Delancey senior figure talks to podcast; RE:UK chief hosts first annual conference; Apache manager hire

"What I love about real estate is the role we play in society," says Lesley Davison, managing director of capital markets at Delancey. "We have a long-lasting impact on people and communities."

Speaking on the latest episode of CoStar News' Top CREdentials podcast, Davison reflects on her 25-year real estate career, during which she worked on securing the financing for the redevelopment of London's Olympic Village, now known as East Village.

Davison, who returned to Delancey earlier this year after six years, also discusses the company's credit investment strategy, AlbionArc Capital, and how AI could be used to bust the "planning logjam".

She also speaks about her time at Telford Homes and how the Liz Truss mini-Budget and Building Safety Act affected the sector, as well as her experience of playing in real estate rock bands in Leeds at UKREiiF.

Real Estate UK chief executive Vanessa Hale hosted the lobby group's first annual conference this month since the merger of the Association of Real Estate Funds, British Property Federation and Investment Property Forum. In her keynote speech, Hale said the group would work to facilitate the regeneration of UK towns and cities by helping to bring together the required "capital, capacity and expertise". Hale, whose departure from BNP Paribas Real Estate was confirmed in April, said the group would also look to support the rollout of the Local Government Pension Scheme, and discussed the potential implications of an Andy Burnham government on the industry.

Apache Capital has hired Emily Brooke as asset manager for its build-to-rent portfolio. She was an associate director and senior portfolio manager at Savills. Before that, she spent two years as general manager at Legal & General’s New Acres Wandsworth, a London BTR scheme. She also held general manager roles at Box Makers Yard and Spring Wharf, as well as various roles at Soho House. John Dunkerley, founder and chief executive of Apache Capital, said: “Emily’s appointment reflects the scale of our ambition to continue growing our assets under management across both our multi and single-family strategies."

DTZ Investors CEO Chris Cooper will step down later this year after a 34-year career with the investment manager. He will be succeeded as CEO by Simon Down, currently head of pooled funds for the business. Chris Sim will also be taking on a new role as chief investment officer. Cooper joined the firm in 1992, taking on responsibility for the UK business in 2007 and has held the global role since 2013. Down will succeed Cooper in September with Sim starting his role at the same time. Down, a lawyer by background, has been with the wider Cushman & Wakefield group in a range of roles since 2015 and part of the DTZ Investors leadership team since 2018.

Blackstone and Regis Group's single-family rental housing business Leaf Living has appointed David Mullin as chief financial officer. Mullin has 20 years’ experience in residential and corporate finance and joins from Sage, where he was most recently managing director of commercial operations. He previously led the finance function at Sage as financial director and interim CFO. Prior to this, Mullin spent eight years in senior financial roles at Berkeley Homes, having begun his career with global healthcare company GSK. He said: "Leaf Living has built a strong reputation in a growing sector underpinned by a differentiated operating model and a proven platform of high-quality homes."

Cluttons has promoted Gráinne Gilmore to head of residential sector in a newly created role that involves her leading the direction of its residential business. The agency said she will continue her existing responsibility for research and insights across the company, having joined as director four years ago. Gilmore will work alongside the residential sector's specialist service leads. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and commenting on the property market and worked as a financial and economics journalist at The Times for 11 years. After that she became head of UK residential research at Knight Frank between 2011 and 2019, according to her LinkedIn profile.

The Urban Land Institute has appointed Alessandra Canavesi and Christoph Mayr as co-chairs of its NEXT Group in Europe for a two-year term. The programme supports real estate professionals aged from 35 to 45 looking to progress up the career ladder. Mayr is head of sustainability Europe at Pimco Prime Real Estate and is serving the first year, which finishes on 30 June 2027. Canavesi is head of marketing and customer experience for alternatives at BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts and will serve the second year. They both succeed Daniel Benighaus, shareholder at global law firm Greenberg Traurig. Both co-chairs have been ULI members since 2018.