languages. If you’re wondering if the video game industry has a place for you, it does, because the roles available are a lot broader than you think.

    Credit: solitaired.com

  • Which industries have the biggest gender pay gap?

    Finito World

    The gender pay gap gets intense but intermittent attention. A report is released outlining often extreme inequality, then in a few short weeks it becomes easy to forget that the problem has not yet been solved. That’s why we’re looking at research from the office space provider Instant Offices to see which industries have not yet bridged the gap.

    The most common place to find gender pay gaps is the hospitality industry. Instant offices found that women earn £2,767 less than men annually in the waiter and waitressing sector, even though they have the same qualifications and experience. Female bartenders earn £2,689 less per year than their male counterparts.

    The largest discrepancy in pay was found among physicians and surgeons, where women who are just as qualified earn £23,056 less than men per year. Interestingly, the inequalities of the healthcare industry also extend to the care of animals, as we can see that veterinarians who are women make £8,223 less per year.

    Instant Offices recommends a variety of ways to address this inequality. Incentivising paternity leave allows fathers to more equally split the work which goes into looking after a newborn, while helping mothers to have more time to spend on their careers.

    An increase in government subsidised childcare would also take the pressure off of women who work low-wage jobs. Finally, pay transparency can allow candidates to make an informed decision about accepting an offer, so that they can be confident that they are not earning an unfair wage.

    Credit: https://www.instantoffices.com

  • Pandemic led to increased whistleblowing, report finds

    Patrick Crowder

    Whistleblowing is an important driver of change. When legislation fails, or when companies fail to follow legislation, whistleblowers are often the last line of defence against unsafe, immoral, and unfair working practices.

    The whistleblowing hotline provider Safecall has analysed data from over 2.5 million employees to find out how the pandemic has affected the number of whistleblowers and the methods they use. Greg Ogle, Safecell’s client account manager who authored the report, explains why the research is necessary.

    “The data is designed to inform and help organisations make better decisions when it comes to establishing whistleblowing arrangements. It should help HR and health & safety managers or departments to determine and measure performance of their organisation against their peers.”

    Safecall found that HR was the most commonly reported department, making up 55% of all reports in 2021. While the complaints included instances of bullying and racism, the most common reason for HR-related reports was ‘unfair treatment’.

    Tim Smith, who is Safecall’s operations director, says that he has seen a shift towards whistleblowing as a result of the pandemic.

    “The pandemic seems to have accelerated different patterns of working and behaviour. This, in turn, has made more employers look at culture change and that has prompted greater interest and use of whistleblowing services,” Smith says.

    Culture change certainly had an impact, but there is also the simple reason that there were more health and safety concerns during the pandemic than normal. Beyond the threat of the virus, new ways of working led to different challenges in terms of both health and safety and fair employee treatment.

    The number of health and safety reports is still elevated, but there are still fewer reports than in 2020 when we began to see the pandemic’s affect on the workplace.

    https://www.safecall.co.uk/en/

  • 1.5 million adults miss upskilling opportunity, research shows

    Patrick Crowder

    The online education provider Emiratus sent Freedom of Information Act requests to the Department for Education. The data shows that the government underspent on its upskilling programme by £1.2 billion over the programme’s 8-year run. The scheme, which funds qualifications for people who cannot afford them, has allowed 1.5 million adults to slip through the cracks due to underspending.

    According to Emitatus, the government has only spent 42% of the scheme’s budget on average per year. Anand Chopra-McGowan who is the General Manager for the UK and Europe at Emeritus explains how upskilling has not been prioritised by the government.

    “While the skills revolution has become the mantra of the Government, this data paints a worrying picture. Year in year out, the Government is missing its target to help reskill adults across the country even with funding available,” Chopra-McGowan says, “Without genuine reform, the same decisions that resulted in over £1 billion of skills funding being left unspent will happen all over again.”

    On average, each person taking part in the scheme receives £770. Last year, £97 million in funding was left on the table, which could support 120,000 people through the programme. Now, the DfE is holding a consultation for an initiative called the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, which offers individuals a loan equivalent to four years of higher education over the course of their lifetime. Chopra-McGowan believes that this could mean major improvements to the programme which seeks to solve a crucial problem.

    “Developing skills in adulthood couldn’t be more important. As new technology and industries emerge, the UK workforce must upskill to keep pace, preparing today for tomorrow’s workplace,” Chopra-McGowan says, “As the Department for Education consults on their new Lifelong Learning Entitlement, we now have an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past. From opening up the eligibility requirements so more adults on more courses can apply for funding, to working more closely with businesses so that this scheme
    can help them to upskill their employees, the Government cannot just carry on as before as this approach clearly isn’t working.”

     

    Credit: https://emeritus.org

  • The best places in the UK to work, based on industry

    Patrick Crowder

    A study from the shared homeownership scheme Share to Buy shows the best places to work in the UK, depending on your industry of choice. By examining job listings, university courses, and company data compared against the population, Share to Buy has determined the hotspots for industry professionals looking to make a move.

    Unsurprisingly, London has been named the best place to practice law. With 361 law firms popping up in London over the last year alone, alongside the prestige of firms such as Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, it is easy to see why London is the place to practice law. It is also a great city to study law, with 234 university courses available in the industry.

    Of the industries examined, London only took the top spot for law, while Manchester is shown to be an ideal place for four separate industries. Manchester is the best place for Finance, Advertising, Engineering, and IT, according to Share to Buy, mostly because of its status as home to tech and banking giants as well as the BBC and ITV.

    Edinburgh took the top spot for the Architecture industry, which is not hard to imagine when you look at the beautifully preserved historical buildings in the city. Students can attend the University of Edinburgh for both undergrad and MA courses in architecture, and job opportunities are abundant.
    Glasgow has been named the best city for healthcare, due to the myriad opportunities in pharmaceuticals, health tech, and life sciences. On top of that, Glasgow is soon to receive £90 million in funding for new projects and research.

    Credit: https://www.sharetobuy.com/news/industry-hotspots-best-places-to-live-for-jobs/

  • #Hiring: LinkedIn Expert Amanda Brown on the Rise of Social Recruitment

    Amanda Brown

     

    The term ‘social recruitment’ has gradually seeped into business language as recruitment and HR departments take advantage of social media platforms and online forums for sharing career opportunities. According to research from Cybercrew, the average amount of time spent on social media is 102 minutes a day. Sharing job opportunities on platforms where potential candidates are already active makes good business sense.

     

    Recruiting via social media helps reach a younger audience who expect a strong online presence from companies. In addition, a company may attract passive candidates who are not actively seeking new opportunities and also sharing career-related posts helps to improve the reputation a company has as an employer – their employer brand.

     

    In a hard-pressed labour market, with shortages across many sectors, from professional services through to hospitality, employers are keen to use every avenue possible to attract high quality candidates, and social media adds to the mix.

     

    Organic social recruitment

     

    The term ‘organic’ social media refers to the posting of updates to company pages and personal profiles free of charge. Simply post a description of the vacancy, accompanied by an image or video, and a link to the careers page on the website. LinkedIn and Twitter are the platforms of choice for B2B organisations, whereas Facebook pages and groups are invaluable for local jobs, and for the B2C market, Instagram may be the social media site of choice.

     

    These job-related posts can be amplified using social media advocacy whereby current employees reshare them with their own personal, online networks. According to LinkedIn, the network of a company’s workforce is 10 times that of the LinkedIn company page, and some employees may have several thousand connections.

     

    If the manager of the company’s LinkedIn page uses the ‘Notify employees’ function, employees are notified of the post the HR or recruitment department wants to share. Regular communications between the marketing department and those responsible for recruitment will ensure the jobs posts are timely.

     

    Having a current employee record a short video about their experience of working in a company is a very powerful draw for applicants and a cleverly scripted video can be reused in multiple situations.The video taken on a smartphone or, if budget allows, one that is professionally produced.

     

    #Hiring

     

    For active LinkedIn users involved in the recruitment process, adding the #Hiring outer ring to their profile picture is a simple way to indicate that there are career openings.

     

    Adding hashtags to posts is also advisable as candidates frequently use them as search terms when looking for job opportunities. It is therefore worthwhile spending time researching which ones are most popular in specific industry sectors and for different roles.

     

    Paid social recruitment

    In addition to sharing posts in the usual way, launching an advertising campaign, where adverts are listed in the news feeds of social media users, is another alternative. Using the targeting and filters available on the social media advertising platforms means that adverts are only shown to highly relevant audiences. ‘Stopping the scroll’ by using eye-catching images or video helps the advert to shine out on the screen.

     

    Another ‘paid-for’ route is LinkedIn’s jobs’ listing function which allows candidates to search for and apply directly on the platform.

     

    In conclusion, whether the organic or paid route is chosen, having up-to-date, enticing company profiles on all social media platforms is an essential part of being a successful social recruiter. Regular posting of content which demonstrates the company values their employees will help attract high-quality candidates, reduce the cost of recruitment and speed up the hiring process.

     

  • High street retailers must accommodate older customers to survive, charity says

    Patrick Crowder

    The International Longevity Centre (ILC) is launching a two-year campaign to make the retail sector aware of the needs of older customers. As more business is conducted online, a significant number of high street customers are of an advanced age, though research shows that high street stores could be doing more to support their older customers.

    Not only is making stores comfortable and accessible for elderly people the right thing to do, it can also be profitable. The ILC research shows that older customers made up 54% of all UK consumer spending in 2018, amounting to £319 billion for the retail sector.

    ILC Director David Sinclair explains how high street retailers can help older customers maintain independence while also keeping their businesses afloat.

    “The demography of the high street customer is ageing, and retailers and planners have long failed to adapt or recognise the diversity of older consumers. Older people complain that their needs are ignored. Public toilets have been closed, cafes and shops blare loud music, public spaces and shops rarely have anywhere to sit, and public transport is poor or non-existent. Our towns and cities are failing us all,” Sinclair says, “For our high streets to survive, they must become more inclusive. But our high streets needn’t just survive; they could thrive, playing a role in tackling loneliness and helping the UK economy succeed. Inclusive environments are often a cost-effective way to prevent worsening health among an ageing population.”

    George MacGinnis is Healthy Ageing Challenge Director at UK Research and Innovation. He sees how the high street is changing, beyond the shift towards online retail. He also believes that the retail sector can thrive if the needs of older customers are addressed.

    “This is a great opportunity to influence the future of our local economies. For as long as there have been towns and cities, retail has been at their heart. That is changing, and not just with a move to online,” MacGinnis says, “Changes to patterns of work and travel, climate change, and even how we manage pollution are all impacting on local economies, while the changing aspirations of a growing population of older people suggests there are new ways for retail to thrive. ”

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  • Small businesses value personal skills over qualifications, survey finds

    Patrick Crowder

    Job applicants often worry a lot about their CVs. What qualifications to list, experience in the field, and university degrees are common considerations for job-seekers and companies alike, but if you feel that your CV may be lacking, there is another option. A survey from the London-based Fintech company iwoca shows that formal qualifications and experience are not the top priorities for small business owners when considering new hires.

    49% of small business owners surveyed say their top desirable trait in a candidate is honesty, which was the most popular response. Coming in second is a good personality, at 38%. Experience in a similar position was essential to 37% of respondents.

    Undergraduate degrees are not a priority at all for most small business owners, with only 6% saying that a degree is a necessity. For people who feel they have the skills for the job, but are also lacking on paper qualifications and experience, small businesses offer a way in.

    Not only do small business owners consider a wider range of applicants, they also face the same staff shortages as large companies, which in turn drives recruitment. Vacancies in small businesses have increased by 72% since last year, coming to a total of 575,000 positions which need to be filled.

    Iwoca CEO Seema Desai highlights why a small business might be the way to go if you’re worried about a perceived lack of formal qualifications.

    “Small businesses employ over two thirds of the nation’s workforce. Some of the perceived barriers to applying for a job, such as having a degree, might not be as high as some job seekers think they are,” Desai says, “Our research reveals the importance of strong personal skills when applying for roles, and the importance of hiring to the future growth of any business.”

    https://www.iwoca.co.uk