"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, including working on the financing and redevelopment of London's Olympic Village, now know as East Village.
In the episode, she describes how her team overcame funding challenges to deliver the Stratford neighbourhood. "I always look at that time as being kind of the birth of the build-to-rent sector [in the UK]," she says.
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, Trammell Crow Company's UK and European housebuilder, and what it was like working in the sector following that Liz Truss mini-Budget and Building Safety Act reforms.
Davison also touches on her newfound happiness after playing in bands with real estate colleagues, including a couple of gigs in Leeds at UKREiiF this year.
You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify using the links here:
