VIEWPOINT
COFFEE WITH ... Neel Shah-Deekay Neel Shah is the Managing Director of Deekay Group. He has worked with the Big Four accountancy practices and has banking experience. Neel leads a 10-strong team. He plays the Dhol and helps with local London-based charities.
Q
Neel, can you tell us a little bit about Deekay and how it serves its clients. Deekay is a boutique real estate advisor, with an end-to-end service - from advice through to execution. We help clients source UK commercial properties of all shapes and sizes. Examples include warehouses, supermarkets, dark kitchens, shopping centres, high street shops or nursing homes. We don’t just focus on auctions - we source investments from a wide network, built over fi e decades of being in the mar et. ecent sources of attractive property deals for our clients include receivership sales, private treaty sales, and local authority tenders.
Q
How can Deekay help clients and family offices purchase property through yourselves rather than directly? Clients come to us for independent advice. We are not sales agents and hence we are not biased. We don’t ha e a pool of property to sell, we source the property from the open mar et based on the client’s re uirements. We have a view on price based on our market experience, development potential, etc. We are not afraid to say don’t buy this one” - for as many times as is required. We also provide a complete management service to include rent reviews, lease negotiations and dilapidation claims. We actively manage properties ourselves that means we get our hands dirty. And of course we understand a client’s tax profile and legal structures, so that their post-tax returns are maximised.
Q
You’ve been in this industry for over 14 years, what keeps you ticking? The property asset and client needs keep evolving - so I am always learning. I learn
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ASIAN HOUSE & HOME I SPRING 2020
the most from my clients - they are demanding but inspiring. And I learn from my teams we have the sharpest surveyors, asset managers, architects, lawyers and financiers - and they teach me something new every day. In the last 5 days, I have dealt with Compulsory Purchase Orders, Rights of Light claims, stepping into the shoes of a tenant going bust, monitoring a borrower’s de elopment and dealing with a family gift and succession plan. t’s the variety and the challenge of solving clients’ problems that gets me out of bed in the morning. The industry is becoming more regulated - a good thing in my view. Change brings new opportunities. With the large property funds exiting the market comes buying opportunities. We are seeing the low-interest rate environment lasting for longer. It is fascinating to see how a 5 year fixed rate on a ban loan is lower than the current variable rate.
Q
Tell us about your role in the Investment Property Forum what is your position what kind of things do you discuss and what is the forum for. The IPF is a 2000 member organisation of agents, lawyers, actuaries and bankers who are passionate about property. I get involved in the investment appraisal panel and on commercial ground rents.
Q
The commercial market is going through massive change currently can you give us your insight into what these
changes are and where should investors focus now given that you can’t operate this market the way people have been over the last few decades. The commercial property industry is going through a lot of change. Retail investments are going out of fashion, commercial leases are getting shorter. The impact of Creditors Voluntary Arrangement mean that the investment market that relied on the strength of the tenant is now changing. There is now focus on the environmental impact of property and how energy efficient the buildings are. For the right location, a property will always have a use, even as time goes by. Take an example of a shop in a Zone 1 London underground station. It was once a card shop, then it became a mobile phone shop. It is now an Amazon locker.
Q
I understand Deekay offers bridging finance. London is awash with bridging companies, can you tell us what your USP is, with regards to providing bridging finance? In other words why do clients come to you. imberley apital pro ides bridging finance. Our USP is that we are not brokers but are principal lenders. We make the credit decisions in house and don’t ha e a tic box process. We understand the property and base our lending on the property fundamentals first and the borrower second. Clients come to us for the speed of the decision and transaction execution, and the transparent pricing model we offer. We lend against any property project not just commercial property.
Q
Finally tell us about the football team that you support in north London and how they been doing in the League It is safe to say that my team is squarely mid-table. I guess I have therefore given my team away!!
