OPP MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013 by OPP Magazine

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CONTENTS This month

Contents Features 25-26 Fractionals in the Caribbean: David Disick examines the luxury products on offer 32-34 Experts Advise: How to spread good news through public relations 42-44 Singapore: Why has the country attracted so many western businesses?

Regulars 14-18 The Big Issue: The UK Housing Crisis. What’s gone wrong and can it be fixed? 20-21 Development news: keeping track of the big projects around the world 66-67 The OPP Interview: We speak to property portal expert Simon Baker

Data 28-30 Why Belgians have been the stars of the summer’s Mediterranean property market 37 Mortgage Guide: France 46-50 The Rightmove Survey: an in-depth look at people buying for retirement 52-56 Country Guide: Turkey. A nation to watch, with growing markets and infrastructure 69 FX Report: The Malaysian ringgit

Business 13 The likeability factor: Paul Owen explains why a good pitch hangs on your personality

Letters 61 Tidings from the ancient sands of Egypt 75 Luxury lifestyle in Italy’s Le Marche

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22-23 Tech to the test: we put voice-to-text software through its paces

The OPP Team

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Old but definitely wiser Wealthy, organised, tech savvy, older people. Smug? Yes, they are a bit, but can you really blame them? Editor, OPP Magazine Christopher Nye

Pensioners who bought in the 1970s consider the plight of kids today

for action to discourage foreign buyers. And that could have big implications for us OPPs. The other side of the coin is the call for millions of new homes to be built, with newly relaxed planning rules. That sounds more like an opportunity. Turn to page 14. Our cover image is of a cottage in Warwickshire. It’s not just any

London politicians with an eye on their majorities are calling for action to discourage foreigners cottage, but Anne Hathaway’s – William Shakespeare’s wife. The local council is trying to build 800 homes a couple of fields away and an army of ‘nimby’s’ is on the war path – saying “not in my back yard”. These campaigning groups are vocal, organised, politically astute and have plenty of time on their hands. Yes, they are retired people – that happy cohort who

bought their first home in the 70s and still had change out of a £10 note. Our next instalment of the Rightmove report (page 46), looks at what the retired are looking for in a place abroad. When you consider that UK retirees make up 1% of the world’s senior citizens yet have 8% of global retirement assets, you might wish to make their acquaintance. One thing we know about today’s wrinklies (I can say that because I’m about to become one) is that they’re not afraid of using new technology. The biggest change to the real estate business in recent years has been the arrival since the late 90s of property portals – these websites like Rightmove in Britain, Seloger in France, Trulia in the US or Kyero in Spain that amalgamate all of a region’s properties. In the OPP interview (page 68) we speak to Simon Baker, the Australian who led Realestate.com.au to success and now advises new portals. We have also come bang up to date with a version of this magazine you can read on an iPad or phone. If that’s you, hello! How do we look?

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’m facing a serious birthday next month: the big 50. In the meantime I’m clinging to the joy of still being in my 40s for all it’s worth, while reflecting that until recently I felt like I was only just out of my 30s and already I’m staring down the barrel of a pension. But at least I own my own home. What a relief that is! One that the generation coming behind me in the UK cannot take for granted. Prices are so high that the average age of buying your first home is now 40 for those without help from their parents. In London, one survey claims, it is 52. That has big implications for a country with a culture – some might say obsession – with home ownership. How do you make people care about their neighbourhood when they can’t afford their own little corner of it? Do we want young families drowning in debt? It was perhaps inevitable that foreign investment buyers would begin to be blamed. Just a year after welcoming the world to the Olympics, some London politicians are calling

GLOBAL NEWS

Top ten news stories What have the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property professionals been talking about this month? GLOBAL

For news as it happens visit the OPP website:

What are the hot tourist destinations?

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Go anywhere nice for your summer holidays? If you want to know where folks are vacationing, you should probably ask a hairdresser. The next best thing is the United Nations World Tourism Barometer, which compiled data from 70 countries on overnight stays by tourists over the summer period. Generally, tourism in June, July and August 2013 continued the upward trend from winter and spring of

a 5% year-on-year increase. June was 5.9% up on 2012, July just 2.8% up, and August up 5.2%. The biggest winner was South-East Asia, with tourism rising by 10-15% for most of the year. Thailand has seen tourism receipts up 27%, Hong Kong 25%, Japan 19% and Malaysia 12%. In Europe, June saw 100 million tourist arrivals for the first time. Some areas saw a relatively poor performance in July which can be mainly explained by Ramadan

Graphic from D2E (info@d2e.co.uk)

www.opp-connect.com falling almost entirely in July (in 2012 it was split between July and August) which curtailed a lot of Muslim tourism. MiddleEastern tourism fell by 20% in July, but worryingly, also fell 13% in August when it might have bounced back. The other notable failure was in the Caribbean, with a distinctly feeble 0.1% growth in July and 2.2% in August, despite there being no hurricanes in this storm season.

DECEMBER 2013

MALAYSIA

DUBAI

‘Don’t blame foreigners for price rises’

Student property yields ‘to outstrip other sectors’

Agent takes newspaper ads to shame defaulters

Rising property prices are not caused by developers or foreign buyers, says Malaysia’s leading industry body, Rehda. Increases are a response to supply and demand and the fact that too few homes are being built. National treasurer Datuk N K Tong blamed delays in planning approvals for rising development costs which were passed down to house buyers.

UK student yields will remain stable for the next year and will continue to outperform returns from other property sectors, according to the Knight Frank 2014 Student Property Insight. It predicts London yields of 5.75% with rental growth at 3%, and elsewhere in the UK at 2.75% in the 2014/15 year. 2013 returns averaged 7.8%.

Vakson Real Estate is taking the unprecedented step of publishing names in the local paper of customers who have defaulted on payments. The notice asks clients to pay within 30 days. It reads, “We, Vakson Real Estate – have sent you (customer name and details) a delayed payment notification…. This is a final reminder and warning notice”.

MONACO

NEW ZEALAND

Transactions back to 2008’s peak levels

Homes prices power to record highs

World’s richest man bets on Spanish property

According to government data, total transactions in 2012 came to around €1.1billion – up to the levels of the market’s peak in 2008. One agent put this down to being outside the EU, while the new Candy GPS report put Monaco at number five in their Prime Enclave Index (ranked by global reach, real estate values, exclusivity and luxury tourism).

A rise of 8.7% in the past year has sent New Zealand homes to unprecedented price levels, with an average of NZ$466,500 (€284k, GB£240k). Shortage of listings appears to be principally to blame, fuelling a sellers’ market as 16 of the 19 regions showed less than average levels of stock, according to the latest report from realestate.co.nz.

Bill Gates has risked €113million of his fortune buying Spanish construction firm FCC, based in Barcelona. Shares in the company rose by 13% on the news, seen as a vote of confidence in the country’s fledgeling economic and housing recovery. Don’t worry, if it all goes wrong the Microsoft founder still has another €53 billion in the bank.

LATVIA

CANADA

SPAIN

EUROPE

Market heads for hard (or soft) landing

Century 21 expands in South-East Europe

Last month we said that Latvia’s residence-for-propertyinvestment scheme has been attracting buyers from China. Now a report from EnterInvest says it is also a top choice for investors from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. With just €72,000 ouside Riga and €150,000 in the capital, it offers some of the cheapest Schengen-area access.

Property experts agree that market prospects aren’t good, but while Eric Lascelles of RBC Global Asset Management said there could be a sharp correction, Robert Kavcic of the Bank of Montreal said worries about a hard landing have largely been forgotten. Credit Suisse and Gregory Klump at CREA blamed the cooling on tighter mortgage rules.

Century 21 has opened in Austria, Croatia, Kosovo, and Slovenia – its 74th country. President and CEO Rick Davidson says, “These master franchise agreements enable the Century 21 brand to enter new international markets… They underscore our ongoing commitment to expand our brand presence into markets all over the world.”

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NEWS Analysis Words | Adrian Bishop

Worldwide bubble trouble Suddenly, all the talk is of property price bubbles

Many analysts are warning of out-of-control prices around the world

in prime areas of Miami are seeing investors paying 15% over asking prices. “We are seeing a lot of numbers reminiscent of 2005/06. I am concerned about the long term price stability and the ability to maintain the price momentum over the last year that has largely been driven by very low interest rates. We had a bubble last time driven by very easy credit. We have a bubble potentially this time driven by cheap

Goldman Sachs warns of a bubble forming and a major drop in prices over the next five years credit over a long period of time.” Liam Bailey of Knight Frank agrees that cheap borrowing may be creating problems: “When interest rates are so low, there’s always a risk of too much money being allocated to assets you can borrow against.” In Asia, many governments, including those in China, Singapore and Hong Kong are putting in place measures to cool their property

Adrian.bishop@opp-connect.com

markets – but, so far, the solutions seem to have had little effect. Global financial expert Goldman Sachs argues the faster prices rise, the higher the possibility of a bubble forming and a major drop in prices over the next five years. In greatest danger are Israel, Switzerland and Germany – where the Deutsche Bundesbank warns that some city apartments may be priced up to 20% higher than market fundamentals suggest. Some of the price booms have been swelled by rising overseas investment, especially from Asian buyers in such many major cities as San Francisco and Vancouver. In Sydney, one developer claimed that if the Chinese stopped buying the value of local markets would fall by a quarter. In Dubai, values in some prime developments have surged by between 50-75% this year alone. But some commentators believe that although prices in some countries are rising strongly, they are still some way off the 2007/2008 peak. Some argue that price rises are an inevitable result of limited supply versus high demand. Others say that we have learned our lessons from the previous crash. Either way, it looks like 2014 is going to be a lively year for the overseas property sector.

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et me take you back to December 2012, when OPP asked property commentators how the market would perform in 2013. Two of the predictions proved to be spot-on. UK-based agent Property Frontiers said that far from being unlucky, “13 could be all about new investment opportunities.” Half of wealthy investors surveyed in the UAE expected property to perform strongly over the next five years. However, few foresaw that prices would rise so quickly that there would be fears of market bubbles not in just one or two countries, but a whole host of them. Just this week, American broadcaster CNBC reported that Israel, Canada, Norway, Belgium, Australia, Dubai, Hong Kong, London and Singapore are all causing concern, pointing to price rises close to 40% in Israel and 30% in Norway since 2009. Investor Dani Babb, of The Babb Group, which handles client real estate investment of US$5billion, threw America into the list, with prices in Las Vegas up 29.2% a year, 25.4% in San Francisco and 21.7% in Los Angeles, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/ Case-Shiller index, while price wars

ADRIAN BISHOP: OPP Connect Editor

BUSINESS Briefing

Business briefing Ideas and inspiration to help you run your business Inspiration We read the business books so you don’t have to Title: Fish Can’t See Water Subtitle: How National Culture can Make or Break Your Corporate Strategy By: Kai Hammerich and Richard D Lewis Blurb: “A welcome response to the flat-Earth fad that argues we’re all alike, this book offers a nuanced and practical view of cultural differentiators and how they can enable or derail business performance.” What’s it about? Extremely successful global corporations tend to think that they know best, but often fail to recognise that people are different from country to country. So Tesco invested big in America and it all went wrong. Walmart tried to open in Germany and also failed – Germans didn’t want to be ‘greeted’. This book explains how that kind of thing can happen. Why will I like it? Combined with the schadenfreude of seeing companies fail, the book offers a matrix to help you avoid cultural mismatches. from? John Wiley & Sons, £19.99

Brilliant branding

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By OPP Marketing, powered by D2E

Ryanair has changed its tune. After years of treating customers as a profitable nuisance, Michael O’Leary is on a charm offensive, even taking to Twitter (#GrillMOL). Sceptics may have noticed that this coincides with Ryanair’s first profit warning in a decade. But still, whatever the motivation, anyone who has travelled with Ryanair will agree that this change in policy is long overdue. For the airline’s marketing team, the work is just beginning. The Ryanair brand is synonymous with poor customer service and a Twitter chat won’t paper over the cracks. They need to review every point of contact between their brand and their customers to make sure this momentous shift in culture is reflected in every interaction. With several thousand staff members, that is a sizeable task. These points of contact, known as ‘brand touchpoints’ in marketing speak, play a key role in building a brand. Every time a customer comes into contact with your company, whether in person or online, you have an opportunity to make an impression. As long as the customer walks away happy, you have succeeded in strengthening their relationship with your brand and increasing chances of repeat purchases. To build your brand, contact info@d2e.co.uk.

Stat of the month In 2009 Kris Koch bought 26 kroner (€31)-worth of bitcoins then forgot all about them. When he remembered them they were worth €608,600. So he bought a flat in Oslo.

Movers Maria Raffaella Bertoli has been appointed Head of Agency at DTZ in Milan. Louise Parkin, Editor of Living Spain magazine, has left to have a baby. Her replacement is Keith Goss. Paul Louie will head Barclays property equity research, Asia ex-Japan region. He joins from Nomura, as does Alvin Wong, now leading research into Chinese property companies. Matthias Gerloff joins Pamera Real Estate Group in Germany on from Union Investment.

DECEMBER 2013

Cross-border etiquette Success is 85% “people” skills and 15% technical ability, says The Etiquette School of New York, quoting studies by Harvard, Stanford and the Carnegie Institute. The school runs classes in Business Etiquette and International Protocol. Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, founder, has taught many real estate professionals on How To Succeed In The International Arena. She says: “My top tip when working across borders is to be aware of cultural greeting differences. We greet clients more casually in the United States. Everything from handshakes to eye contact can be different in other countries. Don’t call someone by their first name unless they ask you to. First impressions are everything. From how you walk through the door to your general appearance can affect whether you secure a business deal or client.” etiquette-ny.com

APPs 4 OPPs: Haiku Deck It may have a cool, hipster name, but Haiku Deck for iPad and iPad mini is basically another version of Power Point. It lets you upload images from most social media, Dropbox and photo galleries and then add text to them in various positions. You can create slides and graphs and distribute your presentation via HaikuDeck.com.

A Minute With… Richard C Wilson.

Richard C Wilson’s next Capital Raising Workshop is in New York. Register at: CapitalRaising.com/Workshops, 001 212 729 5067

Getting more out of… YouTube

Astonishing, really, that one website can so totally dominate the market for online video. But it does, with 80% of the (non-porn) video market. Most people use only the most basic functions, which can be frustrating when using YouTube for such diverse uses as online education, property video listings and promoting your area. Here are a few less obvious tools. Change your language You can change the language to search for content, even while watching a video. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and change the language option. Link to specific part of a video To direct viewers to a certain point in a video, avoiding boring intros, right click at the point required and select ‘Copy video URL at current time’. Embed a video To put a video on your own website, press ‘share’, then ‘embed’ and you’ll get the html code required. Customise your search For short videos, type ‘short’ and you’ll only see sub-fourminute options. Type ‘long’ and they’ll be over 20 minutes. Same goes for 3D and HD. Type ‘today’ or ‘this week’ for recent uploads. Pause with the space bar Instead of mucking about with the mouse and pause button, your space bar will pause the video. You can also FF and rewind with the arrow keys on your keyboard, while up and down arrows control volume.

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The Founder and CEO of the Family Offices Group In Portland, Oregon, USA explains how to raise more capital than your competitors: Develop a daily routine. Make a point of establishing a daily process for reaching investors every day. Identify the top three most valuable activities and schedule those first every day. Work hard. In the capital raising space, you face intense competition and your success is largely determined by how hard you are willing to work. Travel. The best way to ensure you raise more capital than the competition is to meet with potential investors face-to-face more often than does your competition. You should be getting out and sitting face-to-face with as many qualified potential investors as possible. That means a grueling travel schedule. Follow up. I schedule 90 minutes daily for following up with past investors I have met. Be excited! You have to be motivated by your goals and the client you are representing. When I commit to raising capital it’s because I’m really excited about the client or project and that makes it much easier to stay focused and carry out my process every day.

Media

BUSINESS Training

The X-Factor: Likeability Are you likeable? And does it matter anyway?

He likes her. She likes him. They’re ready to do business

contentious so feel free to disagree but I assure you the body of evidence is substantial. Physical attraction – the most contentious! We are more likely to like people that we find physically attractive. We can’t all look like Brad Pitt, of course, but let’s make an effort at the show to look smart, professional and welcoming. Look your best! Similarity – we like people like ourselves. Whether that’s how they

We all have different versions of ourselves. How we talk to colleagues is different to friends look, how they sound or what they offer, we’re comfortable with those that, in a small way, remind us of ourselves. Familiarity – if we already know people, or if we feel we do, we are more comfortable and that makes us pre-disposed to liking them. If you have key targets you want to meet at OPPLive, why not contact them in advance to get to know them a little before you meet.

Alternatively, meet them as early as you can at the show – familiarity can build quickly. Compliments – we like people that pay us compliments. A US study not only proved this point beyond all reasonable doubt but also threw up an unexpected result: there is little correlation between the impact of the compliments and the truth of them. We like being complimented even when we know it’s not true! Yes, complimenting is often over-done – but this shouldn’t blind you to their effect when they’re used wisely. Co-operation – when we have worked together with people on a project in which we both have an interest and both need help from the other, we are more likely to feel warmly towards them. Food for thought as you head off to the exhibition. We remember people we like and we’re more inclined to do business with them. We won’t base business deals purely on likeability but I know I’m not the only person that has walked away from ventures in the past because I didn’t like the person I was dealing with! I look forward to seeing many of you at the show – and feel free to compliment me in any way you see fit!

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e liked you and we could see ourselves working with you. That was the usual answer given to advertising executive Jon Steel when he asked clients like Coca Cola and Disney why they’d chosen his company over others. It was rarely “your creative ideas were the best” or “your track record gave us confidence”. So, multi-million dollar advertising deals were clinched by likeability, not creativity. Of course, business visitors won’t agree terrible deals on ordinary products just because they like you, but in a competitive world, the ones that grab the most attention and linger longest in the memory will probably be delivered by people they like. How do you foster likeability? People either like you or they don’t, right? Nonsense. We all have different versions of ourselves. The way we talk to our colleagues is different from our friends, which is different again from conversations with our parents and, of course, from our children. All of those versions are true reflections of you – they’re just different. You flit between them unconsciously and I assure you that we all do it. Social scientists have broken likeability into five parts. Some are

PAUL OWEN: The Clear Path Company Tel: +44 (0)20 3004 9113

BIG ISSUE UK housing Words | Christopher Nye

A Great British bonanza

Politicians have woken up to a national disgrace - a generation of British families priced out of British property. As campaigns to build more homes gather pace, we ask, can OPPs help?

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avid Cameron is said to be obsessed by the crisis in British housing and has made it a major priority. His Planning Minister, Nick Boles, has upset the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) by suggesting that not every green field is sacred and that some rural communities appear to be “embalmed”. His Secretary of State for Local Government, Eric Pickles, has caused outrage in Shakespeare country by refusing to block a development of 800 new houses, a school and health centre, a mere 250 metres from Shakespeare’s mother-in-law’s house (see cover). This has not gone down well with

traditionally Tory newspapers, or his Conservative heartland in the “home counties” – those green, well-to-do counties that surround

110,000 new homes were built in Britain last year; while 220,000 new households were being created London and where, ironically, it’s so very difficult to afford a home. The reason for Cameron’s obsession? Numbers of houses

being built collapsed to fewer than 80,000 in 2008 and only recovered to around 110,000 this year. This set against the number of households increasing by around 220,000 per year. Even in 2006/7 – the “good” years – it was only 180,000. The prolonged shortfall in supply has led to huge increases in prices. In his book A Broom Cupboard of One’s Own, the journalist Ross Clark showed how a suburban house built in the building boom of the 1930s (when nearly 300,000 were built annually) would, if it had risen in line with general inflation and earnings, cost between £18,000 and £30,000 today. In fact it costs well over £300,000, and that’s after

DECEMBER 2013

the crash. House prices are around five times earnings. They rose from an average of £52,000 in 1992 to £165,000 in 2012 according to the Nationwide Building Society, while the deposit required grew from £1,841 to £27,408 in that period. The average age of a first time buyer who doesn’t have parental help is now nearly 40.

PRICED OUT

UK house price to earnings ratio 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5

LONG RUN AVERAGE

4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1983

1986 1989 1992

Source: Nationwide,ONS

1995 1998

2001 2004

2007 2010

2013

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The inability of a normal, hardworking family to afford their own home is seen as a national scandal in a country brought up to believe in home ownership as a middleclass right. Cameron isn’t alone in being obsessed. This summer and autumn have brought a rush of newspaper special reports and TV documentaries. Labour party politicians have been apologising for allowing the house price boom to happen on their watch. Thinktanks from both right and left have highlighted the problems of generation-rent, the “rentysomethings” being priced out of property ownership. Campaign groups like Priced Out and Yes

To Homes have become regular commentators at budget time. How can it be so hard to match supply with demand, when people want to buy, builders want to build, lenders want to lend? One

reason is Britain’s army of “nimbys”, who appreciate the need for new housing, just “not in my back yard”. Britain’s countryside is indeed one of its glories, protected by farsighted 20th century politicians who saw the danger of urban sprawl and so placed ‘greenbelts’ around the towns and cities to prevent it. Now, campaigners against development in the British countryside have loud voices and deep pockets and seem to oppose not just greenbelt development, but any new housing. They include the National Trust (President: Prince Charles) and the CPRE (President: former poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion). Cameron’s own MPs don’t seem fully on board either. Here are the headlines from one MPs website, without any aparent irony from his “Housing” section: “MPs urge Housing Minister to reject Ford eco-town”, “MPs pour cold water on eco-town plans”, “MP formally objects to Adversane North Heath new town”. The plots of land that do get past the nimbys to get the planning permission come at a premium price. Land with outline planning permission in the south-east of England outside London cost £739k in 1994, £4million at the height of the boom in 2008 and down to

BIG ISSUE UK housing £2.3million per hectare in 2010. That’s double the price of the north of England but a third of London.

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LANDBANKERS

Some people, notably the leader of the opposition Ed Milliband, blame developers for land banking – that is, holding onto land until the value rises again. Milliband pointed out that planning permission has already been granted for 400,000 homes and that in London alone, 45% of land with planning permission is not presently being built on. “Across our country there are firms sitting on land waiting for it to accumulate in value and not building on it,” he said. “Landowners with planning permission will simply not build. If there is unnecessary hoarding developers should be encouraged to do what they are in business to do – build homes.” Once property is built, a large percentage gets snapped up by buy-to-let landlords waving deposits around that first-time buyers cannot hope to match. According to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) another 29,000 people became buyto-let landlords last year, tempted by average rental yields of 5.3%. In London, it is foreign investors who have been taking the heat in recent months. The popular central London Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes has been campaigning against them: “I strongly believe that we cannot stand by and let the London housing market be dramatically and perhaps irreversibly distorted by vast sums of money from foreign investors – many of whom have never even heard of the Old Kent Road, let alone walked down it. “Policymakers must wake up from their non-interventionist slumber, act now and intervene in the housing market and tax and regulatory system, to make sure that decent and affordable homes are available to all. Otherwise, housing in London will become a mere commodity for the global super-rich.” The mood does indeed seem to

have changed. A new Ipsos Mori poll found that 57% of the British public disagreed when asked if rising house price rises were a good thing. Only a fifth believed that rising house prices were positive for society. A leading cultural commentator, Caitlin Moran, wrote in The Times of how Britain’s young creatives were staying away from the capital and asked: “What will happen in the end, if London remains closed to the young and new and restless and weird, and becomes merely a place where the global elite invest in houses, in the way that – before 2008 – they more usefully invested in stocks and shares?”

OVERSEAS INVESTORS Did Simon Hughes MP ever complain when London cabbies were abandoning the Old Kent Road and making a fast buck on the Costa del Sol, one wonders? But he is right about the scale of their entry to the market. According to BNP Paribus Real Estate, in Q3 2013, 54% of central London investment (worth £2.7billion), was by overseas buyers: “The central London market continues to be dominated by overseas demand, which shows no immediate signs

In London alone, 45% of land with planning permission is not presently being built on of slowing up. Areas of interest to foreign buyers have expanded beyond the traditional prime west London boroughs, as investors increasingly take in areas of rapid change. Markets of interest now include the City fringe, Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Battersea and Elephant and Castle.” That includes the massive and ambitious Battersea Power Station development, which was clamed to be the fastest selling real estate ever when it launched last year. What is puzzling in this report

is the optimism that prices must continue to rise. “Average London prices now represent a multiple of 12 on average London earnings; such multiples are unprecedented,” it concludes without apparently entertaining the possibility that that might be unsustainable. Instead, the report suggests that this will boost demand for buy-to-let investment. In June, the then Housing Minister Mark Prisk said during a parliamentary debate brought by Simon Hughes: “A recent report by the Greater London authority looked at barriers to housing delivery. It estimated that in prime London markets – the very highest – up to 75% of buyers are from overseas, and across London as a whole approximately a third of buyers are foreign.” But adds that without foreign investment “London would be worse off and we would have fewer affordable homes and fewer private homes.”

HELP TO BUY? The Government’s flagship policy is the £12billion-funded Help to Buy 2. Initially aimed at first time buyers, phase two is extended to any other owner-occupiers buying new-build homes up to the value of £600,000. The scheme offers an equity loan of up to 20% of the price if the buyers can offer a 5% deposit and get a mortgage for the remaining 75%. After the sixth year the buyer will start paying off the government loan. It is this policy that David Cameron claims will help buyers: “Too many hardworking people are finding it impossible to buy their own home – people who can afford the monthly mortgage payments but haven’t got rich parents and can’t pay the deposit up front.” Property consultants Chesterton Humberts believe this could be a powerful influence in several ways: “Help to Buy could drive average monthly rents in the capital down by as much as 5% as long-term tenants moving out of rented accommodation in favour of buying their own home cause a glut of properties onto the market. The scheme will prove attractive enough to tenants to achieve the

DECEMBER 2013

An Englishman’s homes. (bottom left) London Mayor Boris Johnson topping out with Berkeley Group’s Tony Pidgley

owners, who used to get automatic discounts on their second properties of as much as 50%. Now councils are focused on reducing council tax for low income households and one of the ways it is paying for that is by raising council tax on second homes by as much as 200%. To cash in on foreign buyers, the

The Chancellor has floated the idea of Capital Gains Tax for foreigners in the UK selling property Chancellor floated the idea this month of imposing Capital Gains Tax on non-resident foreigners in the UK who sell property. Naomi Heaton, Chief Executive of London Central Portfolio (LCP) is strongly opposed to the whole tenor of the argument, telling OPP: “It represents an easy hit which will have popular appeal amongst

the electorate who seem to have been revved up by our politicians to be both anti-wealth and antiforeigner.” She goes on: “The key issue is whether the benefits offered by foreign investors outweigh the money forfeited by the exchequer in potential CGT. It has been calculated that investors into Central London’s private rented sector alone bring in £1.2bn per annum into the wider economy... It appears the Government cannot agree on the value which they set on foreign investment. “On the one hand they push to make London the international capital of the world, but on the other they consider strategies which will turn foreign investors away and make it a less attractive place to do business in.”

NORTHERN JOY Up in Manchester, however, Graham Davidson, Managing Director at Sequre Property Investment, says that: “We think this would be a positive step for the Chancellor to take because there is clearly a property bubble forming in London. However, this measure in

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Government’s aim of encouraging them onto the housing ladder and out of rented accommodation. However, this will create more competition between landlords eager to secure good quality tenants and is likely to push average monthly rents down. The opposite is expected for the sales market, as the scheme will bring more buyers into the market and increase the competition for properties, thereby pushing property values up.” The campaign group Priced Out seemed ambivalent about the policy, while Albert Edwards of Societe Generale called Help to Buy “a moronic policy” that will “inflate house prices even further”. Simon Hughes, meanwhile, called for three deterrents to foreign investors. Firstly, higher stamp duty or council tax on properties bought or owned by non-EU citizens or companies. Second, priority bidding for rent, shared ownership or purchase for local people. Third, tax incentives for individuals or firms investing in affordable housing. The first of these is already underway for second home

BIG ISSUE UK housing itself is not sufficient in our opinion because it only dampens investors who intend to sell the property quickly for a profit. “Evidence suggests that the overseas money pouring in is for the long term and as such the CGT would not affect these purchases for quite some time. Instead we feel that an increased level of Stamp Duty for overseas purchasers may be a more immediate solution, but obviously it would need to be carefully introduced to avoid a sudden shock to the market.” Stuart Law, Chief Executive of Assetz, adds that: “Increasing taxes on overseas buyers on second hand or completed homes doesn’t help the UK supply much – BUT, if they could stay at current Stamp Duty levels for off-plan purchases where they paid a deposit of minimum 50% of the purchase price on exchange, then that would massively increase funding for housebuilding in the UK and increase supply.” Naomi Heaton at LCP offers what she thinks is a more practical solution, too: “The average transaction price of a property in England and Wales is under £250,000, whilst new

units in Battersea and Vauxhall are averaging £600,000 and in Canary Wharf around £400,000. If these units are not sold to foreign investors, they may not sell at all. “Not only are these properties largely unaffordable but most domestic buyers have neither the equity nor the desire to wait three years whilst a new development is constructed. A practical solution to building large volumes of affordable

A practical solution to building large volumes of affordable housing is urgently required housing is urgently required. “Perhaps unlocking the 1,700 acres inherited last year by the Greater London Authority, the largest owner of public land in London, would be a good start. Or the Government could seriously consider opening up the market by raising the 3% Stamp Duty threshold to above £250,000.

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London properties, and prices, go sky high

“This slab tax suppresses transactions at this level, curtailing the ability of people to sell and trade up and reducing access to first time buyers. Perhaps it is about time that we look at our own backyard rather than seeking to pile blame on others, however convenient this may be.”

RED TAPE CHALLENGE To get the house-building industry going, Nick Boles’ planning department has launched the “Red Tape Challenge”. Measures include consolidating rules on permitted development (that is, work that does not requite planning consent, such as conservatories) and scrapping some planning laws. The National Planning Policy Framework is reducing a thousand pages of planning policy into 47 pages. However, when OPP asked their planning spokesman what the department could be doing to help get planning past the vocal armies of nimbys and Conservative MPs, their rather testy response was that that was a question of local democracy and they couldn’t do much about it. To tackle land prices, Stuart Law at Assetz says that: “Key to this is providing land at low cost to developers in return for quick delivery of homes. Government and local government can do this if they try and there are already some moves in this direction, but it’s not enough yet.” On the question of land, Ross Clark says: “We could reduce the cost of building as post-war governments did with the new towns, compulsorily purchasing building land at its current landuse value, granting it planning permission then selling it on to house-builders at much lower prices than they currently have to pay for their land, and taking just enough profit to pay for local infrastructure.” But he adds: “Prices may never be as cheap as they were 80 years ago, but there is no reason why young people today should not be able to take that great step that their grandparents did, going from being tenants to being homeowners.”

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NEWS Development news

Keeping track of major developments Turkish resort passes Ramada test

Launches, milestones, openings... please send news and images of your development to chris.nye@opp-connect.com

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Croydon gets cool

Akbuk Resort Group’s (ARG) Ramada Resort (previously known as Harmony Bay) in Turkey is on schedule to welcome holidaymakers for the 2014 season. Wyndham Hotel Group, the largest hotel company in the world and owners of the Ramada mark has recently approved the two sample rooms presented at the Ramada Resort Akbuk. ARG was required to create two sample rooms prior to the mass purchase of furniture and related supplies for all 369 rooms at the resort. The criteria were to produce fully furnished turnkey rooms to the Ramada brand standard, as if expecting holiday-makers, with minibars stocked, branded shampoos and soaps in the sample

bathrooms and a welcome message on the TVs. Wyndham Hotel Group approved with flying colours, says Lee Harley of Akbuk Resort Groups: “Being a recognised international hotel identity produces a set of exacting brand criteria, ranging from the construction resources used to the model of TV provided in each room to the type of cutlery we utilise in our restaurants. These Ramada standards are uniform across Europe to make certain an unvarying guest experience is delivered. We are delighted with all our achievements so far in relation to our Ramada resort, all of which we take to our new ‘on sale’ resort project Unity Bay, which will also carry the Ramada brand identity.” www.akbukresortgroup.com

The Times identifies Croydon as a new high-tech hub in the UK. Just 20 minutes south of central London by train, the borough which is best known for the 2011 riots and being Kate Moss’s home town, has become a hotspot for high tech start-ups and a serious rival to ‘silicon roundabout’ in the more central Shoreditch. Why? The cheap rents available to business owners and the possibility for younger people to get on the property ladder by avoiding prime London prices probably help. Several major new developments are under way or being marketed. These include Saffron Square – a Berkeley development of 756 homes – and Saffron Tower, whose 414 apartments in 43 storeys are already 50% sold within two months of launch. A 923-home development is also going up near the revamped Wandle Park, named the New South Quarter (pictured). Prices for studios are from £194,500 at Saffron Tower and two-bedroom apartments are from £230,000 at New South Quarter.

DECEMBER 2013

So Sau Paulo

Wonderful Copenhagen

Bryghus, a six-storey building on the Copenhagen waterfront, will be built by Züblin A/S, the Danish subsidiary of Strabag SE. The €140million futuristic design is by Rem Koolhaas of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, and includes residential, office and commercial components. It had better look good as the Danish Centre for Architecture will be there.

Building bulletins

This planned residential tower from Brazilian architect Isay Weindfeld was shortlisted at the World Architecture Festival. Named the 360º Building, the 20-storey tower in Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, gives each of the 130-250m2 apartments its own sheltered terrace, alternating on each floor to give this Jenga tower effect. It will be constructed on a ridge between Alto de Pinheiros and Alto de Lapa.

Small, simple, beautiful

Bahamas: Main construction work on the Baha Mar hotel-casino development on New Providence is complete. It will include 2,200 hotel rooms, 307 private homes and a Jack Nicklaus golf course. Plans are already underway for the opening party in December 2014. Chicago: Seven years after he bought the land, developer Bob King of Carroll Properties broke ground on two new residential towers of 14 and 16 storeys near Northwestern University. Named E2, the development will include 356 apartments and 12 townhomes. Albania: Villa construction at Lazlit Bay has progressed well over the summer, say developers of the 5-star resort near Tirana. Villas are at the shell stage and apartment blocks A and B are 98% complete. Blocks C and D are being made weather-tight for fitting out.

London: Singapore developer Oxley are spending £200 million to build 3,400 homes on the former Royal Wharf dockyard in the East End. Christchurch, NZ: Italian designers have won a competition to build an urban village as part of the city’s earthquake reconstruction, Grand Design’s Kevin McCloud announced. Work should begin at the Gloucester and Madras Street site next year – prices from NZ$300k.

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With a galvanised metal exterior like a sports car and an inside made of wood, this single storey, single structure house in Tokushima, Japan, was designed by Naoko Horibe of Horibe Associates. The angled roof allows space for a ‘den’ but all other rooms come off the open-plan living and dining area. www.horibeassociates.com

Cologne: All 10 building shells have now been completed in the €400m apartment and office construction by Immofinanz Group in the Gerling Quarter. Completion of the first stage will be by end 2014.

BUSINESS Technology

Tech to the test Labour-saving wonder or just another thing to go wrong? We tried out some voice-to-text apps

ou know what it’s like: you’ve got some dead time waiting for a client so you can write some emails. Or you’re taking down the details of a house and don’t want to stop and get your pen out. Or your husband is driving and you want to write that intro to the newsletter. Whatever the reason, being able to speak and get written words has got to be the best thing to happen

in business since the invention of the hole punch. Maybe it’s even bigger than that. Maybe you tried voice to text and it didn’t work? The good news is that more and more, better and better products are coming along all the time. So we thought it was time to put the leading solutions to the test. We said the same couple of sentences, in the same voice and

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iPad and iPhone

in the same environment: “We at OPP are putting voice to text to the test. Whether we are in Barcelona or Brighton, New York or Ouagadougou, there will always be the need to write about 300 square metre luxury homes with two bedrooms, granite work surfaces and ocean views. (Okay not in the capital of Burkina Faso, it’s miles from the sea).” By comparison, a modestly fast

Dragon dictation

We at OPP are putting voice to text to the test. Whether we are in Barcelona or Brighton, New York or Ouagadougou, there will always be the need to write about 300 m² luxury homes with two bedrooms, granite worksurfaces and ocean views. (OK, not in the capital of Burkina Faso, it’s miles from the sea).

We at OPP are putting voice to text to the test. Whether we are in Barcelona or Brighton, New York or why did you do, there will always be the need to write about 300 m² luxury homes with two bedrooms, granite work surfaces and ocean views. (OK, not in the capital of Burkina Faso, it’s miles from the sea).

Time for this passage: 24 seconds Name: iPad Siri Website: www.apple.com Systems it runs on: iOS (i.e. the iPad and iPhone) Cost: Free Ease of use: It couldn’t be easier – click on the microphone icon and talk. Ease of training: No training required. Comments? Siri takes your voice and does all of the processing on a big computer up in the Cloud and then sends the typed words back to your iPhone or iPad. It does not adjust to your voice or vocabulary in the same way as the Dragon system and so accuracy does not improve as time goes by – though you can improve performance by learning to speak more clearly and a few tricks of the trade. It can get frustrating dictating long bits of text as it cuts off every 20 or 30 words to convert what you have already dictated and then starts again.

Time for this passage: 23 seconds. Which was as fast as you can speak and remain clear. Name: Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Website: www.nuance.co.uk Systems it runs on: Windows and Mac. An app is also available for the iPhone and iPad. Cost: £149.99 Ease of use: Incredibly simple. Ease of training: 10 minutes, though playing with it for an hour or so will improve accuracy. Comments? You do need to speak clearly, though it handles even strong accents quite well. After a week using the system it becomes second nature. Dragon adapts to your voice and the environment, so if you move to a different room with different acoustics accuracy can temporarily fall. Doesn’t work well in a noisy environment such as an open plan office. The iPhone app works very differently from the PC version but is still very good. However, it does not benefit from being tightly integrated with the various iOS programs in the same way as Siri.

DECEMBER 2013 but not professional typist took 1 minute 20 seconds to type the same words. Try it for yourself. The two usual systems are Dragon Dictation, which is paid for, and the iPad/iPhone version. John Howell (our Editorial Director) has – like many other lawyers and doctors – been an enthusiastic user of voice to text for well over 30 years. “Back then, we chose Dragon. It works and it saves you time and

money. Even 30 years ago, when the program cost US$3,000 per person and training took two days, it paid for itself in our offices within three months. Now, when it costs less than $300 and training takes about 10 minutes, it can pay for itself in a couple of days.” However, the real revelation was the iPad. John Howell explains. “When I got my iPad Mini in January I was staggered by just

how fast and how good the free dictation system built into it turned out to be. It works completely differently from Dragon and is much less powerful and flexible but for simple dictation when you are connected to the internet it is brilliant, instantly available and completely free. In fact, on this test it performed better than Dragon in that it recognised the place name Ouagadougou.”

Four more versions These four apps were all downloaded onto an HTC One phone using the android system.

Evernote Cost: free, but £10 premium version available Accuracy: 8/10 Ease of use: after a couple of failed attempts it worked like a dream. Has the advantage of being one of a suite of packages for creating, storing and sharing notes among collaborators. From: www.evernote.com

Speech to Text Translator TTS Cost: free, or US$3 for no adverts Accuracy: 3/10 Ease Of use: Slower than most systems as it insisted on stopping every three or four words to catch up. Nice interface. We also managed to get it translated into Spanish at the same time, albeit from an inaccurate record. From: FSM Software

Speech to Text Cost: free Accuracy: 6/10. It even recognised Burkina fasso [sic]. Ease of use: Very easy. Good for accuracy, excellent for speed. It has a simple, user-friendly interface and emailed very easily. From: Xenom apps

Listnote www.opp-connect.com

Cost: free, or £3.27 for the pro version Accuracy: 2/10 Ease of use: After several attempts we gave up on the free version of this system. It was too hard to work out if the device was following us, slowly, or had given up. It gets good reviews in the Google Play store though. From: Khymaera

. be e ov ill iv N ll) w L h a e P 8t H W P d 2 eat O r n at h a (G 4 t 27 d 5 on tan S

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FEATURE Caribbean Fractionals Words | David M. Disick

Fractional islands

Classy, pricey and far away, the islands of the Caribbean are the perfect venue for selling fractionals

the Private Residence Club segment and the other five are fractional ownership. Aggregate sales last yearadded up to approximately $30 million. The fundamental logic of fractional ownership is that you can have the same realistic use you would make, of a comparable quality as whole ownership, for a fraction of the cost. The two basic advantages for lifestyle buyers are, firstly, that fractionals uniformly incorporate a vacation experience as opposed to simply real estate ownership. Secondly, buying a fractional can still leave discretionary funds available for buying additional fractionals and hence enjoying a

The Fractional Consultant

Tel: + 1 386 668 5877 additional lifestyle experiences. And for investment, quite simply your clients can get into property investment for a much lower outlay, spreading the risk across different projects. This makes them more attractive as investments during difficult economic times. The advantages for developers are the ability to generate higher revenues, since the combined prices of the fraction will be significantly higher than if sold as a whole. The developer can also separate the fractions into different price points, thus appealing to different markets.

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his article presents a brief overview of the fractional projects in the Caribbean and some observations about the evolution of the regional marketplace and the opportunities. But firstly, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just remind you of what a fractional is. Like timeshares, fractionals are examples of shared interests. They differ in that fractionals convey a deed of real estate interest as opposed to a simple right to use it. There are over 25 fractional projects in the Caribbean. Of the 25 projects, 16 are fractional ownership and nine are the upper tier Private Residence Club. Ten of the projects are in active sales. Of the ten in active sales, five are in

DAVID DISICK:

FEATURE Caribbean Fractionals Consistent with the general market situation, smaller projects and smaller intervals should be preferred. Projects should also develop significant points of distinction vis a vis the region generally. The traveler needs a draw to stop at a particular island given the number of islands

Typical cookie cutter concierge services are not adequate to generate success in the region

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There are plenty of buyers wanting a slice of this lifestyle

In my view, the Caribbean islands are ideal, in many ways, for sales of fractionals. Firstly, properties so far from the population centres of Europe, SE Asia and the west and north-east seaboards of America are likely to only be used by lifestyle buyers for a few weeks of the year – so why pay to keep a property empty for the rest of the year? Even for closer markets, such as the affluent Brazilian and Venezuelan market, the high quality appeals to their desire for bling while the smaller cost of fractions is less of an issue with the countries’ currency controls. The fractional deals on offer in the Caribbean reflect a wide range – from timeshare-like projects at US$10,000 per week for small units, to a grand project (and unique) in the Dominican Republic consisting of a 15,000 square foot, eight-bedroom, staffed beachfront home at US$650,000 for a five-week interval. Most of the projects are traditional attached condominiums with sizes and features and amenities to be expected in typical beachfront resorts. Some of the projects tend towards a standard corporate one brand fits all “feeling”, not really reflecting distinctive approaches or styles. And I think that’s a shame, because one of the defining characteristics of fractionals as opposed to timeshare is that fractionals are generally much higher quality and a more elegant vacation experience (it’s

like comparing a Ritz Carlton to an airport motel). You should expect concierge services, for example. As a result, I think that the somewhat lack-lustre, cookiecutter nature of projects is reflected in the lack of vibrant sales results. Not all, I hasten to add – some of the projects are superb; see the examples below.

and projects in the region. Similarly, management and services should be distinctive. Typical cookie cutter concierge services are not adequate to generate success. A final point is to emphasize the desirability (and truly the necessity) to attach fractional projects to larger hotel facilities. This is necessary to generate the interest to make the trips and incur the expenses.

A couple of observations: A brand is specially important in this region so as to establish a point of difference for each project and to draw people to expend the time and cost of travel to the Caribbean. At the same time, one would be well advised to select a brand that will be an active participant in the marketing process and not merely a label.

Beach Villas, Little Cayman From GB£29,000. Each villa is being divided into 50 fractions, with the option of personal use or rental income. Duplex suites on Grand Cayman will be offered as fractionals soon.

Freedom Bay St Lucia Fractional deals are available from US$34,997 per week on this prestigious new development on St Lucia that has been marketed by such luminaries as former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss, and Sarah Ferguson and will be run and operated as a Six Senses Resort. Fractions of the resort villas are available, each one being into 52 fractions and each owner entitled to a week of personal use or 50% of the room revenue less costs. They offer a 6% return during construction.

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www.freedombaysaintlucia.com

SELL MAURITIUS PRO ACTIVE INTERNATIONAL AGENTS WANTED TO SELL LUXURY MAURITIAN RESORT

Come see us at OPPLive 2013

Stand 55 (Great Hall)

North of paradise Mauritius, Grand Bay is unique with its splendid beaches and the uncontaminated turquoise blue sea overlooking the islets a few kilometers away of which the Gunner’s Coin and its mythical rock provide a panoramic sight even from the main land. The cocoon of its natural ruggedness combined with the controlled scale of its development has seduced more than a tourist over the years. It is in this context that the prestigious “Northbroom Villa” lies in the heart of this celestial region. And has, as a very smart residential estate area consistently shown its success through high demand with its high-end architectural features expressed in a more modern decor.

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DATA Customer Focus

Selling property to Belgians They were the talk of the exhibition season, and there are good reasons why Belgians are buying

here was a dinner party game in the late 1980s: trying to think of 10 famous Belgians*. Now, at least among estate agents, Belgians are making themselves very well know indeed. In their Q2, 2013 report, Spain’s notaries say that the number of Belgian buyers from outside Spain was up 78% on the same period last year and up 42% for Belgians resident in Spain. Well, fair enough. Belgium and Spain’s aristocracy have a long history together – Spain owned Belgium for many years – and even now the Belgian Royal family has a place in Motril near Granada. The local joke is that there are more retired Belgians in Spain than there are in Belgium. There are even sleeper train from Brussels to Perpignan with car transporters so

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Spanish notaries say Belgian buyers from outside Spain were up 78% on the same period last year

you can get to the Spanish border and then drive into Spain. But Belgians are also in ninth place in the list of buyers in Turkey, while the success of magazines in Belgium about living in France and Italy (see right) suggests they are buying in reasonable numbers in those places too. Across Europe, agents have told OPP about the large numbers of Belgian buyers. Why is this? For investment, two of the largest Belgian banks – Fortis and Dexia – were bailed out in 2008. In future, Belgian depositors savings are only covered, as in thr rest of Europe, to €100,000,

so undoubtedly many wealthy Belgians are seeing property as a safer investment. Belgians also tend to buy their first property when young, and use repayment mortgages so that by their early 50s they are debt-free on their primary residence and ready for a second, or to use their equity for investment buying. Household debt, as a percentage of disposable income, is one of the lowest in the OECD at 91% in Belgium, compared to 280% in the Netherlands and 151% in the UK Reaching Belgian buyers is not

Printed media

hard, with eleven million people in a country the size of Maryland. The largest cities are Antwerp (507,000), Ghent (248,000), then Charleroi, Liege and the capital, Brussels, only fifth largest with 168,000. Most of the large cities are in the north, the Flanders side, where people speak Dutch (60%) while in the Walloon side in the south, the remaining 40% speak French. * Bertrand (Plastic), Breughel the Elder, Clijsters, Henin, Hepburn, Herge, Magritte, Merckx, Rubens, Simenon.

The Belgian press is as keen as in the UK to tell negative stories about dodgy developers in Spain or bombs going off in Turkey. There are at least eight daily and newspapers, most of which carry property supplements. In the week before the two Second Home International exhibitions, news daily Het Nieuwsblad carries a second home supplement that is also open to non-exhibitor advertisers. Two living abroad magazine that originate in Holland but sell wel in Belgium are leven in frankrijk (Living in France), and Italie Magazine.

DECEMBER 2013

Websites and portals Immoweb.be is one of the most dominant portals in the world, being five times bigger than its nearest rival, according to PropertyPortalsWatch. It carries 154,000 ads from within Belgium but an impressive 95,000 from outside Belgium. The next biggest portal is immovlan.be, which also has an international section and is available in Dutch, French and English. Immotransit.be, in French and Dutch, also has international property. The most dominant portal in the world, incidentally is funda.nl in Holland, 10 times larger than its next rival, which will also be accessed by Belgian buyers. French-speaking Belgian buyers will also use seloger in France, while Spanish portals such as Idealista or Kyero in Spain have Dutch and French versions.

Exhibitions The largest exhibition space in Belgium is Brussels Expo, which is the venue for Belgium’s largest overseas property show, Second Home International, organised by Fairs Consult. Stands cost €220 per square metre, including the stand structure, or

The Belgian portal immoweb.be dominates in overseas property

€150 without, with a minimum of 12 square metres. There are, of course, extra charges for electricity etc, as usual for other shows, but a discount of up to 20% is applied for those who book the company’s other shows in Ghent and Holland. Second Home International tell us that over their shows they achieve

20,578 visitors, 508 exhibitors with 72% of those being returning exhibitors. At property shows in Belgium, business is generally conducted in three languages; Dutch , French and German, though the organisers advise us that many visitors will speak English too.

Business in property shows is mainly conducted in French, Dutch and German, but also in English TV shows

Second Home International

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www.secondhome-expo.com (also Norway and Holland) www.expoitalia.be – everything Italian, including homes www.salonzenith.be – for the over 50s, including property www.smapgroup.com – for property in Morocco. 21-24 March 2014

There are no TV shows on Belgium’s Dutch (VRT) or French (RTBF) public broadcaster specifically dedicated to buying abroad, but with 85% of Belgians plugged into cable TV, they do get subtitled property shows from other countries, offering possibilities for advertising. One popular channel is VIJF, aimed primarily at women, including makeover and property shows. Slightly similar is Vitaya,

DATA Customer Focus investment buyers. People hoping to rent it out and getting maybe 3, 4, 5% return. Belgian buyers are very focused on Europe, with a bit of Florida and Cape Verde. We have one or two exhibitors from the Far East – and they can do well – but mainly it is France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Turkey. I haven’t noticed any particular taste in property among Belgian buyers, but what’s most important is that it’s ready to move into right away. They don’t want off-plan

Belgians buy their first homes young and pay them off. By age 50 they’re ready to invest

View from an exhibition organiser

Henkjan Prins, Exhibition Manager Second Home International: “We started in 2006 with the first Belgian show and in July 2012 bought out the second home shows in the Netherlands. It makes sense as the language is quite similar and we have many of the same exhibitors, who can now book for all four shows, in Brussels, Ghent and Utrecht. We can see the market changing. When we started most of the visitors were 50+ buying for personal use. Since the financial crisis we’ve seen more and more younger people, and more Belgian

and pay it off over 25 years. But the Dutch just pay the interest and after 25 years they still have a mortgage of 75-80%. The Belgians are therefore in a position to buy a second home when they’re 50, so they invest. And while the Dutch are going to the show planning to buy in five to seven years, the Belgians are booking inspection trips or buying there and thethere and then. www.secondhome-expo.com.

deals that won’t be ready for two years. Visitor numbers have been fascinating. Since the crisis the Dutch visitors have fallen from 15,000 in 2006 to 3,300 and now climbing up to around 5,000. But Belgian numbers have steadily risen and now overtaken the Dutch. Why? Because of the structure of mortgages. Belgians tend to buy their property young

Belgians begin to outnumber Dutch visitors to Second Home International exhibitions 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000

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6000

4000 2000 0 Spring 2006

Fall 2006

Spring 2007

Fall 2007

Spring 2008

Fall 2008

Spring 2009

Fall 2009

The Netherlands

Spring 2010

Fall 2010

Spring 2011

Belgium

Fall 2011

Spring 2012

Fall 2012

Spring 2013

Fall 2013

AGRICULTURAL FARMLAND AGENTS WANTED GOOD COMMISSIONS AVAILABLE

Visit us at OPPLive

Stand 47 (Great Hall)

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Brought to you by: Premier Alternatives Tel: +44 (0)20 3598 1072 Email: info@premieralternatives.com www.premieralternatives.com

FEATURE Experts advise Words | Francine Carrel

The Good News Guys!

You’ve got a great story. Something brilliant has happened that will definitely get the public interested. But how do you make sure they hear about it?

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ast month we asked the experts about the best ways to deal with bad public relations (PR). This time, though, you’ve had a great day! Your company has picked up a prestigious award; a new direct flight has started running to the market you’re selling in; a crippling property tax has been abolished in your area. Brilliant! Now, put down the champagne for a minute, because It’s no use if no-one else hears about it. You need to get the word out, so the first thing to decide is whether this merits shelling out for a professional PR or whether you can do it yourself. Do you have the

database of editors? Can you write dynamically to 140 characters? Do you really want to sell this story, or would you be better off selling your properties?

First thing’s first We asked our PR experts for their first thoughts and actions when a client approaches them. They all agreed that it was important to step back and look at the bigger picture. Tim Stanley, director of Tim Stanley Public Relations (timstanleypr.co.uk), recommended looking deeper into the matter: “There may be a much bigger story behind it or a less obvious angle we

can use to create a more interesting story. The first thing to do is to question the client to unearth the most newsworthy aspects of the story and then recommend the way in which it should be treated.” He gave a recent example: “There was good news for the buyers of property in France recently when President Hollande announced the relaxation of his stance on capital gains. It means that, after 22 years of ownership of a second home, there will be no capital gains tax on the proceeds if it is sold. I used this as the basis of a much wider comment on the French property market and predictions

DECEMBER 2013 for its future (based on a wideranging discussion with my French developer client) to generate significant offline (printed) and online (digital) coverage, firmly positioning the company as a leading voice of authority.” Vicky Goodall, of P1 Communications (www. p1communications.com), agreed: “We look at the news within the context of a bigger picture and make a judgement on whether it really is news. In making that judgement you have to look at timing, events in the world and in the industry and what difference will it make to people’s lives. We tend to use the ‘So What?’ Rule. If we are convinced it’s news, then we can convince others it is too.”

Social media

The quickest and easiest way to reach a large audience is social media. But which medium? already crammed with businesses trying to make their mundane story interesting to the masses. Your message is special, it’s really, REALLY good news! So how do you make a 140-character statement or a Facebook post ‘pop’? Goodall said, “We post engaging comments, ask plenty of questions and post nice visuals and content that will encourage people to share. It’s important to vary the content, make it interesting and useful

for your market.” If it’s such an important message, make sure you let bloggers know – they tend to be desperate for ideas. Don’t always focus too singlemindedly on the news at hand – an attention-grabbing article about the region or issue in question can often effectively lead on to the news you want to spread. Danny Silver, founder of the Villages Group, worked with PR companies to spread the news of his LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) retirement resort by drawing attention to the issues facing elderly people with alternate lifestyles. While one may skim easily over the usual influx of information, a title such as, “You Definitely WON’T Be The Only Gay In This Village!” is more likely to get a second look. “We have social media experts here at Four who work with our clients to create stand-out through film, animation, microsites and viral campaigns,” Marion Hardman, head of property PR at Four Communications (www. fourcommuncations.com), told us. Tim Stanley agreed that trying to be a ‘Jack of all trades’ is unwise. “[We work] not by pretending to be able to do everything, but by working in tandem with an internet marketing specialist with a dedicated PR arm which monitors continuously for new and emerging

Is it interesting news? Catching the public’s attention can be tricky

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Who needs to know your good news? If we’re talking potential clients – as many as possible. The quickest and easiest way to reach a large audience is a social media campaign. But which medium? Tim Stanley says: “It depends on the target groups with whom we wish to communicate, the messages we wish to convey, the impressions we want to create or the actions we are keen to prompt. Facebook and blogs are popular; the value of Twitter is unproven. To generate website traffic, Google+, Bing or Yahoo may be best. There might be a role for Linkedin.” Goodall said, “We tend to use Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube and, increasingly, Pinterest. Each one has its merits and depends what the communication is about and who you’re trying to reach. For media contact Twitter is good and for consumers Facebook is great for getting the personality of the company across and to communicate news and offers. Pinterest is effective for visualising a region that may not be well known yet.” Most sources agreed that Twitter was the quickest medium, often with the largest spread of readers (assuming that you’ve built up a good number of followers... but that’s a subject for a whole other article). When tweeting a

piece of good news, the advice is to sound enthusiastic (but not unprofessional) and, where possible, include a link to further information and/or an image. “Posts should be engaging and thought provoking. People tend to respond well to visuals so we will often create images for content sharing. Using hashtags is a great way to loop your posts in with other online conversations taking place,” said Melissa Orozco, co-founder of Yulu PR (www.yulupr.com). But hang on: the internet is

FEATURE Experts advise online opportunities, then adapts our material for offline media to maximise its effectiveness online.”

Press releases They won’t like to admit it, but journalists and editors are often desperate for good news stories too, and rewriting your press release is a lot easier (and cheaper) than commissioning a writer. But the story needs to be genuine or they’ll learn to automatically dump your emails. “Write the first paragraph in a way which encourages the busy editor to read on, not say ‘So what?’

Your story needs to be genuine or journalists will learn to automatically dump your emails

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and spike it,” said Stanley. “Keep it brief, using simple words – no jargon – in short sentences.” “In the words of Rudyard Kipling, focus on what, why, when, how, where and who – and keep it brief,” agreed Hardman. Goodall elaborated: “Be careful not to go into ‘brochure speak’ with lots of superlatives and avoid corporate jargon.” Note that these tips in particular also apply to phonecalls – if you manage to get through to an editor inundated with constant article pitches, the last thing they want to hear is a clearly scripted, advertorial speech. Get your point across quickly, emphasising why your news would make a good piece. Oh – and always provide contact details so that journalists can get straight through to you for more information.

Visuals “Always provide photos to the media, as the best photo always gets the prime location on the page,” stressed Orozco. In an age where information can be sent at lightening speed, there’s no reason why a good picture can’t

be an integral part of a PR pitch. “The importance and value of a plentiful supply of excellent photographs – showing the location of the development, the views to be enjoyed from the properties, the nearby golf courses or marinas, and atmosphere shots of the area – to meet the needs of different publications, should not be underestimated,” said Stanley. However, not all pictures will serve you well. “The growing use of digital cameras has placed many PR firms in an awkward situation in recent years,” Stanley elaborated. “Some clients dismiss the need to spend money on professional photography in the mistaken belief that, because they happen to own a digital camera, they can take and supply the photographs needed for PR use. They then provide their PR advisor with images which are of poor technical quality. “Distribution to the press of pictures like these is false economy; they alienate editors who will not wish to use them and they do nothing for the reputation of the PR firm or, importantly, of the client it represents.”

Face to face If your news is that special you can normally get a journalist’s attention with an invitation to lunch. Make sure that you make the meeting worth everyone’s while though, stressed Goodall: “A lunch or a drink with a journalist is very useful, but only if you have something newsworthy to say and come prepared with information and facts or anecdotal evidence to back up your story. The days of long lunches are well and truly over – time is precious for PRs and journalists alike!” A press trip is still the ultimate way to get your good news story out. It creates an obligation, and the writer will often keep on writing about your location for years to come on the simple premise that “I hear I forget, I see I remember, I do I understand”. “Press trips are a great way for you to get a reporter to experience your product first hand, which makes for a stronger story,” says Orozco.

Goodall agreed, “They are a fantastic way for developers to get major features in key media titles and for journalists to get a good feel for the development and surrounding region.” They need to be well organised, though, she added: “Journalists are finding it increasingly difficult to find the time to visit developments, especially if they are long haul destinations, so it’s a good policy to arrange over the weekend so it does not require too much time away from their desks.” Stanley also advised putting a lot of thought into the trip itself: “When press trips are proposed, I work closely with the client to agree the arrangements and responsibilities in detail, including an itinerary which includes some local sightseeing to provide a flavour of life in the region in which the development is located.” They’re pricey, of course, as the journalist will expect everything to be paid for. So just how good is this story of yours?

So what’s it all going to cost me? Though each client and case will be different, our experts gave us an idea of how much you’d have to fork out for their services: Melissa Orozco: “Anywhere from $4,000 upwards per month with a minimum of three months to engage in a campaign.” Tim Stanley: “Fees are determined by the level of involvement and therefore the time required. They are based on a daily rate of £500 and the agreed annual fee is invoiced in equal monthly instalments.” Vicky Goodall: “We can work on a retainer or project basis and will charge fees according to the amount of work involved and the level of personnel working on the account.” Marion Hardman: “We prepare an individual quote for clients to suit their requirements. It could be a project fee from £1,000 or a monthly retainer fee.”

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We are now looking for new sales partners from all corners of the world to help promote and sell our highly successful developments. We offer an excellent range of completed, near completed and off plan developments in Thailand with excellent rental yields and highly competitive prices. Our projects attract a lot of interest due to the fact that we have completed all of our developments on time. We would like to offer you the opportunity to be a part of our success as one of our international representatives. We will give you the very best marketing support, high commissions and the security of knowing that you are dealing with a strong, established and respected property developer. We are the only AIPP recognized developer in Thailand.

For further information please contact us: tel: 0066 819 491 680 email: jery@matrix-developments.com www.matrix-developments.com

MORTGAGES France

Mortgages in France Can a foreigner obtain a mortgage in France? What types of mortgage are available? Type of mortgage

Available

Interest rates from

Max LTV

Lending

Max Term (Years)

Max Age at Repayment

Repayment

Yes

3.72%

85%

From 21,500 euros

25 years

Fixed Interest

Yes

4.25 %

85%

From 21,500 euros

25 years

Variable Interest

Yes

3.72%

85%

From 21,500 euros

25 years

Hybrid (part fixed, part variable)

Yes

4.25%

85%

From 21,500 euros

25 years

Interest only

Yes

4.93%

75%

From 100,000 euros

14 years

Purchase

Yes

3.72%

85%

From 21,500 euros

25 years

Remortgage

Yes

N/A

75%

From 50,000 euros

25 years

Equity Release

Yes

3.97%

70%

From 100,000 euros

20 years

Buy to let (assessed on rental income)

N/A

Self Certified

N/A

What are the lending criteria?

This depends on the individual mortgage provider, however typical lender requirements for French mortgages can be found below: Affordability requirements: The cost of the applicantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing liabilities and new mortgage should not exceed 30% - 35% of their gross income minus national insurance. Employment history: Minimum 3 months required. Self employed history: Minimum 2 years required. Regions accepted: All regions in mainland France and Monaco. Property types accepted: Must be habitable. Applicants accepted: Individuals and local companies. All nationalities considered except those affected by international sanctions.

Further information Currency options for mortgage payments: euros only. Some lenders will require you to take out a life cover policy or open a bank account with them in order to make the mortgage payments. Securing a mortgage offer can typically take between 3 to 4 weeks.

www.opp-connect.com/ infozone/mortgages

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The OPP monthly mortgage report is brought to you by Connect Overseas, international mortgage advisers. They are based in the UK but deal with mortgages in over 50 different countries around the world. See www.connectoverseas.co.uk. They can be contacted by email at info@connectoverseas.co.uk or by telephone on +44 (0)1708 676134.

This guide was accurate at the time of production.The mortgage market changes all the time. For up to date information, see

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LEGAL News LEGAL News

While residency are Our round-up of rules legal changes loosened in theinCaribbean are finds tax hikes Spain but they speedier being tightened Russiaand andIndia the US processes in US,inFrance BAHRAIN & BARBUDA ANTIGUA REDUCED REGISTRATION INTRODUCES CITIZENSHIP CHARGES FOR INVESTMENT Antigua andBahrain’s Barbuda Shura has On 20 May, Council ratiﬁ ed a motion to reduce officially launched a residency for charges for –the of investment or registration ‘golden’ – visa. newly acquired estate.Spencer The Prime Ministerreal Baldwin amendment,the bringing the buyer’s announced Citizenship by fee down from 3% of the(CIP) property Investment Programme in valueOctober, to 2%, issome hoped to years stimulate mid two after real estate growth. examination of the scheme began. Furthermore, an incentive To receive an Antigua passport designed to push buyers to pay and citizenship, investors must quickly was$250,000 approvedto–Antigua’s if the contribute payment Development is made withinFund; 60 days National the buyer will receive a 15% of make a real estate investment discount on fees. $400,000; orregistration a business investment [Source: Oxford Business Group, of $1.5million. www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com] Some critics have said that the programme is no better than “selling passports”, but Mr Spencer BRAZIL said at the launch that the scheme, REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN “Should in no way jeopardise the integrity of the national passport” CAPITAL – and that the CIP would not be an open door to all. “We have structured the CIP to meet the most incisive scrutiny and to deliver the most rigorous review of the applications received by the Citizenship by Investment Unit,” he added.

to be any goods, machinery or equipment thatthe enters Mexico passed Ley Brazil Federal with no initial foreign exchange para la Prevención e Identificación disbursement, for de Operacionesintended con Recursos production of goods de Procedencia Ilícitaand (theservices, “Antiand anyLaundering funds brought the Money Law”into or AMLL country for useon in 17 economic as it is known) October, which will cause major changes

DUBAI TANWEER LEGISLATION TO ABE green light has been given to a ANNOUNCED bill which would establish a tax incentive for property investment A new property law aimed at companies Panama.rights improvingin investors’ The Minister Economy and looks set to beofannounced soon Finance is now free to submit the in Dubai. The long-awaited ruling to the Nationalwill Assembly. Tanweer legislation be It is hoped that thesays proposed announced “soon”, Majida changes, which detailed Ali Rashed, theare head of the in Real a Estate cabinetInvestment report, willManagement make for a and tax regime similar to that in Promotion Centre of the neighbouring Costa Rica, where

francine.carrel@opp-connect.com john.howell@opp-connect.com

More updates are available in our news section at www.opp-connect.com

all investors can access equal exposure to the housing market. Dubai Land Department (DLD). TheThe explanatory notes saidwaiting that industry has been the would allow 18proposal months for the law toinvestors be topassed invest and in property they would legal experts gave not normally have tothe – and, their views on theaccess draft to inLand turn,Department stimulate alternatives last year, for fundraising real estate. reports thefor National website. No Source: specificwww.newsroompanama.com details were available but Ms Rashed says it is ready and is being examined by RUSSIA higher authorities. The DLD first announced October 2011 RUSSIA ‘TOinTIGHTEN that it was employing experts to FOREIGN OWNERSHIP RULES’ examine and improve the real estate investor protection law by the end of the year, but to date nothing has been finalized. [Reported by Adrian Bishop, Editor of OPP Connect.]

FRANCE CHANGE IN CAPITAL Moves are GAINS TAXbeing made by

the Russian government to prevent overseas buyers from President Francois Hollande has owning or arenting announced changeproperty in the capital without obtaining gains tax system onpermission second home beforehand. sales to provide more ﬂuidity in the The property Economicmarket. Development French The taper Ministry is consulting with law relief system is to be changed so enforcement that from 2014and the migration required time about the legal changes ofagencies ownerships before a property could beexempt introduced isthat completely fromby capital 2015. gains tax will be 22 years, down Currently, foreigners from the 30 year system are which was permitted to buy property ratiﬁ ed in September 2012. and land in mostPartner areas apart Nicholas Leach, at Athena from near borders, ports, Advisors, commented, “This could hubs beinfrastructure considered as a bitand of amilitary U-turn agriculturalreverting land. bysites the or government, to The amendments are to being a system which is similar that introduced stop when Sarkozytowas inethnic power.orLast racialproperty ghettoestax forming, theput year’s changes

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MEXICO ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING According to the Foreign Capital Law, “Foreign capital is considered LAW PASSED

activities, provided that they belong to property transactions made to individuals or corporate entities in cash in Mexico. The law, and domiciled or incorporated accompanying regulations,abroad.” have Foreignnew capital must be imposed responsibilities on registered by means of foreign an many companies (both and Electronic Statement Registration domestic). Companiesofthat serve as – Foreigninstitutions Direct Investment financial or workModule with (RDE-IED), the Central real estateon (among many Bank others) Information (SISBACEN). may have to System meet new identity For the purposes of the Electronic verifications, information gathering Statement of Registration, foreign and reporting requirements. direct investment is deﬁisned as The aim of the AMLL to shield permanent holdings in Brazilian Mexico’s economy from possibly companies or, in accordance with illegal transactions. Companies common market with practices, failing to comply new longterm ownership non-resident regulations may by face heavy fines, investors; individuals orand, corporate confiscation of permits in entities residing, domiciled or some cases, prison sentences. incorporated abroad, through Source: www.lexology.com ownership of shares or stock in Brazilian companies, or investments PANAMA in foreign companies authorized to TAX INCENTIVE operate in Brazil. BILL GETS The statement GREEN LIGHTimplies that the Brazilian companies receiving the investment and/or the representative of the foreign investor are responsible for the registration. [Reported by: Daniela Antunes, Maxwell Alves Solicitors, www.maxwellalves.com]

Lawyers and accountants around the world tell us about new developments in the law. If you know of any interesting changes to the law or taxation in the country where you live or do business, contact

63 39

LEGAL News Izvestiya newspaper states; but the Forbes business website believes it has more to do with preventing a property bubble forming or preventing migrant workers from buying homes and renting them to transients. Reported by: Adrian Bishop

SWITZERLAND SWISS BANKS CAN SETTLE WITH USA

exemptions and new income taxes on real estate. Osman Arioglu, a former head of Turkey’s tax authority, told Bloomberg Businessweek that, “The most noteworthy regulation in the bill is that it narrows exemptions on capital gains and profits from real estate in cities.” The bill has to be approved by two government panels before going to a vote. Arioglu said that he didn’t think the bill would be voted on until March 2014, as the government was unlikely to push for such a “drastic” change until after local elections. Source: www.businessweek.com

UK HELP-TO-BUY: SECOND PHASE

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Switzerland and the US have agreed that some Swiss banks can participate in a settlement programme with the US Department of Justice to avoid prosecution in connection with Swiss accounts used by United States residents. The programme will mean that Swiss financial institutions will be able to avoid criminal liability by disclosing financial information about their American clients and paying a penalty. Institutions currently under formal investigation by the US will not be able to participate – 14 Swiss banks are currently under criminal investigation for allegedly helping US taxpayers evade taxes, including Credit Suisse. Source: www.modaq.com

More than 15,000 buyers in the UK have so far taken advantage of the ‘Help to Buy’ equity loan scheme – and from early next year it is likely that number will grow substantially. Under Help to Buy II the government lends buyers with a 5% deposit up to 20% of the value of their home (if priced below £600,000) for five years. So far only available for newbuild homes, the scheme will be applicable to all homes from January 2014. Though the law is good news for the UK construction industry, some experts have warned of the potential of another housing bubble in the country.

USA WARNINGS OF EB-5 VISA SCAMS

TURKEY NEW LAW WILL AFFECT REAL ESTATE The Turkish parliament is drafting a new law to encourage investment and manufacturing while bringing more undeclared income out into the open. Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said in an interview that the bill would include narrower

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US

is prosecuting companies for scamming foreign investors through the EB-5 visa program, which allows foreigners to take a fast path to residency through investment in job-creating enterprise. The SEC is “aware of investment scams targeting foreign nationals who seek to become permanent lawful US residents through the Immigrant Investor Program (“EB5”),” they said in a statement. “The SEC has taken emergency enforcement action to stop allegedly fraudulent securities offerings made through EB-5.” The SEC is currently prosecuting developers in Chicago and Texas for fraud through “false and misleading information to solicit investors”. The defendant in Texas also allegedly misused investor funds for personal projects.

VIETNAM NO MORE WESTERN NAMES ALLOWED

The Vietnamese government has included a controversial regulation in its draft housing law – new real estate developments must have Vietnamese names. Developers in the country looking for foreign investment – and even domestic buyers – often choose Western names as they are seen as being more luxurious, a real estate trader told VietNamNet. The rule is unpopular with many developers, who say it will be harder to get a development’s concept across to foreign buyers if they are restricted to Vietnamese names. Additionally, those who have already spent big money building up a brand will be left out of pocket if forced to rename it. Source: www.vietnamnet.vn

AGENTS REQUIRED FOR SALE OF SEBASTIAN SOUVIRON

Salsa Inmobiliaria are looking for agents to assist in the selling of 37 dwellings and penthouses in a magnificent late nineteenth century building located in the historic centre of Malaga, the capital of the Costa Del Sol. The apartments consist of 1 or 2 bedrooms, fully equipped with maximum quality. Prices range from €197,000 to €383,000. The building also has garages and basement storage. In an unbeatable location the building is surrounded by all amenities, great cultural and gastronomic centres and is also next to the city’s beach. It is perfectly connected to the transport hubs of the area, 15 minutes from the international airport and 5 minutes from the railway station and the port of Malaga. The delivery of these homes will be in the second semester of 2014

W: www.salsa.es E: infocomercial@salsa.es T: +0034 952 22 4821 or +0034 666 42 83 72

Benefits for Agents Direct contact with the developer and good commission Unique building without competition Support to the agent at any time by the promoter. You can visit show flat Customer Service Promoter

FEATURE Singapore Words | Christopher Nye

Singapore slam

As more and more western property firms open offices in Singapore we ask why they’re doing it and what problems they face.

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merican investor Jim Rogers said, when he moved to Singapore in 2007, that in 1807 he would have wanted to be in London, in 1907 he would have been wanting to be in New York, and in 2007 he was pretty pleased to be in Singapore. He added, “The 21st century will be the century of Asia, and it’s becoming more and more evident. And especially of China. I wanted my children to grow up knowing Asia and speaking Mandarin.” That is has taken Berkeley Homes, EcoHouse, Blackstone and Chesterton Humberts, among many others who have opened offices there in 2013, six years to

follow his advice is certainly not the fault of Singapore, where it takes on average three days to open a business. The Republic of Singapore

“The 21st century will be the century of Asia, and it’s becoming more and more evident.” is a city state of five million people, on an island at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, just north of the equator. More interestingly

from a business point of view, it is close (relatively) to the burgeoning markets of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. Chesterton Humberts, a Britishbased estate agency specialising in upmarket homes, opened its own office under the Chesterton brand name after ending a partnership with a local firm. CEO Robert Bartlett said: “Chesterton has identified the tripartite importance of enabling capital flows between the established financial strongholds of London, Dubai and Singapore and I strongly believe that having a strong business in both Asia and the Middle East is key

DECEMBER 2013 to grow, perform, invest, and deliver on our commitments for the future.”

Markets Enough corporate-speak. You need only look at a map of global GDP growth to see why companies are opening moving east – Asia does, and has for the last 30 years or so, dominate. “Quite simply, Asia is booming and Singapore is the most suitable place for a base to tap the South-East Asian

In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, Singapore comes first out of 186

Easy business Even better, for our western companies, the AEC 2015 countries have agreed to use English as the language of business. In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, Singapore comes first out of 186 countries, including third globally both for starting a business and getting credit, second for protecting investors and – drum roll – first in the world for trading across borders. It has also topped the Economists’ Business Environment poll every year since 2008. As Australian writer Aimee Chan explains: “Singapore is extremely efficient when it come to matters of business. We don’t procrastinate or hold lengthy discussions. If it sounds good, just do it. A building looks ugly? Just tear it down and replace it. Thinking of setting up a shop? Already signed the lease yesterday.” They may be easy to sign for, but office rents don’t come cheap. According to research by CBRE, prime Singapore offices go for US$117 per square foot per year – which is more or less in line with other capital cities including Shanghai, Sydney, Paris and midtown New York.

The Singapore “merlion” looks over Marina Bay

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to enabling the global redistribution of capital via cross-border sales and investment.” Berkeley Homes opened a plush office in Singapore’s new central business district in the spring, their MD Rob Perrins saying at the time: “The establishment of a permanent office in Singapore is a significant milestone for the Group as it allows us to better support the fastgrowing South East Asian demand for London-based property. “A presence in Singapore means that we are now more equipped to cater to a loyal and burgeoning customer base.” From America, the Blackstone Group launched an office in Singapore in last month too. The company has more than US$3billion in Far Eastern real estate assets, and the 35 staff in Singapore will be joining 200 in the region including 70 in the Hong Kong office. Their CEO Stephen Schwarzman said: “With the help of this new regional hub we are in an exceptional position to continue

markets,” says Andrew Batt, of www.propertyguru.com.sg, adding “With the implementation of AEC 2015 (ASEAN Economic Community), I believe more companies will be looking to establish themselves in this part of the world.” He is referring to the uniting in 2015 of 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) members Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, and Brunei in a free trade association. As well as

economic barriers being lowered, the flight time from Singapore to capital cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta is less than two hours, while Hong Kong is 3.5 hours.

FEATURE Singapore

150

One may argue, with accuracy, that Africa is competing with Asia for economic growth, but it certainly can’t match it for regulation and transparency. On the Corruptions Perceptions Index, Singapore is fifth from top, sitting between those bastions of probity Sweden and Switzerland while Malaysia is in 54th and Thailand down in 88th. Along with a keen sense of justice, the country that famously outlawed chewing gum has laws controlling who can practice real estate, and agents who breached the rules have been fined and imprisoned. The Council for Estate Agencies (CEA, www.cea.gov.sg)) controls the business, and to work there agents – from home or from abroad – must be licensed, with applicants doing set numbers of study hours. There are currently 30,000 licensed agents in Singapore.

100

Exhibitions

Singapore Office Rents. Source CBRE Research Q3 2013 Rent ($S psf/month)

q-o-q

y-o-y

Grade A

9.55

0.0%

-2.6%

Grade B

7.10

0.0%

-1.0%

Office Rental Index. Source: CBRE Research Singapore (Grade A)

Asia Pacific

350 300 250 200

50 0

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Staffing

Chestertons have taken on Donald Han as MD, highly experienced in Singapore real estate, but other firms can face problems, says Andrew Batt: “Recruitment is a key issue. For many companies, finding experienced local staff is an increasing challenge; either [local staff] are looking overseas for employment or they will be happy in their current position and not seeking new employment.” Anti-foreigner sentiment has been rising in Singapore, as FT (for ‘foreign talent’, though pithier phrases are used on some message boards) is blamed for the high rises in property prices. Andrew Batt says: “The process of applying for work passes has become more difficult even in the last few years. To work in Singapore you must have a work pass, and the government has tightened the

qualification rules since the last general election. “The other issue to remember is that Singapore is an expensive place to live and expat salary packages, which include rentals and international-standard education, are among the highest

Anti-foreigner sentiment has been rising, as foreigners are blamed for rising property prices in the world.” Indeed in Mercer’s list of most expensive expat destinations, Singapore was the fifth most expensive, and in the Economist Cost of Living index they were fourth globally, 35% more expensive than New York.

Every weekend a sizeable number of those agents are working the booming exhibitions business. “Each weekend there can be anything up to 25 overseas events in the city-state,” says Andrew Batt. “I know – I attend as many of them as I can. PropertyGuru has also developed a series of successful country-specific, multideveloper events. Just last weekend, for example, we held a Thailand Property Show where some 28 units were transacted over the course of the two days. The most popular overseas destinations that feature in exhibitions in Singapore would be Malaysia, London, Australia and Thailand – however, opportunities from literally all over the world have been showcased at property exhibitions in Singapore.” Agents have to be registered with the CEA to sell at those exhibitions, although overseas developers are permitted to bring their own staff. And what a time those staff will have in a city that works, if not perfectly, then about as well as a city can, from your arrival at Changi Airport – consistently voted the best in the world – then plane-to-cab in 15 minutes. Or you could get the train home – don’t worry about a timetable as they run every five minutes.

Leading investment conference coming to Asia in April 2014

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT SUMMIT

ASIA 2014 For more information on attending, sponsoring, speaking or exhibiting at AI Summit Asia 2014 please contact: events@intelligent-partnership.com

To view details of our London event please visit:

WWW.AISUMMIT.CO.UK

DATA The Rightmove Survey Words | John Howell

Buying abroad: the right move for retirees In the third of our four articles on the Rightmove Survey, we focus on those buying for retirement

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he market of people buying a foreign property for retirement is as old as the industry. People like to retire to a better climate and like to think that they will lead a better, healthier and, perhaps, cheaper life there. At OPP we have long believed that the potential of the retirement market has been hugely underestimated by our readers, too many of whom have focused too much attention on the person buying as an investment. The results of the Rightmove survey strongly support our view.

Just a reminder! The Rightmove survey involved sending out highly detailed (132 questions) survey forms to well over a million users of the Rightmove international property portal and then four months analysing the thousands of replies received. Because Rightmove is a UKbased company 83% of the respondents were resident in the UK. Rightmove kindly granted OPP exclusive access to their raw data and the writer has spent several days at the Rightmove offices in Milton Keynes, drilling down into the data to bring OPP readers the information they need to help grow their businesses. However, there is a word of warning. The people who replied to the survey saying that they were buying with a view to retirement were even more UK-centric than the

How many have already bought?

People intending to buy: 64% People who have already bought: 36%

general profile of the respondents. In other words, the data gives us a very good picture of what the UK resident buyer has done and, perhaps more importantly, what the UK buyer is thinking of doing; but it casts little light on the international property market in the rest of the world. Despite this, we believe that these results should be of interest to our wider international audience because many of the characteristics of these UK resident buyers are likely to also to apply in their marketplace.

OPP is actively encouraging other portals to send out exactly the same survey to their users so that we can build up a massive international dataset of buyer activity. If you would like to take part in this exciting project please email john.howell@opp-connect.com for more details of what is involved. So who has been buying property for retirement? Where, what and why have they been buying? More

DECEMBER 2013

Figure 1 - Why did you buy your home overseas? (some multiple answers)

All Respondents

Owned Less than 1 year

Owned 1-5 years

Owned 5-10 years

Owned 10 years +

Holiday Home – summer

24%

26%

22%

24%

Holiday Home – Winter

11%

Holiday Home – All

32%

33%

32%

30%

35%

Work

<1%

To be close to family & friends

10%

Retirement

20%

24%

23%

16%

19%

Weather

26%

21%

25%

32%

21%

Other

13%

14%

11%

13%

Figure 2 - What is the main purpose of your property? All Respondents

Owned Less than 1 year

Owned 1-5 years

Owned 5-10 years

Owned 10 years +

Investment

13%

14%

12%

Permanent residence

36%

28%

25%

33%

51%

Second Home / Holiday Home

51%

63%

61%

53%

37%

retirement category. These numbers have changed only a little over time. See Figure 1. Perhaps more revealing was the question “What is the main purpose of your property?” This shows how it is used now rather than the reason they bought it. 36% showed

Overall, 20% of all respondents to the survey who owned property had bought for retirement it as their main residence, 51% as a holiday home and a mere 13% saw it mainly as an investment. Remembering that only 1% was buying for the purposes of work, the 36% who showed the property as their main residence will almost

all be retired. These numbers, too, have changed over time. See Figure 2. This is not surprising. The people who bought 10 years or more ago may not, at the time, have bought for retirement but they have ended up liking the area and living there when they retired. Nonetheless, there are some powerful marketing messages here. Apart from any financial benefit they obtain, people like their foreign properties and many go on to retire to them – or, at least, to another property in the area; of all the people currently selling their foreign home, 25% are doing so to buy another. The people taking part in the survey expressed many reasons for leaving to live abroad. High amongst them were high taxes, the economic situation, crime and antisocial behaviour and their stressful way of life. The two most commonly cited reasons were the high cost of

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importantly to our readers, who is thinking of buying and where, what and when are they likely to buy? Of the people who replied to the survey and indicated that they were interested in retirement property, 36% had already bought a property and 64% were thinking of buying, mostly of them in the course of the next two years. Looking briefly at those who had already bought – because our readers will be keen to focus more on future opportunity – overall, 20% of all respondents to the survey who already owned property had bought for the purposes of retirement. This compares with 32% who had bought as a holiday home and a mere 1% who had bought because of work. However, 26% said that they had bought “for the weather” and 7% “to be close to family and friends” and, of course, these could fall into either the holiday home or

DATA The Rightmove Survey living and the weather. The weather was by far and away the largest factor listed as the main reason for moving. It was followed by looking for a less stressful life. Interestingly, almost all of the reasons given for moving were not, in the end, delivered. They did not find that taxes were lower or that schools were better. The only ones where buyers generally found that they got what they expected were when they were looking for a lower crime rate, a less stressful life and better weather. The weather is something we regularly see emphasised in marketing materials but the reduced stress and lower crime rate are much less commonly used as a sales aid. Of those who had moved abroad, 51% said that their quality of life was now excellent, 43% that it was now good and a mere 0.5% that it was poor. Maybe it is hardly surprising that 61% had no intention of ever returning to the UK and fewer than 20% were thinking of doing so in the next five years.

Turning to those who have not yet bought but who are looking to buy for retirement, the age profile seems a little surprising. 11% of people looking to buy a property for retirement were

All

Permanent Residence

Holiday Home

Spain

32%

28%

41%

France

28%

34%

26%

Italy

United States

Portugal

Greece

Cyprus

Turkey

New Zealand

Australia

Figure 4 – What type of property do you intend to buy? All

Permanent Residence

A property located in a town or city

21%

22%

A property located in the countryside

39%

51%

A property located on a resort

24%

13%

A property under market value to renovate

12%

10%

Other

For an active retirment in the countryside, France was top choice

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What did they miss when they moved abroad? Discounting closely related answers, there were 217 things listed. Grouping them together, by far the most common were: Family & friends, certain foods – especially curry & fish and chips, pubs and English beer, culture and the sense of belonging, being able to speak the language, daily newspapers and the BBC, simpler administration, live football and grey skies. Many developers and communities trying to attract the retired already try to provide some of these – though not the grey skies! The full list deserves further study. A surprising number missed “nothing at all”.

Figure 3 - Where do you intend to buy?

DATA The Rightmove Survey Figure 5 - Which type of property do you intend to buy as your permanent residence? All

France

Spain

Greece

Italy

Portugal

A property located in a town or city

22%

11%

26%

20%

25%

A property located in the countryside

51%

72%

38%

58%

57%

43%

A property located on a resort

13%

24%

20%

A property under market value to renovate

10%

13%

14%

15%

Other

Figure 6 – How do you intend to find your property? All

France

Spain

Greece

Italy

Portugal

Internet

44%

42%

45%

42%

43%

Papers/Magazines

Overseas Visits/Agents

32%

31%

33%

35%

32%

35%

UK Agents

Exhibitions

10%

12%

aged between 30 and 44, 29% between 45 and 54 and an unsurprising 43% were aged between 55 and 64. Only 2% were over 65, so apparently indicating that if you are going to retire abroad you plan ahead. I wonder how many of our readers are actively marketing retirement property to 30 and 40 year olds? Bearing in mind that this was

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Only 2% were over 65, indicating that if you are going to retire abroad you plan ahead

largely a UK resident sample, perhaps the choices of the places where they were going to buy are not surprising. The top 10 (and once you get outside the top 10 the numbers are very tiny) was headed by France and Spain, each of which countries has a market share five times or more larger than their rivals. The choice of

countries for retirement is very different from the choice when buying a holiday home. Figure 3. Equally varied is the choice of the type of property that people are thinking of buying. Figure 4. It will come as no surprise that, compared with the market as a whole, more retirees wish to buy in the countryside and fewer in resorts but more interesting still is the difference between the buyers’ intentions in the various countries. For example, amongst those thinking of retiring to Spain 38% wish to live in the countryside, 26% in a town or city and 24% in a resort. By contrast, in France a whopping 72% of people thinking to retire wanted to buy property in the countryside, a mere 11% in a town or city and a vanishingly small 1% in a resort. See Fig5. Just as interesting is the lack of difference in the ways in which people looking to buy in the various countries intend to locate their property. In all countries the use of local agents to find property is many times more popular than the use of agents

“back home”. See Figure 6. To find out more about the Rightmove survey, read February’s OPP when we will examine in detail the profile of the people buying as investors. Alternatively, come to OPPLive (London, 27 & 28 November 2013) when Rightmove will be presenting a seminar about their survey and how you can take advantage of the data in it.

OPP would like to thank Rightmove Overseas, and particularly Aimee Valaitis and Head of Overseas Shameen Golamy, for carrying out this survey and sharing the information with us.

www.rightmove.co.uk

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COUNTRY REPORT Turkey

Turkey’s star is rising Turkey is perfectly positioned, ambitious and young

urkey has come a long way in a few years. Tourism has more than quadrupled in 13 years; its bid for the 2020 Olympics came close; its military is resisting the temptation to take power whenever it feels threatened, big infrastructure projects are under construction or being planned and accession talks are still under way to join the European Union. In the meantime, being outside the Eurozone has boosted its appeal among its main overseas property-buyer group, the British, who have bought on the Aegean/ Mediterranean coast – the provinces of Antalya, Mugla and Aydin – in their tens of thousands in the past decade or so, attracted by a low cost of living, winter sun,

East meets west: the bridge across the Bosphorus

friendly people and a nice interest rate on their savings. With one foot in Europe and another in Asia, and the brand new (29 October 2013) tunnel linking the two, Istanbul is a major global

city, with the fifth busiest airport in the world and an even bigger one planned. With the 20th biggest economy in the world and a young, educated population, Turkey is very much a country to watch.

GEOGRAPHY Area: 784,000km2 Similar to: Mozambique, Chile Coastline: 7,200km Highest point: Mount Ararat, at 5,166m, in the east of the country. Capital: Ankara; Turkey’s second largest city, population 4.5 million. Istanbul has nearly 14 million. Climate: The areas where most holiday homes are sold, the Aegean coast in the west, and Mediterranean coast in the south, have a temperate Mediterranean climate. Summers are very hot and dry, with daytime temperatures usually above 30º. Snow in these areas is rare in the winter, whereas winter conditions can be harsh in the interior. Looks like: First time visitors to Turkey are often surprised at how green it is. There are lush forests along the cooler, mistier, more mountainous Black Sea coast, while the steep hills that sweep down to the golden beaches in tourist hotspots like Olu Deniz are densely wooded. Being mountainous, the hinterland has deep gorges, rushing rivers and ski resorts.

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Istanbul

Bursa

Ankara

TURKEY

Usak Konya

Adana

DECEMBER 2013

PEOPLE Ethnic demographics

70-75% Turkish 18% Kurdish 7-12% others

Population: 80 million (the population grew by 14.5% between 2000 and 2010) Population density: 94.4/km2 Average age: 29 Ages: 0-15 = 26%, over 60 = 9% Life expectancy: 73 Languages: Turkish, Kurdish Religion: 98% Muslim (Sunni). However, since the days of Kemal Ataturk, Turkey has been vigorously secular, despite being ruled by an Islamist President and Prime Minister in recent years. Politics: The Republic of Turkey is a parliamentary democracy, where President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan from the Islamist Justice and Development Party AKP. The next (and first) Presidential elections are in 2014, the next General Election in June 2015.

THE ECONOMY GDP: US$775bn (average growth 2006-11 = 3.5%) Inflation: 8.1% average 2007-12 Based on: Clothing and textiles, agriculture, iron and steel, cars, tourism Public debt: 36% of GDP Tax: 23% of GDP Exchange rates:

Corruptions Perceptions Index: 54 out of 176

2TRY

GB£1

3.21TRY

EU€1

2.72TRY

AU$1

1.9TRY

INR1

0.03TRY

Ease of Doing Business Index:

CNY1

0.33TRY

69 out of 185

90 out of 185

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Human Development Index:

US$1

COUNTRY REPORT Turkey

TOURISM Total arrivals: 2012: 35 million, 2011: 31.5 million, 2010: 28.6million, 2005: 21million, 2000: 8 million. Turkey’s astonishing growth in tourism since 2000 has seen a quadrupling of visitor numbers. Many of these are visiting the sites such as the Roman ruins at Ephesus, the remains of Troy and Cappadocia in the east, and Istanbul, but residential tourism has taken off along the Turkish Riviera – the south and east coast.

Tourists in Cappadocia

Where Turkey’s tourists came from, 2012 Germany 5 million Russia 3.5 UK 2.4 Bulgaria 1.5 Georgia 1.4 Netherlands 1.2 Iran 1.1 France 1 USA 0.8 Syria 0.7

travel Direct flights are available to Istanbul from most world cities. However, Istanbul is another hour’s flight from the tourist resorts of the west coast, which is well served with regional airports at Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman and Izmir. Flying times to Istanbul Moscow Paris

3 hours 5.5 hours

London 4 hours Dubai

4.5 hours

Delhi

5.5 hours

New York 10 hours Hong Kong 10 hours Singapore

Vancouver 11.5 hours LA

Beijing 8.5 hours

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Rio de Janeiro 12.5 hours

10.5 hours

13.5 hours

Sydney 18 hours Auckland 21 hours

Miniaturk Park, Istanbul

DECEMBER 2013

Residential market Data Price (sq.m): €2,905

Rental Yield: 5.05%

Rent/month: €1,468

Income Tax:

14.6%

Roundtrip Cost:

9.93%

Landlord/ Pro-tenant tenant law:

Source: Global property guide Foreign buyers in Turkey UK 35,825

Germany 29,219

Greece 10,830

Ireland

6,816

Holland 5,907

Denmark

Where foreign owners bought 5,833

Norway 5,541

Russia

2,299

Antalya

42,173

Mersin

Mugla

20,657

Ankara

1,746

Aydin

18089

Hatay

1,419

Istanbul

13,000

Balikesir

1,122

Bursa

5,575

Others

13,937

Izmir

5,432

Total

125,449

5,415

Austria 4,470

Belgium

3,478

Source: REIDIN.com, at August 2012 Over the past five years, prices in the main residential tourism areas fell from around US$850 per square metre (psm) in July 2008 by at least 50%. Since then they have bumped along at around $550-600psm, but with another dip in early 2012 to $500psm. Since then they have recovered slightly, allowing the Reidin-Gyoder new home price index to show price rises for the year to September 2013 of 13.8%, with average monthly rises of 2% in the summer. Property portals include www.propertyandturkey.com and www.evbazar.com

Turkey and the european union

REsidence for investment visa Since April 2013, Turkey has had a residence for investment scheme. Until then, property owners were allowed to stay on a 90-day rolling residency permit, but now, says the law: “A foreign person who owns property in Turkey shall be given a residence permit for one year and this residence permit shall be renewed every year as long as the property is owned.”

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Turkish PM Erdogan has complained that no country has ever waited to join the EU as long as Turkey has. Accession talks started in 2005 but have constantly been delayed. Just this summer Germany asked the EU to delay membership talks for another four months. The sticking points include Erdogan himself, his crackdown on protestors this summer and his odd attitude to democracy (“Democracy is like a tram. You ride it until you arrive at your destination, then you step off”). For a country to join requires unanimous agreement from all EU members, and some countries are nervous of allowing 80 million members of a Muslim nation to live in Europe. Other countries, such as Britain, are in favour, believing that it will encourage moderate Islamism. For the same reason, the US is keen to get Turkey into the EU. There is also the issue that only 3% of the country is in Europe, the rest is in Asia, offering a distinctly porous border. With Turkey unwilling to meet EU demands and not wanted by some member states anyway, don’t hold your breath.

COUNTRY REPORT Turkey

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS Unity Bay, Akbuk The Akbuk Resort Group’s fourth development along this popular stretch of coast north of Bodrum, Unity Bay Resort is a hotel and leisure complex that will be open for the 2017 season. Fractional schemes start at £9,000 (€10,600) and full ownership from £107,000 (€126,300). www.akbukresortgroup.com, +44 (0)845 230 5210. Altinkum Apartments from £32,900 (€39k) and duplexes from £59,900 (€70,700) with communal swimming pool, sea views from the balcony. www.turkishconnextions.com Istanbul Oceanic Bayview Villas features five to seven bedroom detached villas from GB£927,000 (€1.1m), with private swimming pools and gardens in an exclusive area with lake and countryside views. www.universal21.com, +90 212 366 0214

Pictures, clockwise from above: Oceanic Bayview Villas, Istanbul; Unity Bay, Akbuk; apartments in Altinkum; Imperial Plaza, Istanbul

Istanbul Imperial Plaza, within the Old Beylikduzu area, close to the city’s universities and colleges, has student properties available from GB£31,500 (€37,700) with an 8% rental guarantee for five years on studios. The building includes a Turkish bath and swimming pools. www.universal21.com, +90 212 366 0214

mortgage market

Mortgages in turkey by Clare Nessling

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onsidering that Turkey didn’t offer mortgages to foreign nationals until 2007, availability is generally good. It’s possible to obtain loans of up to 80% loan to value (based on the execution value; the market value can be lower), and rates currently start from 6.15% for a variable deal, and 6.6% for a fixed deal over one year. Lenders tend to prefer shorter terms of 10-15 years. Mortgages can be denominated in euro or sterling, and are on a repayment basis only. Rather than relying on set criteria, lenders are now focusing much more on the individual case and require more details about

income and outgoings, so it’s important for applicants to have their accounts in good order. It’s also imperative that they seek advice from an independent, English-speaking lawyer to ensure that the title is secured, military

checks are undertaken and the TAPU (title deed document) is transferred. Clare Nessling www.mortgagesoverseas.com Tel: +44 (0) 1273 772811

AGents WAnteD seLL QuALity fLoriDA reAL estAte

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NEWS Legal Words | David M. Disick

FCA vs USA: a comparison David Disick uses his experience in the US to take a critical look at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority

hilosophically, I am against governmental regulation, which too often inhibits the marketplace.However, I think that the new regulations from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority are a good thing. Based on experience in the US markets, the new regulations can (a) improve public perception of the fairness of the marketplace, which inevitably translates into more business for the market; and (b) gives discipline to practitioners, the result of which is more effective marketing and sales of financial products. I want to deal with the major aspects of the regulation. Firstly, the expanded definition of NonMainstream Pooled Investments (NMPIs). This has expanded the former definition of unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) to include schemes that

The new regulations can improve public perception of the fairness of the marketplace

Justice must be served: regulation can lead to a more transparent market This is not unlike the US definition of accredited investors. Thirdly, the new regulations make clear that financial promotion subject to the law is not limited to formal investor offerings. It can include seminars, advertisements, website information. This recognizes reality because those more informal communications can be used for the same purpose as formal presentations. The US has recognised this for some time, and there is an impressive body of case law defining the scope of presentations to which protections are applicable.

The Law’s Scope As John Howell noted in October’s OPP “The FCA… emphasizes that regardless of compliance with the letter of the law about an exemption from the ban, firms have an ‘overriding obligation to act in the customer’s best interest. They must be satisfied that it is fair and in the clients’ interest to promote a NMPI to them.’” This provision goes beyond our American regulations by getting to the bottom line – is this investment appropriate for my client? This (a) ensures that the

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for all practical purposes should be regulated but which clever practitioners could design around. This is good for the industry because it weeds out schemes that are the equivalents of the formerly defined UCIS and so should be regulated. Secondly, by specifically delineating certified high net worth investors, certified sophisticated investors, or self certified sophisticated investors, the new regulations ensure that those clients needing protection receive it.

law’s basic purpose of protecting investors needing protection is met; and (b) as a practical matter, will sharpen the focus of marketing and sales by requiring the marketer to focus on the client’s real needs. One technique that we have used in the US to this end is the offeree’s questionnaire, which elicits the client’s profile and consequently guides how more effectively to market to the client. For example, offerees can be asked how long they expect to hold the property and, in view of past data, what the buyer expects to happen. The buyer can also be asked what for them makes a good investment and what the buyer thinks/feels about the future value of the property and the quality and benefits of the property. The buyer can be asked whether they are considering purchase or profit at resale. This way, the offer to them can be specifically tailored. Of course, responses to appreciation or investment questions should avoid predictions of future value. The bottom line to me, despite the hue and cry in some quarters, is that the new rules can be a blessing in disguise.

of our readers said they read their Overseas Guides newsletter every week

1 0 0 82 50 %

of people buying property abroad do not sign up for a viewing trip organised by a single agent

of our clients want more information on buying overseas property!

commitment to % % our partners. of Brits moving abroad of Brits buying overseas

rely on income from a UK pension, a combination of pensions and investments, or solely investments in the UK or abroad

want to be within an hour of the airport; only 27% would stretch to being within a two hour transfer time

We only provide our partners with high quality clients who are expecting to hear from them. When we refer a client to one of our professional partners, we know that they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to go elsewhere to be sure of a successful overseas property purchase. Right now, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for new, quality partners to join our existing select network of agents and service providers.

Find out how a partnership with The Overseas Guides Company would benefit your business. Get in touch on 020 7898 0549 or email partners@overseasguidescompany.com.

THE OVERSEAS GUIDES COMPANY

LETTER FROM Egypt

A Letter From Egypt

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Egypt continues to dominate the headlines world over but surprisingly this hasn’t put off international investors, who come to Ancient Sands from throughout Europe, in particular the UK, Belgium and Switzerland, the Middle East as well as local clients – and they keep coming. When I first started Ancient Sands about six years ago, with my joint venture partner Samih Sawiris, I looked at what was fundamentally a big area of sand and wondered how we could turn it into something special. The only passing traffic then was the odd camel, yet next year Jeremy Sturgess (2014) the resort will be home to an international array of people staying at the five star hotel. Egypt is just 4.5 hours flight from the UK and compares Jeremy Sturgess well with other places you can reach in this time, offering Board Member and JV year-round sunshine at a reasonable cost. No surprise Partner that European investors in touristic development and real www.ancientsandsresort.com estate continue to come here. They are also attracted by +44 (0) 207 873 4087 Egypt’s very low tax environment which was designed partly to attract inward investment to the country. New property tax incentives are in the pipeline, just awaiting presidential approval – and we are confident this will help the market even more. With the absence of mortgage finance in Egypt, most purchases of property are cash purchasers, although the Egyptians can now tap into the evolving mortgage market. The low debt in Egypt has helped sustain the property market and the economy during the past few years. The economy of Egypt is also well protected, primarily by their ‘ownership’ of the Suez canal – a source of over $5 billion per year. Property prices remain steady, thanks in part to a very strong local purchaser market in the region. For luxury homes, demand continues to come from Cairo’s elite, partly because El Gouna, where our project is based, is generally considered to be the safest place in Egypt. Different regions in Egypt tend to perform differently from one another – but in general there is a slight undersupply of property with the growing population and steady flow of international demand. The main tip I would have for investors in Egypt is to ensure there is a local market either to buy or to rent. Preferably both! A mix of nationalities can protect your investment, but international buyers may come and go depending on what’s popular, changes in government legislation and so on, while the local market should be your constant. All in all, as I sit in the marina in El Gouna, writing this letter, I can’t help thinking that with the stunning superyachts in view and boats queuing to leave the marina for a day at sea, there is ia Colomb no comparable lifestyle – especially at such a low cost.

EVENTS Review

Wish you were there? The exhibitions of October and early November 2013 Cityscape Global, Dubai Our reviewer: MD of Orient Desert Real Estate First time here? No, we exhibit in all the exhibitions, this year and last. We took two stands, one was 9x2.5 metres, the other was 3x3metres. How well organised was it? Very well organised. The people at Informa are nice and we were very happy. Was the show big enough? There were a huge number of exhibitors, yet lots were left on the waiting list as it has been fully booked for months. Some of the developers’ stands were huge. What were the visitors like? Very high quality buyers from all over the world, so we know that the organisers must have been advertising the show globally. We had lots from Europe in general and especially Germany. Also Americans and Arabs. Was it expensive? Very expensive! The basic cost wasn’t too bad, but there were lots of hidden costs. We invested maybe half a million dirhams (US$136k, €101,500, GB£84,600) in total for both stands, including stand building. Did you sell much? Yes. You could make your money back by lunchtime on the first day. There were lots of buyers and they knew what they were looking for. It’s even better and easier than before the crisis. People know what they want. Next events: Cityscape Riyadh, 8-10 December, Abu Dhabi 22-24 April, Jeddah 3-5 May. www.informaexhibitions.com

www.opp-connect.com

Property Hunter Expo, Borneo

Miri Indoor Stadium, Sarawak, Malaysia The island of Borneo played host when homes and commercial properties worth MYR50million (US$15m) were sold. Properties were mainly from Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Exhibitors included Australia Property and Development with its C3 Apartment in Melbourne and the Far East Organisation with the Westcom in Singapore. Show organiser Michael Hiew says he was expecting more visitors, but adds that people in Miri are certainly ready and keen to invest in properties at home and abroad. Comments included: “We are very pleased with the response of the expo. Unfortunately the only thing that is holding customers back is the strict loan policy imposed by the bank. Despite this, it is clear that people from Miri are keen to invest, and we have received numerous bookings.” Ali Daud Senior Operation Executive of The Wharf, Puchong. “We are glad to have brought in quality Australian projects to showcase to the local people of Miri. We are pleasantly surprised by the openness of the locals towards Australian properties.” Jenny Neoh MD of Australia Property and Development. Next events: PH Expo, 29 November – 1 December, also 7-9 March 2014, both at Sabah Trade Centre, Malaysia. www.propertyhunter.com.my

DECEMBER 2013

Luxury Property Show, London

Property Investor Show, London Excel Centre, London. The organisers were pleased with visitor numbers of 4,389. This was a rise of 7% on the last show. The organiser’s testimonials: “…a tremendous success and arguably one of the busiest we have attended in the last couple of years. From the moment the show opened, our team of consultants were inundated with requests for meetings. Faceto-face contact is of the utmost importance and the event gave us the perfect opportunity to arrange meetings with existing and new clients, many of whom travelled to the show specifically to meet us…” Samantha Jones, Head of Marketing , Knight Knox International. “This is our first year at this exhibition and the response we’ve had compares most favourably with events we have attended in other countries. Great show.” Bruce Ailion, Partner, ATL Investors LLC (Atlanta)

Imag

Hurlingham Club, London OPP review: The croquet lawns and Thamesside location of Fulham’s Hurlingham Club were a good venue, though inside felt a little cramped, even without a vast number of visitors when OPP visited between 12 and 2pm on day two, a Wednesday. There were 53 exhibitors listed in the Show Guide in a T-shaped room; a good mix of investment and lifestyle properties, with a few solicitors, architecture and interior design specialists. Well represented were the USA, Bahamas (with at least three exhibitors), Spain and Portugal. OPP spoke informally to most of the exhibitors. All seemed happy with the organisation of the event, but there was a clear divide in opinion on visitor numbers. Our straw poll of exhibitors found just under a third happy with the number of visitors and planning a return next year, a similar number unhappy with the footfall and not planning a return, and just over a third undecided. No-one that OPP spoke to said they had made any sales so far, but some exhibitors were pleased with the quality of the leads. All mentioned the high number of trade visitors at the show. Next event: 28-29 October 2014, Hurlingham Club London www.theluxurypropertyshow.com

www.opp-connect.com

Our reviewer, Jean Liggett of www.propertiesoftheworld.co.uk First time there? Yes, it was our first time at the Property Investor Show. Was it well organised? They were very professional, attentive and immediately sorted everything out that needs to be sorted out. Easy and a pleasure to work with. They were focused on promoting Properties of the World as well as other exhibitors and their products, e.g. an e-mailer on student accommodations pre-show. Show director Mike Doyle helped me sort out how to do the panels on the stand to achieve maximum impact and effectively communicate our property investments to show attendees. This gave me real confidence going into the show, that we had got our stand right. Where you busy? It was really good. On Friday from about 11am to 2.30pm it was full on and we had people queuing. On Saturday it was a bit slow, picking up about 2pm. What did you think of the venue? ExCel is very good, but a bit factory like. I prefer Earls Court and Olympia because I am keen on iconic architecture and buildings with a bit of character. What did you think of the location? It’s become so normal to go to ExCel. Mind you, I think it is a bit far. I would prefer a more centrally located venue. The DLR from Canning Town does not run frequently enough, about every 10 minutes. The cost of exhibiting? Reasonable. What did you think of the pre-publicity? It was very good. The exhibition company went out of its way to include all exhibitors in the pre-show publicity campaigns. What did you think of the footfall? Very good. A bit slow on Saturday morning, however. And we found on Saturday that attendees were less serious buyers. How good were the leads? Quite good. Anyone buying? Yes Next events: 11-12 April, 10-11 October, both at Excel Centre. www.propertyinvestor.co.uk

Image in dropbox folder (nicked off Google...)

BUSINESS Briefing

Where will you be? Real estate events of December ‘13 - February ‘14 Property Management (PM) Expo

Cityscape Riyadh RIYADH EXHIBITION CENTRE, SAUDI ARABIA Now in its fourth year, Cityscape Riyadh seems to be expecting another successful exhibition. Last year’s show attracted over 10,000 visitors (77% of whom intended to visit again, according to the organiser’s survey). Self-proclaimed “premier platform” in attracting property professionals from around the world, the December show will include the Cityscape Awards and a three-day real estate summit held alongside the main exhibition. Exhibiting will be the usual mix of developers, agents, city authorities and “supporting” service providers. www.cityscaperiyadh.com

10-12 dec

METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE. “Canada’s source for strategies and solutions for managing and operating buildings” is expected to draw over 24,000 attendees, 450 speakers and 1,050 exhibits at this year’s event – its 25th. The expo will showcase new real estate products (from innovative paving stones to software packages) and feature a “Zero Waste Event”, promoting green practices and with the aim of making the show 100% sustainable. The conference schedule is heavy on energy efficiency and also features talks on law and business techniques. www.pmexpo.com

04-06 DEC

TriplePlay REALTOR Convention & Trade Expo

ATLANTIC CITY CONVENTION CENTER, NEW JERSEY Started in 2000, this event runs an educational convention and trade exhibition side-by-side, attracting thousands of American property professionals from across the States (although the site’s extensive visitor statistics show that around 63% of these come from the New Jersey area). Most exhibitors and visitors will specialise in residential property, alongside a smattering of commercial and land sales – though an interesting 13% specialise in “other or unspecified”. Realtors have the opportunity to sign up to “Designation courses” for a fee, with titles such as “At Home with Diversity” and “Effective Negotiating for Real Estate Professionals”. The event will also host annual awards and a keynote presentation entitled, “What do world class innovators do that others don’t do?” by Jim Carroll. www.realtorstripleplay.com

www.opp-connect.com

09-12 DEC

Beijing International Luxury Property Show

CHINA NATIONAL CONVENTION CENTER The high-end private investment event LPS China, Beijing International Luxury Property Show, organized by Haiming International Exhibition Group, aims to show the high-end property and home furnishing from all over the world to buyers in the northern area in China. The high-end properties include apartments, castles, golf villas, islands, deluxe bungalows, etc. The event will also provide a platform for displaying ‘future living concepts’ (interior design, construction etc). The organisers expect visitors to include celebrities and important members of the government, as well as high net worth Chinese and overseas buyers. www.beijingexhibition.com

12-14 dec

Times Property Expo

PRAGATI MAIDAN, DELHI Times Property Expo 2013 will see exhibitors from residential, commercial and township businesses from around the world. Buyers, both NRIs and foreign investors, will be looking for properties in India, the UK, UAE and Australia, among other countries. The show aims to take advantage of the improvement in quality of Indian real estate, both commercial and residential, as well as the influx of foreign developers in recent year. The site boasts of an “elite” invitee list of decision makers and CEOs. Times will also be running an expo in Mumbai from 20-22 December. www.timespropertyexpo.com

12-14 dec

EVENTS Preview

Wenzhou Overseas Property Investment Expo

14-15 WENZHOU OLYMPIC HOTEL The WZOPIE show looks to capitalise on the dec growing trend of the region’s high net worth individuals buying private property overseas. The invitation-only event is set to attract wealthy individuals, investment institutions, top-level property professionals and government representatives. As well as the more traditional locations of Europe, the US and Australia, the show will see representation from Singapore and other South East Asian countries. Though featuring a high proportion of foreign luxury property, the expo will also showcase Wenzhou property – aiming partly to cater to wealthy expats returning to the area. www.chinaexhibition.com

Pattaya Property Show HILTON PATTAYA This four-day show, organised by exhibition expert Mike Bridge, will see new developments – including condos, villas and houses – in and around the city and from other regions in Thailand. The expo has seen 70% of its exhibitor space sold at the time of print, with 40+ exhibitors confirmed. The organisers are promising a ‘significant’ marketing campaign, including online print and billboard advertising, leading up to the event, which looks to attract a healthy footfall of serious investors and those merely curious about buying in the country. www.pattayapropertyshow.com

09-12 jan

Expo Inmobiliaria ACOBIR

Fair Media

STOCKHOLM & GOTHENBURG In the chilly Nordic region, the exhibition year kicks off in Sweden with Fair Media's February 22-23 shows. Sweden is an increasingly desirable buyers feb market for international sellers of property to tap into. The website cites a study carried out by Kairos Future AB, Plans for Retirement of The Record Generation, 1,200,000 Swedes born between 1945 – 1954 showing that: • 26 % (312,000) WILL buy properties in a warmer country when they retire • 67 % want early retirement (55 – 62 years) The Stockholm show, from 1 – 2 February, will be held at Kistamässan. After starting in 2003 with just 14 exhibitors and 1,500 visitors, the show has grown substantially and is well worth a visit if you want to connect with Swedish buyers. The Gothenburg expo, from 22 – 23 February, will be held at Svenska Mässan (The Swedish Fair). Last year they saw a record number of visitors and this spring will see exhibitors from around 20 different countries. Both shows arrange free seminars for the public, focussing on popular destinations for Scandinavian buyers as well as more specific talks on tax, pensions and mortgages. www.fairmedia.se

01-02 feb

The Bulgarian Home Show TISHINKA EXHIBITION CENTER, MOSCOW The Bulgarian Home Exhibition draws wealthy Russians looking to invest in Bulgarian residential property – the country being a popular destination for Russians, especially those buying for retirement or leisure (according to the website, 338,000 Russian citizens owned property in Bulgaria in 2012, with the number increasing 8-12% annually). Around 100 exhibitors are expected to take part in the show (real estate agencies, construction firms, developers, consultants etc) specialising in the Bulgarian market. The show will also run a seminar programme focusing on the market, details of which have yet to be released. www.bgshow.ru

14-15 feb

www.opp-connect.com

29-02 ATLAPA CONVENTION CENTER, PANAMA CITY Organised by The Panamanian Brokers and jan-feb Real Estate Developers Association (ACOBIR), the Expo Inmobiliara, now in its sixth year, looks to “incentivise investments in real estate, through the presentation of the most important projects, properties and developments in Panama and other destinations”. Visitors will include international investors interested in commercial, residential and tourism areas; brokers; design and architecture professionals and hotel chain executives, among others. Exhibiting alongside developers and agents will be financial companies, government institutions and real estate publications. www.expoinmobiliariapanama.org

THE OPP INTERVIEW Simon Baker Words | Christopher Nye

Portal prophet

Australian Simon Baker shows us the past, present and future of property portals

e’re living in an increasingly online world. But how easy is it to get a slice of the action?

www.opp-connect.com

How did you get into the property portals business?

In the late 2000s I was working at News Corp in Australia and I was asked to look at realestate.com. au because News Corp wanted to invest in it. Up to then I hadn’t had much exposure to online property market, but it seemed a very obvious business and it made a lot sense for people to rent a house and book accommodation on the internet. I thought there was a lot of potential in this market – and, fortunately, things have played out very well for those who invested in these businesses back then.

What makes a good portal? Good portals – Rightmove, seloger, immoscout24 – all have something in common: they dominate their market in terms of brand, listings

and leads generated for advertisers. Lots of guys are attempting to get market dominance, spending lots of money not getting there. They haven’t got a strong brand, don’t get as many leads for advertisers and, at the end of the day, don’t create a lot of value for investors.

I thought there was a lot of potential in this market – and things have turned out very well Of course, other portals have a supporting role. It’s very rare that one portal is dominant in every market in a country. There are a whole bunch of micro markets where some players perform better than others. For a long time you had (in the UK) Rightmove outside M25 and Prime Location as the

portal of choice within the M25. In some suburbs of Australia domain. com is the dominant player, in Canberra, allhomes is dominant. But while realestate.com.au is nationally dominant supplementary players can never get to scale. In Germany, immonet is strong in Nurnberg and immovel is strong in Hamburg, yet overall it is immoscout24 that is dominant. That’s usually legacy issues – when you look at them it is often to do with where they were started.

What is bad Portal practise? Bad pictures, no pictures, no prices, no address. Outdated and not-really-for-sale listings. In some countries listings are up that aren’t even for sale, as a ‘bait and switch’. Avoid all that and you have a chance of having a good proposition in the market. Floor plans should be up there, and you need good filtering. Agents sometimes forget that purchasers’ time is important – don’t waste it.

DECEMBER 2013

How many pictures is enough? If I was selling a property I would put up as many pictures as possible. Some agents just want the phone to ring and don’t care why it rings. But as an agent I just want the phone to ring with people who are truly interested in a property. I want the portal to work really hard for me, to give me leads that I can close. My time is valuable too.

What is the most important new technology? People don’t come to portals for data reports and all the rest, they come to search for houses. The most important thing is to have high volumes of quality content. If one portal has 100% of listings in a market but only a search facility, and another has 30% of the listings but all the bells and whistles, where will you usually go? To the 100%. The area where innovation can still occur is in mobile. Portals have to learn how people use phones and tablets – they use their fingers for navigation, there’s less advertising on screen so they have to think really smart about how they do stuff, and they are mobile so you have that extra capacity for searching and interacting behaviour. Loads of innovations are occurring. You’ll see things like going to a map onscreen and drawing your finger around the area you’re interested in. I was in the US and was interested in this house for sale, and there was a sign outside so I went to realtor.com and suddenly, bang, up it popped and I coud do a virtual walk through of the house from outside. It all gives the user a better experience.

Do househunters understand the possibilities of portals?

BSc (Comp Sci), Monash University MBA: Melbourne Business School, 1994

Work:

Simon Baker

Executive Chairman McKinsey and Co, Australia 1995-99 CAV Investment Holdi ngs News Corp, Australia, 2000-2008 Email: sbaker@cav ih.com Chief Business Development Officer, CEO, Realestate.com.au, (REA Group) During his time at the REA Group, Simon grew revenues from $4m in FY 2001 to $155m in FY 2008 and grew EBITDA from $6m in FY 2001 to $37m in FY 2008. Most importantly, Simon delivered great returns for the shareholders by increasing the market capitalisation from $8m in June 2001 to over $600m in in June 2008. 2008 onwards Serial investor in both portals and supporting technologies, including vivareal in Brazil, listglobally, transmit Owner of propertyportalwatch, the industry online magazine.

Where do you see growth? International. More and more portals are using plug-ins such as listglobally, which lets local people search internationally, and sell their homes internationally. That makes sense – there are a lot of Russians out there, or a lot of French who want to move to England. This lets you get those properties in front of them, in their own language, in their own country.

What do you think of attempts by people like Lamudi to enter the market in emerging countries? It’s a good strategy to open up in 20 markets, throw a lot of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. Then go deeper on whatever gets traction. They may be very smart German guys but It’s hard. These countries all have portals already. There are already major players in Brazil. If they turn up in Nigeria they’ve got a fight with Nigeria homes, and so on.

How profitable are portals? There are hundreds of portals but maybe 10 really big businesses. A few guys have hit it for six and lots of others have got caught at first slip. It’s a hard and long game, and the dominant players like Rightmove and Immoscout24

started in the late 1990s. Look at all the guys in the UK who have fallen by the wayside – findaproperty, propertyfinder, lots of others. You can set a portal up, no problem, but agents are only going to pay you if you get them leads.

Should agents love or hate portals? Agents should be putting their arms round portals and kissing them. The model that most portals use is a flat fee for all your listings, for maybe £200-400 per month. That changes between countries: in Brazil they may have 200 properties; in the UK maybe 30 to 40. That’s just to advertise – you pay extra for all the premium products. But it’s probably your prime lead source, worth its weight in gold. I’d like to know, for £400 per month, how many of your listings you’re going to get into a newspaper. Very few. Agents are now getting their listings in front of significantly more eyeballs for a tenth of the price. But people will always still need an agent. Absolutely. The acquisition and sale of property is the biggest transaction that 95% of people will do in their lives, and what are you paying in the UK, 1%? Of course you pay the money, it’s an insurance policy.

www.opp-connect.com

Yes. Searching online is embedded into the searching process whether that’s travel, books or entertainment. If you’re in the UK and looking to buy a house in Nice, France, you go online and see what’s available in Nice. If you don’t want to look in French, Google will translate it for you. So there is so much technology working for you to make that search process so much easier.

Age: 46 Born: Melbourne Lives in: Monaco Education:

Could you sell a proven property investment with guaranteed returns? ve ) Li all PP H O ary at br s (Li tu 3 si 3 Vi and St

The Resort Group (TRG) is the premier developer of 5-star properties in Cape Verde and is now actively looking for new agents to expand their successful sales network. TRG offer full training, sales and marketing support alongside excellent rates of commission. Why The Resort Group?  Safe, secure and proven Investment Model  Full due diligence and audited accounts  £10K for entry level fractional investments  7% p.a. return assured during construction  Delivering on-going rental income – projected at 6-9%  Capital growth anticipated between 4-6% p.a.  Partnership with Meliá Hotels International – world’s largest resort operator Why Cape Verde?  All-year round tropical climate with average temperatures from 24° to 30°C  World-class beach resort destination  Spectacular growth in tourism with a 115% increase since 2000*  Weekly direct ﬂights from the UK, in just 5½ hours  Strict legislation and controls protects against over development  Political stability and a growing economy since late 1990’s *National Institute of Statistics of Cape Verde

EXCLUSIVE NEW

Agent Offer

There is no better way to sell a Cape Verde property than for your client to experience the Islands and our developments for themselves. We are currently offering our property inspection tours, staying at our 5-star Melia Tortuga resort for 7 nights all-inclusive, for only £500 per person. Plus, we’ll deduct this amount from their reservation fee if they go on to purchase!

Contact: Adam Ellis Tel: +44 (0)1332 387 818 Email: info@theresortgroupplc.com Web: www.theresortgroupplc.com

FX REPORT Malaysian ringgit Words | Charles Purdy, Director of Smart Currency Exchange

Malaysian ringgit strengthens Charles Purdy gives us the details on the ringgit: the currency that is dominating South East Asia

rior to 2005, the Malaysian ringgit was “pegged” to the US dollar. This meant that when the US dollar strengthened by, say, 5% against sterling or the euro, so did the ringgit. In theory, since 2005 the ringgit can move independently of the US dollar – but movement has been limited as the ringgit is not a freely transferable currency. What this means is that it is not

It is not possible to buy or sell the ringgit internationally as you can do with sterling, for example

need to use someone like Smart Currency Exchange to help you. The Chinese renminbi and the Russian rouble are seeing the gradual removal of restrictions and it is expected that the Malaysians will eventually do the same but, given the aim and need of the Malaysians to protect their foreign currency reserves, this is unlikely to happen any time soon. Even though the ringgit is not freely tradable it does change its value against the US dollar, sterling and the euro. Needless to say this movement tends to be

Get your live quote today or discuss your property business and impact of the foreign exchange – call the partnership team at Smart Currency on +44 (0)207 898 0541

possible to buy or sell the ringgit internationally as you can do with sterling, for example. However, it is possible to protect yourself from adverse currency movements by using what is known as the “nondeliverable” ringgit. To be able to utilize this you would probably

Come and visit us at OPPLive 2013 to talk about how exchange rate movements impact your business and clients and to receive a free review of our FX partnerships. We’ll be on the main stage in the main hall.

GBP per 1 MYR

EUR per 1 MYR

0.34

0.22

2.40

0.32 0.20

2.20

0.30 0.18

2.00 1.80

USD per 1 MYR

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

0.16

0.28 2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

0.26

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

www.opp-connect.com

2.60

fairly controlled in comparison to that seen elsewhere but it can be significant. For example, it has seen a low of 0.19 and a high of 0.22 against sterling over the last few years and currently sits around 0.198. Against the US dollar it has seen highs of 0.33 and lows of 0.30 and is just above 0.315 as I write. Against the euro it has seen highs of 0.26 and lows of 0.22. At this moment of time it is close to 0.233. So, as you can see, it’s not static. If you would like to discuss this in more detail please feel to get in touch with the writer.

Spanish-speaking Affiliate Manager wanted Salary: £18,000 basic with £70k OTE Location: Bedfordshire This is an exciting B2B sales position in the international property industry with a very successful investment property specialist selling their own developments via a network of affiliates and agents. This is a phone based sales role where you will be calling property professionals to get them interested in selling the investment properties being developed by our client. Once you have signed them up, you will nurture the relationship to ensure their interest and sales level remains high. We are looking for candidates who are fluent in Spanish and able to conduct a business conversation in Spanish - such as answering questions about the properties or purchase process. You will have lots of initiative, be self-motivated and enthusiastic with a clear telephone manner, great sales skills, a good level of English and you will also be hungry to earn money! If you meet these criteria, contact us today in confidence. About us: Sales Talent Spotters is a sales recruitment firm that specialises in uncovering sales stars and people with the potential to succeed in sales. Contact Sales Talent Spotters now about this position, quoting ref STS2058, on 020 3004 9113 or by email at philippe@salestalentspotters.com

ref STS2058

Job opportunity

Third Party Sales Distribution - Hong Kong A leading Alternative Investment promotions company with global reach has an opening for an experienced Investment Business Development Manager to join their new team in Hong Kong to establish their Third Party Sales Distribution Network. With an increasing number of investors facing uncertainty in the financial markets, more and more people are looking towards the Alternative Investment industry to provide safer opportunities for their mid-long term investments. Tangible Assets are becoming more popular and none more so than agricultural projects. The primary role of Business Development Manager is to act as an introducing agent to third party sales agents and ensuring that they are well versed in all aspects of the new products. This would be perfect for someone with a contact list of people who run sales floors or brokerage companies, and to introduce them to a basket of new tangible products. The ideal candidate: • Will have a deep understanding of the Hong Kong investment market • Must be able to work autonomously and without day to day micro management • Should have an existing client base to contact for new product introductions • Will be highly influential and comfortable in pressured situations If you are keen to be a part of a developing company and take the responsibility of a leading role in its future success, you’ll find this position will provide you with plenty of challenges as well as a competitive salary and commission package.

For more information call me today on +447824139591 or email: alan.macinnes@caporg.co.uk

Mandarin / Cantonese-speaking Affiliate Manager Salary: ÂŁ18,000 basic with ÂŁ70k OTE Location: Bedfordshire Our client is a very successful investment property company with offices in 3 countries. They are looking to recruit a Mandarin / Cantonese-speaking sales professional to call Chinese property professionals and get them interested in selling the properties being developed by our client. Once you have signed up new affiliates, you will also manage the relationship with them to maximize their ability and motivation to sell the properties. The company is looking for candidates who are able to conduct a business conversation in Mandarin or Cantonese, including explaining details of the developments and answering questions about the properties or purchase process. You will have lots of initiative, be self-motivated and enthusiastic with a clear telephone manner, great sales skills, a good level of English and you will also be keen to earn good money! About us: Sales Talent Spotters is a sales recruitment firm that specialises in uncovering sales stars and people with the potential to succeed in sales. Contact Sales Talent Spotters now about this position, quoting ref STS2056, on 020 3004 9113 or by email at philippe@salestalentspotters.com

ref STS2056

AND

27-2 NOV 8TH EMB AT C ER ENT R

US EE

O AT

AL WES TMIN HALL STER STAN D LECT 5 IN TH URE HAL E L

LIVE 2013

WITH HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES COMPETING FOR ATTENTION AT PROPERTY EXHIBITIONS, YOU NEED TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD.

WE CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT.

For more information, call +44 (0) 208 545 4910 or e-mail info@d2e.co.uk OPP Marketing Service - the marketing experts for the international property industry.

BUSINESS Next month

Coming next month in BUSINESS

AROUND THE WORLD

… FRACTIONAL

FEATURE

Malaysian buyers

We won! Did you?

A woman’s world?

Blurred lines

How do you access one of South East Asia’s biggest markets? The shows, the portals, the media.

Who won an OPP Award? Best affordable developer, best online service, best agent? Plus: tips from a judge on how to win next year

With cultural differences affecting cross-border sales, we look at the success, or otherwise, of female OPPs on the global stage.

Where does time-share end and fractional start. And freehold? The AIPP MD Peter Robinson separates fractional from fictional.

Paris, London, NY The world’s most glamorous locations seem immune from price falls. But who is buying there and when might the party end?

A letter from... OPP goes to the four corners of the world to find the issues and opportunities that estate agents face.

BUSINESS

PLUS ALL YOUR USUAL…

EXPERTS ADVISE

Inspection trips

Location branding

They’re back! At this autumn’s shows, some stands offering inspection trips were mobbed. But are they worth bothering with? What are the costs, the risks and the convertion rates.

“We’re at the heart of... we’re unspoilt... we’re exclusive... we’re full of other expats... we have palm trees, beaches, luxury...” What works and what doesn’t when selling your location?

• News & comment • Branding ideas • Mortgage report • Currency report • Business and training • Correspondent’s reports • The OPP Interview • Statistics and data • Show previews, reviews • Legal round-up

Recruiting? Advertise your job for free on OPP Connect

www.opp-connect.com

Want to take it a step further? If you would like a recruitment package tailored to your company’s needs contact: andy.grimley@opp-connect.com | +44 (0)208 734 3972

The greatest challenge we have, is how to let you know how the GMP systems can help you run your business, without being able to show you how .. so please call us.

GMP administration systems control all elements of your business, no matter how big or small you are, in the one-system without the large costs of bespoke systems or using

several other applications to do the same job.

Our software is ERP software allowing you to grow your system at your pace incorporating CRM functionality with many other modules and much, much more.

Invest your time in a free system demo www.gmp-ltd.com | +44 (0)845 504 8868

SEE US AT OPPLIVE 2013 27-28 November STAND 69 GREAT HALL

LETTER FROM Italy

Letter from Le Marche

www.opp-connect.com

Italy really does present a mixed picture at the moment. Inland properties close to the mountains are for sale in high numbers and taking quite a while to sell, while homes near the sea have held their value well, as there aren’t too many of them. Restored farmhouses are flooding the market – some owners have been hit hard by the recession, while others have realised they just don’t use their property enough. The result is that this sector is pretty slow, with some owners taking offers up to 20% less than the asking price. Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs Having lived in Le Marche since 2007, during which time my family and I have restored two incredible, luxury properties at Estate Giacomo Leopardi, I’ve seen Italy go Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs through a lot of changes as the recession has taken hold. Owner/Director It’s still a wonderful country and the friendliness of the www.appassionata.com people, the amazing cuisine and the stunning scenery have +39 073465 8775 been unaffected by the economic circumstances. Italy is a resilient place and here in Le Marche the sun and the beach cost nothing to enjoy. The fractional ownership approach that we have taken with our two holiday homes – Casa Leopardi and Casa Giacomo – has worked really well in Le Marche’s current market. We sold a re-sale share in Casa Giacomo recently, with an 18% increase in price in just two years. Local estate agents have told us that they can’t believe how well our fractions are selling. I think it is the combination of beautiful properties set in five acres of olive groves and vineyards, with the sea and mountains within easy reach and a medieval town just a few minutes away. It seems to be an irresistible combination. In fact, it’s the reason we chose to move to Italy and redevelop the properties in the first place. With only one fraction of Casa Leopardi left for sale (at £195,000), I’ve been careful to move with the market in terms of our next properties. We’ve purchased a townhouse and a palazzo to turn into fractional ownership holiday homes, as both of these are becoming increasingly popular. It’s important to me to keep up with demand, as I want to ensure that our owners benefit from the very best that Italy has to offer. Thus our two new urban properties are still within easy access of the coast. They also benefit from some wonderful outside space, which is very unusual for town properties of this kind. Italy is so attractive to foreign buyers right now. We have owners from England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzerland, America and South Africa, as well has from Italy. The climate, lifestyle and rich cultural history of Italy make it a real draw for those looking to ia Colomb own a holiday home overseas. In my opinion, there really is no better place.

Earn 10% commission on all of our large property portfolio Sell exclusive owned foreclosed assets in Florida all with tenants in place

COME VISIT US AT OPPLIVE 2013

Stand 14

(Lecture Hall)

• All our properties are in central Florida • Foreclosed properties start from $56,000 • Average ROI for your clients 6% to 10% • Commissions paid promptly

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

Show guide

www.opp-live.com

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

Contents

20 / OPPLive

SHOWGUIDE

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06-07 Floor plan: from exhibitors to seminars – finding your way around the show 08 Welcome to the show! A word from OPP’s Editorial Director John Howell

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10 How to make the most of OPPLive – tips and tricks for using your two days wisely 12 Smart Currency Exchange explain the value of understanding real estate in their industry 14 Rightmove Overseas are happy to share their knowledge and give sneak peeks of their projects 54 How to connect to OPP and keep updated for the exciting year ahead

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SHOWGUID

24-25 Student Accommodation. Find the opportunities and learn to avoid the pitfalls

22-23 Byte Size: technology can make all the difference. Here is how to make the most of it

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26-27 Booming Asia: everyone’s talking about Asian markets. Learn how to mine this rich seam

www.opp-live.com

44 The Country List: where our exhibitors are based and where they do business

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30-42 The Exhibitors: who is at OPPLive, what they offer and where you can find them

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18-21 OPPortunities: experts highlight the chances and challenges facing OPPs in 2014

of velo From de to distributors big data

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SEMINARS

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SPEAKERS 48-52 Speakers: where our seminar speakers came from and what they will be talking about

The information in this show guide was correct at the time of print but last minute alterations and bookings may affect accuracy.

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

the floorplan Our wonderful new venue comprises four main areas plus the seminar halls – make sure you explore them all seminars The programme of seminars, panel discussions and debates combines topics of great importance to our industry with top class speakers dealing with them in an expert and entertaining way. Seminars will be running from 10am – 5pm on both Wednesday and Thursday and are all 45 minutes in duration. You can access the seminar theatres – the rooms are named George Thomas, Robert Perks and Dinsdale Young – by going through the Library and Lecture Halls doors. The rooms will be well sign-posted.

Library Hall

lecture hall

EcoHouse Group

Powerhouse Development Co .Ltd.

www.opp-live.com

assetz

Department for Promotion Municipality of Giżycko

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

great hall sponsors stage rightmove overseas and

smart currency exchange

Premier Alternatives global management platform

foyer

Name not confirmed at time of going to press. Please view addendum

refreshment zone sponsored by

north Dakota developments

Worldwide

John Mather Director j.mather@thorestates.com

T +44 0207 993 5645 M +44 7974 728 984

Warnford Court, 29 Throgmorton Street, London EC2N 2AT

www.opp-live.com

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

Welcome to OPPLive 2013! the world is changing and the overseas property industry is changing with it. We are coming face-to-face with new markets, new challenges and new opportunities

t opens as our industry faces change as never before: new seller markets entering the fray and older ones revitalised and repositioned; new buyer markets opening up all around the world from Azerbaijan to Venezuela; new products to review, select and sell; new financial models and challenges; new regulation threatened or already with us. And all of this whist the industry is still weakened from over five years of the worst trading conditions it has ever faced. Fortunately, colleagues from all over the globe are telling me that we have, at last, turned the corner and that both sales volumes and profitability are improving.

www.opp-live.com

Colleagues from all over the globe are telling me that we have, at last, turned a corner and both sales and profitability have improved

Several claim to have had their best financial results ever. OPPLive is your opportunity to test the water: to meet your counterparts from distant places, to exchange views and ideas and to decide how your company should embrace the future. As such, being here should be one of the most important things you do all year.

This is the ninth OPPLive and it will be, by far, the biggest and the best yet. We have over 50 exhibitors. They are major players bringing to you projects and services from the Americas, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, China and the rest of South East Asia. They are all anxious to meet you and to do business. See pages 30 to 42 for more information about them. We also have our famous seminar programme: two days designed to inspire and inform in equal measure. More than 60 speakers have flown to London from all over the world: perhaps bad for pollution and the environment but a great way for you to benefit from their worldwide knowledge and expertise. See pages 48 to 52 for full details of the programme and 18 to 27 for information about the speakers. Plus, of course and most

importantly, we have you. Hundreds of international property professionals from all around the globe keen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as our website puts it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to learn, network and make money. We provide the learning and networking opportunities. The rest is down to you! OPPLive has a great track record of introducing future business partners and we hope you, too, find the opportunities you are looking for. Finally, OPPLive offers our editorial team the important opportunity to meet you and exchange views. We look forward to doing so over the next couple of days. We hope you enjoy your two days with us.

John Howell Editorial Director of OPP Media

Leading property investment and development company with over £250m real estate assets under management.

EUROPE’S NO.1 BUY-TO-LET • An Armchiar Investment • Low Cost Purchase • Excellent Returns • You’re in Safe Hands • Great Tax & Legislative Environment • Desirable Location • Discovery Trips Available

VISIT US ON STAND 9 www.affinityrepe.com

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

Getting the best out of OPPLive Well, you’ve taken the first important step – coming along to our show. Now learn how to make the most of your time here

on’t worry. It’s not too late to make the most of your time at OPPLive. There is still time to use our meeting bureau and book seminars – and make sure that you get the best possible value from the time you spend with us.

Register The good news is that you will already be registered as a delegate at OPPLive. The bad news is that some people lose their passwords that give them access to the clever bits on the OPPLive website and, in some companies, the registrations are dealt with centrally and the passwords perhaps not passed on. If you don’t know your password, make contact with the OPP admin staff at the organisers’ office (located at the back of the Great Hall). If you produce your ticket, they will give you a new password. This will allow you to go online, use the OPP Meeting Bureau and book seminars.

www.opp-live.com

Book Your Seminars

Once you have your password, go online at www.opp-live.com. Take a close look at the seminar programme and decide which sessions you would like to attend. Don’t just go for the things you feel that you should attend. Try one or two that intrigue you or are on subjects you know nothing about. That’s how new opportunities are created. Also, try one or two of the inspirational sessions such as Simon Biltcliffe’s presentation about his unusual but very effective management style or Brad Inman’s review of the ways technology should be helping us, where it succeeds and where it fails.

Time to get organised! Plan your meetings through www.opp-live.com

Arrange Meetings

Go round the exhibits

Once you have booked your seminars, you will know how much time you have got left for meetings. Make full use of the OPP Meeting Bureau (accessed from the front page of the OPPLive website) to fill your day with productive meetings. Allow plenty of time for those meetings. Remember that many of our visitors may not speak English

Even when you have arranged meetings there is still a lot to be said for having a nose around the 50 or more exhibits that will be in the halls. You are likely to find something of interest that did not strike you as important when you used the OPP Meeting Bureau.

Make full use of the OPP Meeting Bureau to fill your day with productive meetings – and allow plenty of time for those meetings!

as a first language and many come from cultures where business is done at a more gentle pace than you might be accustomed to: where getting to know somebody is an essential first step in any business relationship.

Network Take the opportunities to network – when you are having a coffee, in the bar or when you are eating. Use some of the networking areas located throughout the halls.

Attend the Gala Dinner This is the biggest networking opportunity of them all and a great event. It also give you the chance to find out who has won the OPP Awards for Excellence 2013 and why. If you are lucky, there may still be one or two tickets available for this Wednesday evening event.

Follow Up Most of us are bad at this. Don’t make all those meetings and networking a waste of time! Follow up all the connections that you have made and do so not just once but several times.

COME AND SEE US ON STAND 45

EXPERIENCE THE BARRASFORD AND BIRD WORLDWIDE

DIFFERENCE Worldwide

• Invoices paid within 48 hours • £6 million commission paid out in the last 5 years • Over 2,500 properties DELIVERED • Managed viewing trips to our resorts • 10% investor returns available

Since 2003 we’ve grown to be one of the leading luxury overseas property developers based in the UK, with well over 2,500 properties completed worldwide. With exciting and profitable Barrasford and Bird Worldwide developments currently being sold globally and plans for a further 10 resorts worldwide, now is a great opportunity to partner with us. Come to see our specialist, knowledgeable team to find out more about our luxury developments and the substantial, profitable benefits we can offer you.

0800 1 303 101 Worldwide

www.bandbw.co.uk info@bandbw.co.uk

2003-2013

Established 2003 | Over 2,500 properties completed worldwide

SECURE • HASSLE-FREE • ENJOYABLE • PROFITABLE

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

Smart Currency Exchange – ‘We talk property before currency’ It’s rare to find a company that spans two industries and does it well, but smart has expertise in real estate and currency

o you currently have a currency exchange partner that offers you: • Extensive and specialist knowledge of the property industry? • The flexibility to fit with your commercial requirements, not theirs? • Regular financial rewards and transparent commission structure? • Total focus on the best deal for each client – because our staff are very service driven and work commission-free? These are some of the questions we typically ask when discussing the possibility of partnering; questions that we rarely find any other currency exchange companies can fulfil. If your partner already offers all of these benefits, then congratulations, you’re probably already with Smart. If not do the smart thing and come and see us on our stand in the Great Hall

www.opp-live.com

Smart Partners, Smart Business, Smart Currency

“We talk property before currency.” In a recent survey, 98% of clients said they’d recommend Smart Currency to others because Smart treats your clients in the same way that you do. Smart have been specialists in dealing with the currency exchange needs of property partners and their clients since 2004. Our property experience is the best in the overseas property buying and selling industry. When we work with a partner we aim to work

as a consultant, understanding your business and making recommendations that will help you to educate, grow and develop your team and your business. We can show you how to work with your clients’ overseas currency exchange requirements to give them an even better service including currency exchange solutions that can prevent them losing out in a very volatile marketplace. For example, we saved one client over £20,000 when he and

Jana Korpova

Our property experience is the best in the overseas property buying and selling industry - Charles Purdy, Director

his family relocated his home and finances from the UK to France. Come and ask us how it was possible to save so much when transferring £425,750! Smart Currency Exchange is totally committed to service – just ask for examples of the currency exchange and training documents we can provide, as well as how we can allocate a dedicated account

Head of Business Development Smart Currency Exchange +44 (0) 20 7898 0541 jana.korpova@ smartcurrencyexchange.com partners@ smartcurrencyexchange.com www.smartcurrencyexchange. com/partners

manager to you and a trader to each of your clients. We’re excited to be at OPPLIve 2013 and invite you to come and see us at the stage area in the Great Hall – come and chat to us to find out what we’ve been doing in 2013 and what we’re looking forward to in the New Year.

The changing shape of Student Housing Our specialist, market leading Student Housing and Higher Education team have sold or acquired over ÂŁ1 billion of student housing assets and worked with universities on the provision of c.10,000 beds in 2013. With an unrivalled track record of over 20 years, we deliver flexible solutions and forward-thinking advice and ensure maximum value for your student accommodation projects. Jones Lang LaSalle is delighted to be speaking at The Global Student Accommodation Forum at OPPLive 2013. Philip Hillman - Lead Director - Student Housing & Higher Education +44 (0)7831 744160 jll.co.uk/studentaccommodation - download a copy of our global research paper, Student housing: a new global asset class

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

rightmove overseas welcomes you to the opplive exhibition The uk’s leading overseas property portal is excited to be at the show – and eager to tell you what they’ve been up to

www.opp-live.com

ightmove Overseas are excited to sponsor the OPPLive 2013. Now in its eighth year it is the must-attend event for overseas property professionals looking to do business and network with the best in the industry. We’ve worked closely with OPP over the years and are delighted to see a return of OPPLive as a stand-alone event. This year, Rightmove Overseas has continued to lead not only as a consumer property portal but as collectors and analysts of data that’s invaluable to property professionals. In addition to our usual monthly search reports, over the last few months you may have seen the results and analysis of our massive survey of buyers around the world published in OPP Magazine. Keep following the series to find out who’s buying, where they’re buying and why they’re buying. With an outstanding line up of key note speakers, OPPLive will certainly be the place to learn from those companies at the top of their game who have successfully negotiated their way through the minefield of overseas property. From learning how to manage your PR, to breaking China or selling to high net worth Russians there is definitely something for everyone to take away at this show. Rightmove Overseas are on the main stage and will be offering a sneak preview of our new microsites product, which is currently under development and will be offered to developers,

Come and meet the team on the stage area in the Great Hall agents and investment companies who specialise in selling products on resorts in 2014. We are running review workshops

This year, Rightmove Overseas continued to lead not only as a consumer portal but as collectors and analysts of invaluable data

for our existing members and helping them get their fair share of the ever-growing number of leads sent to our advertisers every month. On top of that we will be sharing our market insights

brochure to help you understand who is buying overseas property. Look out for our speakers at the conferences – Shameem Golamy, Head of Overseas, will be talking at Byte Size while Overseas Business Analyst Aimee Vailitis will take you through the ins and outs of the Rightmove survey at OPPortunities. We are on the judging panel for the OPP Awards of Excellence – it’s always exciting to see overseas property professionals putting their best foot forward. Make sure to come and say hello at the Gala Dinner and awards ceremony! If you have never worked with Rightmove Overseas before and are interested in joining, come and see us on the main stage to learn how you could advertise in December 2013 for free… not an offer to miss out on! Contact the Rightmove team at rightmoveoverseas.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL AGENTS NEEDED TO HELP SELL THE FINEST SELECTION OF PROPERTIES IN FRANCE

LEGGETT

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN TRUST

Leggett Immobilier is one of the leading estate agencies in France - one in ten UK buyers of French property trust us to make their dreams come true. We have an unrivalled portfolio of around 10,000 properties ranging from the finest chateaux and vineyards to luxury villas and ski chalets. We have been established for over two decades and have property for sale throughout France. We are now looking for international partner agencies who can match our professionalism and ambition. You will find that as well as having the finest stock of property available we offer extremely competitive rates of commission. We have recently started ventures in the USA, Turkey and St Barts and welcome enquiries from other international destinations - to join our exclusive network contact Jane Armstrong Email: partners@leggett.fr or Tel: 0033(0)5 53 90 40 74

LEGGETT

PRESTIGE

www.leggettprestige.com

LEGGETT

IMMOBILIER www.leggettfrance.com

SKi

LEGGETT

www.leggettski.com

Head office, Leggett Immobilier, 42-44 Route de Riberac, La Rochebeaucourt, 24340 France

SHOWGUIDE / seminars

OPPortunities Inspiration & new ideas for your business

www.opp-live.com

Seminars to inform and inspire Some basic business issues What do your customers want?

Around the world, times are getting better and business opportunities abound. Which should you run with? How do you manage risk? What do your customers really want? How do you keep yourself and your team motivated? How do you lead your business to success? These are the issues that prompted OPPortunities: OPP’s way of helping you keep your feet on the floor while you pursue the exciting new markets and products featured elsewhere at OPPLive. Many of our businesses have grown from “one man bands” to substantial companies, often very quickly. Do we have a clear vision of where we are going and how we should measure our success – or are we just riding the wave and dealing with each crisis as it arrives? What should we do when something goes wrong? We know it will eventually. It’s just a question of how badly and when. How do we protect our reputations… our businesses… our livelihoods? Should we join the rush to new markets and products or is there a profitable – and safer – business model closer to home?

Programme Day one wednesday, 27 November 2013 10:30 - 11:15 PANEL: Reputational Damage: how to avoid or limit disaster ROBERT PERKS ROOM How do you create a positive image and limit damage when things go wrong? Chair: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP Media Panel Members Sue Baker, MD of Lexicon, Nick Davies, CEO of Reputation Station; Emma Woolcott, solicitor at Mischcon de Reya 11:30 - 12:15 PRESENTATION: Florida: the revival, the future, the opportunities GEORGE THOMAS ROOM Take advantage of the revival in Florida – before it is too late. Find out why, where and how as our two experts take you through the opportunities. Host: John Howell. Editorial Director at OPP Media Speakers: Dean Asher, President of the Florida Association of Realtors; John Sebree, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Florida Association of Realtors 12:30 - 13:15 PRESENTATION: Portugal as a destination for residential tourism GEORGE THOMAS ROOM Portugal has led the world in providing an integrated response to the property crisis. Find out about what makes Portugal a special destination for residential property Chair: Peter Robinson, MD of AIPP Panel Members: Pedro Fontainhas, Executive Director at Portuguese Resorts Association; Anabela Silva, Partner at Ernst & Young 15:30 - 16:15 KEYNOTE: Successful Management: Dare to be different ROBERT PERKS ROOM Simon Biltcliffe has made a huge success out of a business operating in a very difficult sector: printing. Learn how to use his recipe for wealth and happiness in your company. Host: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP Media Speaker: Simon Biltcliffe, founder and CEO of Webmart 16:30 - 17:15 PANEL - Investors: experience from the real world! ROBERT PERKS ROOM What do real world investors think of our industry? What can you learn that will make it more likely that they will buy through you? Chair: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP Media Panel Members: Nick Carlile, CEO Platinum Portfolio Builder, Roy Brazier, cofounder PDV HOA, private investor, Matthew Montague Pollock, CEO of Global Property Guide For full details of the speakers, see pages 48-52

SHOWGUIDE / seminars

Programme Day two thursday, 28 November 2013 10:15 - 11:00 PRESENTATION and DISCUSSION: The world of real estate in 2014: why get involved? ROBERT PERKS ROOM What has happened to our world of international real estate in 2013… and what is likely to happen in 2014? Which markets will prosper, which will tank? What issues does our industry face? This session is ideal if you are thinking of getting involved in international property for the first time or considering extending your service to new countries.

OPPLive is the must-attend event for companies wishing to make important contacts to further their business. Constantinos Zavos, Caz Estates

Host: Peter Robinson, MD AIPP Speaker: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP 11:15 - 12:00 PRESENTATION: Learning from Others’ Mistakes: what I wish I had known 10 years ago GEORGE THOMAS ROOM We learn every day … and often from mistakes. Clever people learn from others’ mistakes, rather than their own. Robin has been a leader in this industry for over 10 years. Find out what he wishes he had known about contracts, courts, commissions, customers, cheats and crooks. However long you’ve been in the industry you’ll learn something that will save you money. Host: Christopher Nye, Editor of OPP Magazine Speaker: Robin Barrasford, CEO Barrasford & Bird Worldwide 12:15 - 13:00 PANEL: Portugal’s resort showcase DINSDALE ROOM Portugal has some of the best resorts in Europe. Leaders from the industry disclose their plans for the future, show you what they have to offer and answer your questions. Chair: Sherry Madera, Non-executive Director of RGG Limited Panel Members: Christina Hippisley, General Manager at Portuguese Chamber of Commerce; António Pinto Coelho, Operations General Manager at Onyria Resorts; Peter Statham , from Carvoeiro Golf Pestana & Hotels Resort; Frederico Mendonça, from Tróia Resort; Cláudia Faria, MSF – Marina de Lagos/Royal Óbidos; Diogo Gaspar Ferreira, CEO of Vale do Lobo

The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. Nolan Bushnell

13:15 - 14:00 PRESENTATION: The Rightmove International Property Survey ROBERT PERKS ROOM Rightmove has spent a lot of time and money finding out what is really happening in our industry. Who is buying? Where? Why? How? Find out how Rightmove did it and come and be surprised by some of their findings. Discover how you can take advantage of this vital information – absolutely free of charge. Host: Francine Carrel, International Property Reporter for OPP Magazine Speaker: Aimee Valaitis, Overseas Business Analyst, Rightmove

Chair: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP Media Panel Members: Dr Alan Ma, Partner Maxwell Alves; Gareth Fatchett, Partner Regulatory Legal, John Sebree, Senior VP Public affairs, FAR For full details of the speakers, see pages 48-52

The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try Debbi Fields

www.opp-live.com

13:15 - 14:00 PANEL: Regulation Around the World - What’s new? Where next? DINSDALE ROOM New rules for people selling investment property in the UK. Restrictions on the freedom of Indians to buy foreign property. Changes to the law in China and in Singapore. Moves by the SEC in the US. Find out WHAT is happening - and what you should do about it.

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Programme Day two thursday, 28 November 2013 14:15 - 15:00 PRESENTATION: The findings of the OPP Company Health Check report DINSDALE YOUNG ROOM OPP has carried out a huge investigation into the financial performance of companies in our sector - large and small. How much money are they really making? How much property are they selling? How well do they pay their staff? What do they spend their money on? What marketing works best? What are their top tips? Be the first to find out what we discovered.

You could make your money back by lunchtime on the first day. Exhibitor at Cityscape Global, October 2013

Host: Francine Carrel, International Property Reporter at OPP Magazine Speaker: Christopher Nye, Editor of OPP Magazine

15:15 - 16:00 PANEL: Selling successfully to the Russian Market GEORGE THOMAS ROOM Russians are buying huge amounts of property around the world. Often (but far from always) very expensive property. How to you find Russian buyers? How do you sell to them? What special help do they require? What are they looking for when they choose an agent or a developer? What ongoing opportunities do they offer to you? здоровье! Chair: Christopher Nye, Editor of OPP Magazine Panel Members: Jurga Skrabulyte, Director of DomExpo Lyubov Jones, Russian Lawyer Ashley Rigg, CEO of Global Edge Jean Liggett, Director of Properties of the World

Northern Europe has woken up and remembered Spain. I’ve taken on new staff and I’m considering opening more offices. Chris Mercer

16:15 - 17:00 PANEL: How to get Involved in International Real Estate GEORGE THOMAS ROOM OK. So you have decided that you want to get involved in our world of international property – or, maybe, you have decided to add another country or two to your portfolio. How should you get started? How can you source properties that are safe to sell? How do you acquire the knowledge to market them? Where do you find the materials? How do you work, safely and productively, with colleagues in other countries? What about the language and cultural issues? Most importantly, how do you protect your company’s reputation – built up over 150 years – from some disaster that could be just around the corner?

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Chair: Peter Robinson, MD of AIPP

Panel Members: Ray Withers, Property Frontiers Graham Turrell, High Ground Property Investment Koprinka Aksaray, Freedom Bay, St Lucia Peter Esders, Judicare

For full details of the speakers, see pages 48-52

There’s a feel-good factor right now... and there’s all this pent-up demand for overseas property. Peter Robinson, AIPP

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byte size real estate technology conference Sensible solutions or a stupid waste of money? A day at Byte Size should save you many times the cost of coming to OPPLive

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Seminars to inform and inspire. Where next in the world of IT? Must dos and must avoids

Every year, the successful use and management of information becomes more important for your business – and it becomes more complicated and harder to understand. Every year, it becomes easier to take a wrong turn or to be left behind completely – and more expensive to put it right again. That’s why we have included the Byte Size conference in OPPLive 2013. Our unique combination of industry gurus, academics, consultants and people with real hands-on experience will help guide you through the IT minefield: help you understand what is important and what is not, what is worth your money and what is not. Surprisingly, lots of IT solutions are both highly effective and very low cost. Additionally, a lot of the most popular and talked about ‘solutions’ solve nothing but burn through cash at an alarming rate. Find out which. More important still, learn how to make a plan and then implement it.

Programme Day two Thursday, 28 November 2013 10:15 - 11:00 PANEL: HTML = How to make loads (of money) THE GEORGE THOMAS ROOM Get your message to the masses. Communications via email can be your best sales technique – if you know what you are doing. How do you do it? Which systems work best? What training do you need? Who do you send it too? How should you design your messages? Practical tips from professionals and regular users. Chair: John Sebree, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Florida Association of Realtors Panel Members: Rich Simisker, CEO of Plasticle; Shameen Golamy, Head of Overseas at Rightmove; Robert Gavin, CEO of Dakota Investments 11:15 - 12:00 PANEL: Going Mobile. What? Why? How? THE DINSDALE ROOM The trend towards the use of mobile technology is accelerating fast. 13% of all Internet traffic is now from mobile devices. 25% of Internet shopping. 35% of emails. Find out why this is vital for your business - large or small. Learn the importance of a proper plan. Discover how to make a success of going mobile – and how to get ahead of your competitors. Chair: Sherry Madera, Non-executive Director of RGG Limited Panel Members: Ian Lancaster, CEO at TwentyCI; Leslie Fountain, CEO at Foolproof; Alex Meisl, Chairman, SpongeMobile 12:15 - 13:00 KEYNOTE SPEECH: Ten ways to double your productivity THE GEORGE THOMAS ROOM How technology SHOULD work… and why it so often doesn’t. Ten simple and low cost steps towards doubling your productivity and halving your level of stress. Plus a look at keeping your sanity in this world of 24/365 business. Host: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP Media Speaker: Brad Inman, Founder and CEO of Inman News, organiser of the Real Estate Connect conferences, US IT guru with a following of thousands of savvy property professionals. 13:15 - 14:00 DEMONSTRATION & DISCUSSION: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, 3D Printing and other emerging technologies THE GEORGE THOMAS ROOM What is augmented reality? How does it differ from virtual reality? How does it fit in with big data? Is it any use or an expensive gimmick? Oh... and can you print your own skyscraper? How will 3D printing affect us? See a

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demonstration of the latest technology and hear our two experts discussing whether, when and how to implement these new systems in your business. Chair: Sherry Madera, Non-executive Director of RGG Limited Panel Members: James Dearsley, CEO at the Digital Marketing Bureau; Stuart Cupit, cofounder of Inition 14:15 - 13:00 PANEL: Big Data, Small Data, Your Data THE GEORGE THOMAS ROOM The opportunities for the profitable management and use of data have never been greater. What is ‘big’ data? Why is it important? How can it be accumulated, organised, accessed and analysed? How can you use it? Chair: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP Media Panel Members: Professor Alex Gammerman, University of London; Brad Inman, CEO Inman News; Ian Lancaster, CEO TwentyCI 15:15 - 16:00 Discussion and Demonstration: Beyond the CRM THE DINSDALE ROOM CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems have been around for years. The latest have vastly more power, are much easier to use and can be fully integrated with your other office functions. But there is more. Integrated packages can take you far beyond the capacity of even the best CRM. Which is right for you?

12% of the software we bought was never used – and 5% of the software we use most was not licenced! Embarrassed!

Most apps are a waste of money – even measured against the pathetically low goals they set themselves T3 – www.t3.com

Chair: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP Media Speaker: Kevin Maddison, CEO Global Management Platform 16:15 - 17:00 PANEL: SEO - Essential tool or dead and buried? THE ROBERT PERKS ROOM Is Search Engine Optimisation still a must? All too often life feels like a game between you and Google. Our panel will guide you through the world of Penguin, Panda, white hats, black hats, 301s, cloaks and click-fraud.

For full details of the speakers, see pages 48 - 52

K3 Managed Services

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Chair: John Howell, Editorial Director of OPP Media Panel Members: Paul Dovey, founder of IT Freelancer; Jacqui Carrel, CEO of Cinnamon Edge; Justine Kearnan, Sales Director of Time2; Barney Roberts, Business Development Officer at Time2

Fifty per cent of businesses add more to their IT systems than is necessary,making for a complex environment that is expensive to support.

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The Global Student accommodation Forum Student housing has come a long way in 30 years – and still has a long way to go. We bring you the global specialists

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Seminars to inform and inspire. Student housing opportunities A worldwide market – where works best?

Forty years ago, we students drank too much and lived in slums. Today, students still drink too much and many still live in slums. But most, while happy to keep on drinking, don’t want to live in this way and they (and their parents) are prepared to pay good money for better accommodation. The market is, it seems, worldwide. Students almost everywhere like drinking but don’t like living in too much squalor. This is particularly true of the large number of international students who flock to the world’s great universities. The OPP Global Student Forum takes a look at the rapidly growing sector. What is available? Where are the hotspots? Where are the developing markets? Which are the best types of property? Where offers the best investment opportunities? Who is buying? We have brought together specialists who sell student property in many towns to people from many countries.

Programme Day one wednesday, 27 November 2013 13:30 - 14:15 PANEL: Global Student Hotspots - today and tomorrow ROBERT PERKS ROOM The number of students is growing all over the world. Can you make money from housing them? In which countries? Where? How? Who is buying today? Who is likely to be buying in the future? What are the pitfalls? In this session we take a look at the two sides of this market: where is it best to locate the property and where is it good to sell? Chair: Phillip Hillman, Global Student Housing Coordinator, Jones Lang Lasalle Panel Members: Marcus Roberts, Director Student Investment, Savills Jo Winchester, Senior Director, Valuation and Advisory Services at CBRE 14:30 - 15:15 PANEL: Attracting International Investment into Student Accommodation ROBERT PERKS ROOM There are a lot of opportunities for those with funds to invest. How do you persuade them that student accommodation is the best place for their money… and are you allowed to do so? Where are your buyers likely to be located? What type of people are they? Chair: Phillip Hillman, Global Student Housing Coordinator, Jones Lang Lasalle Panel Members: Julie Harvey, Director Pinnacle Marcus Roberts, Director Student Investment, Savills Stuart Law, CEO of Assetz PLC

For full details of the speakers, see pages 48-52

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Programme Day two thursday, 28 November 2013 10:15 - 11:00 PRESENTATION: The findings of the OPP Global Student Accommodation Report DINSDALE YOUNG ROOM You want to sell student housing? You need to come to this session. Based on extensive research and data from many countries and a review of the leading markets around the world, the OPP Student Housing Report is your ideal entry point to this complex world of international student accommodation. Host: Francine Carrel, International Property Reporter at OPP Speaker and author of the report: Christopher Nye, Editor OPP Magazine 11:15 - 12:00 PANEL: Valuation, Selection & Regulation: How does student accommodation stack up? ROBERT PERKS ROOM Investing in student accommodation is different from investing in an ordinary residential property and, if you’re starting out in it, it can be confusing. How can you value it? What should be your exit strategy? How is it regulated, both as an investment and as a place to live? How well does student accommodation stand up to this scrutiny? Which type of student property is likely to cause you the least trouble and give you the best return? Chair: Phillip Hillman, Global Student Housing Coordinator, Jones Lang Lasalle

This new location is just like a hotel, a resort even, I love it! Tammy Leigh Michaels, Resident School Sponsored Housing, Vancouver

In the student economy, prices always seem to rise. Patrick Collinson, the Guardian

Panel Members: Gareth Fatchett, partner at Regulatory Legal Jo Winchester, Senior Director, Valuation and Advisory Services at CBRE 14:15 - 15:00 PRESENTATION: The state of the UK Student Accommodation sector ROBERT PERKS ROOM The UK market led the way in large scale investment in student housing and it is still a hugely popular investment type for local and overseas investors. But is all as it seems? Is the market strong, with years of growth to come, or is it in trouble? Do the investments deliver what they promised? Can you sell them when you need to? Can you make a profit? Which type of student property is likely to cause you the least trouble and give the investor the best return? James Pullan is the man with the experience and the answers.

For full details of the speakers, see pages 48-52

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Host: Sherry Madera, Non-executive Director of RGG Limited Speaker: James Pullan, Head of Student Property, Knight Frank

Beware the power of online reviews, for example: “Another rubbish offering from XXX. Renowned for late night fire alarms and rude staff.”

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Booming Asia How to ride the wave of the markets South East Asia has been the salvation of many parts of our industry. Why is that, and will it continue to be a good bet?

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Seminars to inform and inspire. Selling to South East Asia China, Singapore & the emerging markets

The huge increase in buyers from South East Asia should have come as no surprise. People with money invest in real estate and South East Asia is where the money is. Yet the magnitude, breadth and speed of the explosion in demand did surprise many in our industry; thousands of buyers from a growing number of countries investing billions in international residential real estate located in countries around the world. Many business made the right call, developed their business in South East Asia well and made a lot of money. Others crashed and burned. OPPLive has brought together experts from the regions and experienced hands from nearer home to explore these markets so that you can decide whether, where and how your business should get involved. There are challenges: cultural differences, different legal systems, language, distance and time zones make getting involved complicated and making a good plan essential.

Programme Day one wednesday, 27 November 2013 11:30 - 12:15 KEYNOTE: Where Next in Asia? ROBERT PERKS ROOM For those needing a broad overview of both the new and the emerging markets in Asia: their prospects, their challenges and the best tactics to use when selling to them. An introduction to some of the key concepts and hot issues. Host: Sherry Madera, Non-executive Director of OPP Media Speaker: Andrew Batt, International Property Editor of Property Guru 12:30 - 13:15 PANEL: Marketing successfully to China ROBERT PERKS ROOM China: The Facts: Who is buying? Where are they buying? What are they buying? Why are they buying? The gaps in the market. The cultural and practical problems associated with selling and doing business. The ways of doing business. How to market effectively. How to waste money. How to find, work with and retain partners. Chair: Sherry Madera, non-executive director of RGG Limited Panel Members: Adam Wu, CEO China Business Network Andrew Taylor, CEO Juwai Garry Kenny, CEO Feltrim Julie Harvey, Director Pinnacle Dr Alan Ma, partner Maxwell Alves solicitors

For full details of the speakers, see pages 48-52

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Programme Day two thursday, 28 November 2013 12:15 - 13:00 PANEL: Marketing successfully to Singapore ROBERT PERKS ROOM Singapore: The Facts: Who is buying? Where are they buying? What are they buying? Why are they buying? The gaps in the market. The cultural and practical problems associated with selling and doing business. The ways of doing business. How to market effectively. How to waste money. How to find, work with and retain partners. Chair: Christopher Nye, Editor of OPP Magazine Panel Members: Andrew Batt, Senior Editor of Property Guru Julie Harvey, Director Pinnacle Anthony Armstrong Emery, CEO of EcoHouse Roger Searl, CEO INFO/Nation 15:15 - 16:00 PANEL: Marketing successfully to Emerging Asia ROBERT PERKS ROOM The emerging giants in South East Asia: The Facts: Who is buying? Where are they buying? What are they buying? Why are they buying? The gaps in the market. When (if at all) are these countries likely to emerge as major buyers? The cultural and practical problems associated with selling and doing business in these countries. The ways of doing business. How to market effectively. How to waste money. How to find, work with and retain partners. Chair: Andrew Batt, International Property Editor of Property Guru Panel Members: Miki Haim, CEO Matrix Andrew Taylor, co-CEO Juwai 16:15 - 17:00 PANEL: Intelligent Media & Marketing Selection Intelligent Media & Marketing Buying DINSDALE ROOM The choices of media available in the major markets. The cultural and political background – the impact of control and censorship. What works and what doesn’t? How to select the right media? How much to pay and how to control your budget? The top three marketing tips for each market.

For full details of the speakers, see pages 48-52

Chinese proverb

Asia is rich in people, rich in culture and rich in resources. It is also rich in trouble Hubert H. Humphrey

We make a lot on money in South East Asia. Why should we help our competitors? Anonymous!

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Chair: Christopher Nye, Editor of OPP Magazine Panel Members: Andrew Taylor, CEO Juwai Andrew Batt, International Property Editor of Property Guru Roger Searl, CEO INFO/Nation

Aside from 20 years ago, there is no better time to start a business than today

NORTH DAKOTA HOTEL OPPORTUNITY Sky Watch Inn - North Dakota

$50,000 INVESTMENT 55% ROI OVER 2 YEARS

INVESTOR online How long will the North Dakota oil boom last? And how long are you planning to have oﬀerings available there?

OK Great, But how are you able to give these returns?

Come visit us at OPPLive 2013 We are on Stand 56 in The Great Hall OK So at least I’ll get the income at that level. What about my investment. I’ve heard that a lot of accommodation in North Dakota Is for oil workers and are temporary. How is yours diﬀerent?

Well that will be more money to invest with you again I guess. OK so how is my investment secured?

Wow, that is good, so how will I get my money back? What is the exit plan?

That’s nice of you. What are the next steps?

Thank you so much

W: www.rycalgroup.com

T: +44 (0)1793 238404

E: support@rycalgroup.com

10% COMMISSIONS BROKER online Well, Due to new technology, The North Dakota Oil Boom shows no signs of stopping any time soon with some sources saying it will last for another 50 years. Rycal Developments and Carlton James have around $1.1Bn worth of projects at diﬀerent stages in and around the area of Williston and we intend to be there for the foreseeable future.

Due to the conservative nature of Carlton James’ Due diligence process, they have worked projected ﬁgures at $180 per night room rates for their 100 room hotel investment (below hotels of this type in the area) at an 80% occupancy rate. This is more than achievable in this area of The Bakken. Remember this does not even include the restaurant, bar or room service income. So the 15% return for the investor is easy.

This is correct, a lot of temporary accommodation has been built in the area aimed at just oil workers and is of course being phased out as per local government directives. However, our hotel is diﬀerent to this and is aimed at not just oil workers but the tens of thousands of transient workers to the area, Truck drivers, construction workers and white collar workers. It has more longevity and actually means that you as the client are sure to receive 125% of your investment back at the end of the short 2 year term as per the contract.

As a contracted Revenue Leaseholder of Carlton James Skywatch Inn, the investor takes advantage of a ﬁrst charge over the hotel for the total amount of investment obtained. In addition, a percentage ownership is obtained for that additional bit of security. Good right?

Well this is very simple, Carlton James has a relationship with a number of lenders all of which will lend up to 70% Loan to value of the site after 12 months of trading. This is also how the investor is able to receive their 25% equity bonus as a Thank You for investing with us.

You just need you to sign one form and completion can take place within days. Ill send it over to you.

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Exhibitor Guide & stand numbers Our exhibitors have jetted in from all around the world. walk around the show to meet, network and do business with the industry professionals at the top of their games Association of International Property Professionals stand 6 Lecture Hall By promoting the highest standards of professionalism in the international property industry, the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP) has been set up to provide the consumer with confidence, and the industry professionals with a united voice. AIPP do not sell property. They are a not-for-profit organisation whose aim is to improve the standards of professionalism in the international property market. W: www.aipp.org.uk E: enquiries@aipp.org.uk T: +44 20 7222 6172

Aloha Hills stand 32 Library Hall The Aloha Hill Club is a luxury quality apartment residence that offers a range of outing facilities and lifestyle options enabling residents to tailor a luxury holiday experience to their own needs. When you purchase property in the Aloha Hill Club you also gain access to their unique and exclusive 5 Star concierge service that helps deliver a wonderful diverse lifestyle experience for you, your friends and family. W: www.alohahillclubmarbella.com E: info@alohahillclubmarbella.com T: +34 952 90 60 55

Assetz stand 26 Library Hall Assetz is a group of well-known and very successful property investment sourcers and advisers offering selected UK and overseas investment property. In the UK, they offer specialist services for the private property investor marketplace by sourcing and negotiating prices on the best buy-to-let and commercial property. Overseas, they specialise in sourcing superb holidayhomes and investment property in a number of countries. W: www.assetz.co.uk E: david.johnstone@assetz.co.uk T: + 44 161 456 4000

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Barrasford and Bird Worldwide stand 45 great Hall

Barrasford and Bird Worldwide continue to offer exceptional properties in the finest locations and the level of service expected by the industry leader. They have handed over more than 2,500 completed properties and specialise in luxury holiday resorts. The company is on target to open 10 new resorts in the next 15 years and from day one they have endeavoured to offer the best customer service in the industry. W: www.bandbw.co.uk E: info@bandbw.co.uk T: +44 1179 743 850

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Beckett Hanlon stand 67 Great Hall BeckettHanlon Worldwide Properties is a global property franchise that shares Drew Beckett’s secrets for success and his carefully honed process for selling the right property – to the right client. BeckettHanlon’s clients are highend investors – people who take the long term view and have the resources to maximise opportunities. This means that their Franchise Partners are motivated self-starters from all walks of life. W: www. becketthanlon.com E: info@becketthanlon.com T: + 44 28 9002 0700

Buy Association stand 57 Great Hall From its inception, BuyAssociation created the largest library of independent expert advice on buying property overseas. Delivered in multimedia formats and available completely free of charge to consumers, the site quickly grew in size and consumer following. Partnerships and advertising formats have evolved into the most refined and efficient lead generation platform in the overseas property industry. W: www.buyassociation.co.uk E: info@buyassociation.co.uk T: +44 333 123 0320

CAZ Estates stand 59 Great Hall Caz Estates projects are considered industry-leading and are backed up by due diligence from an in-house research team, who use a variety of impartial sources. The company employs real estate professionals and appraisers based in and totally familiar with the areas they invest in the. They also go one step further: personally inspecting every home before they buy it – making sure it’s totally viable before offering it to investors. W: www.cazestates.com E: info@cazestates.com T: +357 2581 8128

D2E stand 5 Lecture Hall D2E are a full-service design agency with in-house printing capabilities. They work with their clients on every stage of a new project from the conception of the idea through to the delivery of the completed project. From existing briefs or fanciful ideas they run campaigns across every kind of media, in both the real world and online. W: www.d2e.co.uk E: info@d2e.co.uk T: +44 20 8545 4910

Department for Promotion Municipality of Giżycko stand 10 Lecture Hall

W: www.gizycko.pl/en E: urzad@gizycko.pl T: +48 87 7324 113

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Giżycko, with its 30 000 inhabitants, is a young town; 27% of the town’s citizens are under 18 years old. Thus young, qualified human resources are available on the work market. The tourist resource base is developing constantly, ready to satisfy demanding customers. The main branches of the town’s economy are tourism, services, food processing and trade. Giżycko is a tourist- and investor-friendly place!

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Domus Alliance (Russia) Ltd stand 35 Great Hall Domus Alliance (Russia) Ltd. is the leading property sales & marketing representation company. The company specializes in building agent networks, organizing investor meetings, exhibition representation, online marketing, real estate tours and offering an ongoing representation service in Moscow, Russia. Domus Alliance (Russia) is a strategic partner of one of the largest exhibition organizers’ in Russia – Expodesign. W: www.domusalliance.com E: jurga@domusalliance.com T: +44 208 762 9507

EcoHouse Group stand 17 Library Hall The EcoHouse Group specialises in developing social housing under the Brazilian Government’s Minha Casa, Minha Vida program and also in creating serviced offices in prime Brazilian city business districts. Their innovative investment model has seen them sell 1,500 units over the last 15 months, with 3,000 units under construction and a pipeline of 40,000 social housing units. EcoHouse are now seeking joint venture partners, investors or sales partners. W: www.ecohousegroup.com E: info@ecohousegroup.com T: +44 203 468 6910

At every OPPLive we have made connections that helped drive our business forward. It is a great opportunity to meet colleagues, network and renew acquaintances Stephen Brown, Overseas Mortgage Broker Empire Communities stand 30 Library Hall Empire has established a tradition of creating prestigious award winning new homes, communities and amenities and has earned a reputation for outing attention to detail and customer service. The company has received the President’s Award from the Ontario New Home Warranty Program for Outstanding Service and Achievement, the Ontario Community of the Year Award for its Wyndfield Community in Brantford, Ontario, and the Green Builder of the Year Award from both the HHHBA and BILD.

W: www.empirecommunities.com E: info@empirecommunities.com T: +1 905 307-8102

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Ethical Forestry stand 99 Foyer

As market leaders within their sector, it is reassuring to know that they only specialise in sustainable forestry development and have a proven track record for growing, harvesting and delivering investors their projected returns. They own all their plantations unencumbered, employ the finest approved forestry engineers to manage them and with investors have created a Forestry Easement Trust that protects thousands of acres of natural forest. W: www.ethicalforestry.com E: enquiries@ethicalforestry.com T: + 44 1202 611 133

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Feltrim stand 14 Lecture Hall

Feltrim began almost 20 years ago with Garrett Kenny’s vision of operating a world class, internationally connected real estate firm. Feltrim is based in the heart of Florida in the City of Davenport. The company constantly strives to embrace new technologies, social media, and traditional and non-traditional advertising platforms. Feltrim has evolved with the times and now has a multinational approach to Florida real estate and US-wide immigration services. W: www.feltrim.com E: info@feltrim.com T: +1 407 922 2806

Fractional Ownership Consultancy stand 97 Foyer Over 10 years ago FOC were asked by a developer in Portugal to construct a legal mechanism which would facilitate the sale of their fractional products. After nearly four years of operation it was decided that the product was ready to be rolled out to other developers. Since launching the product they have successfully implemented fractional ownership on a number of developments in Portugal, Spain, Barbados, the UK, Italy, Florida, Cyprus and Greece. W: www.fractional.net E: info@fractional.net T: +44 1481 747800

Freedom Bay St Lucia stand 4 Lecture Hall

Freedom Bay is a new sustainable luxury resort located on the west coast of Saint Lucia, the ‘undiscovered’ gem of the Caribbean. This exclusive resort will be operated by award winning Six Senses Resorts and is comprised of a 5 star hotel and private residential villas offering an unparalleled range of facilities. These include a relaxing spa centre, scuba diving and sailing facilities, restaurants, bars and 24-hour concierge services. W: www.freedombaystlucia.com E: info@freedombaystlucia.com T: +44 207 718 5573

Global Management Platform stand 69 Great Hall Global Management Platform (GMP) is a cloud-based software company creating specialist integrated administration for property developers or alternative investment product providers that sell products themselves or use sales distribution networks. The integral CRM functionality helps manage all the system user client relationships with automated pipeline messaging, prospecting activity planning and contact management. W: www.gmp-ltd.com E: info@gmp-ltd.com T: +44 845 504 8868

Group First stand 2 Lecture hall

W: www.groupfirst.com E: info@groupfirst.co.uk T: +44 1282 330 330

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Group First’s mission is to create market leading, professionally managed, investment property developments which, through their commitment to service and value, become the envy of the industry, creating real opportunities for their customers, investors and staff to fulfil their true potential. Their development and investment strategy is designed to be highly tax efficient, especially when considered within the confines of SIPP’s and SSAS’s.

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Home in Tunisia stand 50 Great Hall Home in Tunisia is the largest real estate network in Tunisia, at the service of Tunisians and foreigners wishing to invest in Tunisia for more than four years. Its success is inseparable from the success of its real estate projects. For agents and brokers, Home in Tunisia shares your values and respect for the customer, the taste for challenge and a real passion for real estate. We will make you part of our success. W: www.homeintunisia.com/ E: info@homeintunisia.com T: + 216 73 244 440

Inition stand 75 Great Hall Inition is a multidisciplinary production company with a finely-tuned blend of technological and creative capabilities. They harness emerging technologies to create unique and memorable interactive experiences. Inition is proud of their 12-year track record of seeking out and exploiting new technologies before they hit the mainstream. The company has been augmenting reality since 2006, printing in 3D since 2005, and creating virtual realities since 2001. W: www.inition.co.uk E: inition@inition.co.uk T: +44 20 7377 2949

Investment Life stand 94 Foyer Investment Life is Asia’s number one investment and lifestyle guide, providing readers with a value added magazine and brands with the opportunity to engage with Asia’s high net worth demographic. The Investment Life editorial panel, consisting of global investment specialists, provides insight and in-depth analysis that allows the Investment Life editorial staff to provide unparalleled insight into investment trends on both a regional and global level. W: www.panashcomedia.com E: info@panashcomedia.com T: +65 6534 9390

Juwai stand 63 Great Hall Juwai.com is where the Chinese find international property. The site is the largest and most authoritative source for global property in Chinese, with over 2.2 million property listings spanning 53 countries, with over 12,000 current news stories, country buying guides, education and emigration articles, along with the largest Chinese social media community focused on international property. W: www.list.juwai.com E: support@juwai.com T: +86 21 6072 9628

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Leggett Immobilier stand 71 Great Hall

Leggett Immobilier has just been voted “Best Estate Agency in France” and has 10,000 listings across the country – ranging from building land and barns to renovate up to some of the finest chateaux, country estates and ski properties. They have over 200 agents spread right across the country, all of whom have access to the in-house contracts department which ensures that each sale passes as smoothly as possible. W: info@leggett.fr E: www.leggettfrance.com T: 0033 553 566254

EcoHouse is proud of its global network of clients and Investors worldwide and is successfully completing Social Housing communities in North-East Brazil. • EcoHouse recognises the important role our partners play. So we would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of our invaluable partners. • We look forward to sharing new and exciting projects with you in the very near future. • SPEAK TO US TODAY to find how you can join a global network of agents enjoying great commissions, working with an award-winning company. • TEL. +44 (0) 203 540 2200 EMAIL: info@ecohousegroup.com • WWW.ECOHOUSEGROUP.COM •

CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM OF THE YEAR

SHOWGUIDE / exhibitors

MSF TUR.IM stand 11 Lecture Hall MSF TUR.IM is the MSF Group’s holding company for Property and Leisure. Its reputation is founded on the experience acquired by the MSF Group in the real estate market, with special note to the Marina de Lagos resort, synonymous with exacting quality and design. Featured are Marina de Lagos and A Fábrica – Marina Lofts & Apartments, in the Algarve, and Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort, in the Silver Coast. W: www.msfsgps.pt E: msfsgps@msf.pt T: + 351 217 215 300

North Dakota Developments stand 54 Great Hall North Dakota Developments LLC is a specialist commercial and residential developer building quality homes for both residential and commercial purposes. They use the latest technology to produce the best dwellings at the most affordable price. Currently undertaking commercial developments in US oil fields, they provide high quality mini hotels for oil and construction workers. W: www.northdakotadevelopments.com E: usa@northdakotadevelopments.com T: +001 (605) 610 0310

Onyria Resorts stand 11 Lecture Hall The Onyria Golf Resorts Group is a family enterprise – part of the natural evolution of a project that began around 20 years ago. The group was created to undertake the integrated management of resorts, villas, hotels, golf courses and restaurants. It is a group that involves a whole family, spanning various generations and its aim is to offer the very best and create enduring moments. W: www.onyriaresorts.com E: geral@onyriaresorts.com T: + 351 214 860 192

OPP stand 93 Foyer OPP (Overseas Property Professional) is a leading global business information and media group. The company provides essential news, information, insight, data and connections for businesses in the international property sector. Since it was established in 2004, the OPP Group has generated business worth more than US$2 billion for overseas property companies in more than 100 countries around the world. W: www.opp-connect.com E: partners@opp-connect.com T:+44 20 3540 2233

www.opp-live.com

Overseas Mortgage Broker Ltd stand 16 Lecture Hall

Overseas Mortgage Broker Ltd was founded in 2008. The company’s philosophy is to provide clear mortgage advice to people looking to buy properties outside their usual country of residence. Property Agents can use the company’s services to pre-qualify clients for mortgage lending. Both the agent and buyer can feel confident that the purchase can be financed. W: www.overseasmortgagebroker.com E: info@overseasmortgagebroker.com T: +44 20 7193 0588

SHOWGUIDE / exhibitors

P1 Communications stand 58 Great Hall P1 Communications is an award-winning and dynamic communications agency, specialising extensively, but not exclusively, in property, travel, luxury lifestyle and destination PR and marketing. They are a creative team that combine commercial experience with PR and wider marketing skills, well known for a no nonsense, diligent approach that delivers clients valuable column inches and significant ROI. W: www.p1communications.com E: info@p1communications.com T: +44 20 8614 7503

Palmetto stand 29 Library Hall Operating since 1996, The Palmetto Group is a trusted financial firm that offers clean energy investment products with environmental benefits to its growing global client base of over 300 institutions and 12,000 private clients. Palmetto has evolved into a highly regarded financial firm with substantial transaction experience. Palmetto has now expanded its product offering to include other real assets such as real estate. W: www.palmetto.com E: info@palmetto.com T: +44 800 979 0410

Global Management Platform exhibits at OPPLive to connect our marketplace to our products. It lets us meet in person existing and prospective clients Global management platform Panashco Media stand 96 Foyer

Panashco Media is a full service content marketing company, specialising in through the line content creation for brands and companies. Modern brand communications has to use a multi channel approach to reach customers in the manner that they choose. Panashco Media was created with this vision at its centre. Panashco Media delivers exactly that: multi-channel marketing through traditional print based media and interactive media. W: www.panashcomedia.com E: sales@panashcomedia.com T: +65 6534 9390

Pestana Hotels & Resorts stand 11 Lecture Hall

W: www.pestanagolf.com E: peter.statham@pestana.com T: +351 282 340 930

www.opp-live.com

The Pestana Group is Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost international tourism and leisure group and one of the largest in Europe. Since starting with a 300-bedroom hotel in Madeira Island on 20th November 1972, the family-owned Pestana Group has grown steadily and currently includes in its portfolio over 90 fourand five-star hotels worldwide with two brands: Pestana Hotels & Resorts and Pousadas de Portugal.

SHOWGUIDE / exhibitors

Pinnacle MC Global Network stand 52 Great Hall

Pinnacle’s operations are historically based in residential property, though as demand for diverse investment opportunities rose they saw the need to expand. In 2010 they began to facilitate the growing needs of investors to purchase alternative commercial investments. The company’s Investment Managers have extensive knowledge of all of Pinnacle’s developments and are always on hand to support our network of UK and overseas-based agents. W: www.pinnaclemcglobal.com E: contact@pinnaclemcglobal.com T: +44 800 65 28 612

Powerhouse Development Co. Ltd. stand 26A Library Hall Powerhouse Development Co. Ltd is a growing development company dedicated to building ideas that emphasize location, community and lifestyle. Powerhouse Development is comprised of a group of individuals with over 60 years combined real estate experience, with expertise in architecture, design, construction and sales. The management team has developed projects across the globe including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada and Mexico. W: www.powerhousedev.com/intl E: info@powerhousedev.com T: +66 38 059 635

OPP events are our top choice for networking, proving invaluable in building the largest partner network in the industry, on all five continents Robert Gavin, North Dakota Developments Premier Alternatives stand 47 Great Hall Premier Alternatives is a platform which provides alternative investment products to sales agents globally. Their products are designed to meet the needs of investors seeking profitable and sustainable diversification in the non-traditional financial sector. They aim to build a common platform for brokers/dealers/sales agents where motivated, ambitious and experienced minds can join them to market a range of alternative products to investors. W: www.premieralternatives.com E: info@premieralternatives.com T: +44 20 3598 1450

www.opp-live.com

Property Investor Media Ltd stand 8 Lecture Hall

Property Investor Media organises the UK’s largest, longest running events for the property investment sector: The Property Investor Show and The Homebuyer Show in London, April and October. These attract huge audiences of investors, landlords and property professionals. They also maintain one of the largest databases of active UK property investors, available to 3rd party advertisers. W: www.propertyinvestor.co.uk E: enquiries@propertyinvestor.co.uk T: +44 20 8877 0610

The

Educated Choice The Knight Frank specialist Student Property team is able to advise on purpose-built student accommodation located throughout the UK and across Europe.

For expert Student Property advice please contact James Pullan Head of Student Property +44 20 7861 5422

SHOWGUIDE / exhibitors

Property Guru stand 88 Foyer PropertyGuru is Asia’s leading online property media, with a regional footprint across eight countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, India and Australia. PropertyGuru Portals feature over 500,000 property listings. PropertyGuru is home to more than 11 million property buyers, investors & estate agents across Asia generating over 300,000 sales enquiries for advertisers (property developers/agents) monthly. W: www.propertyguru.com.sg/ E: info@propertyguru.com.sg T: +65 6238 5971

Rightmove Overseas sponsors stage Great Hall Rightmove Overseas is the UK’s leading overseas property portal: 70,000 properties in over 65 countries. It is the place for people looking to invest abroad or make the move overseas. Its advertisers are overseas property estate agents, developers and private owners who have property for sale all over the world. The company also researches and collects invaluable data. W: www.rightmoveoverseas.co.uk E: rightmoveoverseas@rightmove.co.uk T: +44 1908 712 044

OPPLive is the must-attend event for any company wishing to make important contacts and further their business in this industry Constantinos Zavos, Caz Estates Rycal stand 56 Great Hall Rycal Investment Group was established in 2010 with the aim of offering sustainable land and property investment opportunities from around the globe. Rycal Group’s primary objective is to be able to offer clients investments that Rycal Group has investigated and researched that will provide not only capital growth but also high sustainable yields. Rycal’s Directors have over 35 years’ experience in property investment, finance and residential construction. W: www.rycalgroup.com E: info@rycalgroup.com T: +44 1793 238404

www.opp-live.com

Smart Currency Exchange sponsors stage Great Hall

Smart is one of the fastest growing currency exchange specialists in the UK. Part of the reason for this success is that Smart has specialised in serving the overseas buying (and selling) community since it started trading. Smart talks property – that’s why we have developed such excellent business relationships with partners like Rightmove Overseas, France Property Shop, Archant and OPP. W: www.smartcurrencyexchange.com E: info@SmartCurrencyExchange.com T: +44 808 163 0102

SHOWGUIDE / exhibitors

The Residences at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik stand 53 Great Hall Dubrovnik Sun Gardens offers your clients home ownership under the Croatian sun, overlooking the Adriatic. Their vision is to create the finest collection of resort properties in Croatia. Parent iOAdria is actively engaged in the management of all of its investments, assembling a renowned executive team with experience in the design and management of leading five-star luxury hotels and resorts. W: www.dubrovniksungardens.com E: residences@dubrovniksungardens.com T: +385 20 361 650

The Resort Group stand 33 Library Hall The Resort Group is the premier developer of 5-star hotel and resort properties, specialising in Cape Verde, and has a proven track record of delivering consistent rental returns to property owners. They take responsibility for the entire development process. Their industry experience is enhanced by their strong strategic partnerships with world-renowned hoteliers, global construction firms and leading financial institutions. W: www.theresortgroupplc.com E: info@theresortgroupplc.com T: +44 1332 387 818

Thor Estates stand 55 Great Hall Thor Estates is one of the leading Real Estate Agents for Mauritius. Their reputation is built on their ability to secure prime properties for clients, but they take equal pride in their premium service. Thor Estatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; directors combine love and knowledge of the island with a thorough understanding of the local property market and laws and extensive experience in the global property and financial markets. John Mather

W: www.thorestates.com E: enquiries@thorestates.com T: +44 207 993 5645

Director j.mather@thorestates.com

T +44 0207 993 5645 M +44 7974 728 984

Warnford Court, 29 Throgmorton Street, London EC2N 2AT

TroiaResort stand 11 Lecture Hall Less than an hour from Lisbon, on the TrĂłia Peninsula, between the Sado Estuary and the ArrĂĄbida Natural Park, you will find a paradise of 486 hectares, where the words Nature and Leisure are highlighted. Troiaresort is the name of this magical place, created thinking of you. Troiaresort, where outside spaces and gardens are integrating factors of urban solutions, has a wide range of exclusive services. W: www.troiaresort.co.uk E: sales@troiaresort.co.uk T: + 44 20 7016 3740

Turismo de Portugal stand 11 Lecture Hall

W: www.turismodeportugal.pt E: info@turismodeportugal.pt T: +351 211 140 200

www.opp-live.com

Turismo de Portugal, I.P. is an organisation that aims to foster development of Portuguese tourism. Integrated within the Ministry of the Economy, Innovation and Development, Turismo de Portugal is the national tourism authority responsible for promotion, enhancement and sustainability of tourism activities, aggregating within a single entity all the institutional competencies related to stimulation of tourism activities, from the supply sector to demand.

SHOWGUIDE / exhibitors

Universal21 stand 23 Library Hall Universal21 is one of the most dynamic property companies in the Istanbul Real Estate marketplace. Since its inception, the company has been the market leader in the South West suburbs of Istanbul. Working closely with chosen developers, Universal21 has been the selling and marketing organisation appointed for the sale of many of the developments locally. The team at Universal21 has been responsible for many thousands of property sales. W: www.universal21.com E: info@universal21.com T: +90 212 366 0214

Vale do lobo stand 11 Lecture Hall Vale do Lobo Algarve is recognised as one of the foremost resorts in Europe and is today the largest luxury resort of its kind in Portugal operated by the same company. Over nearly 50 years, Vale do Lobo has witnessed many changes, with innovative ideas, continuous improvements and the introduction of new developments an integral part of its existence. All have contributed to its reputation today as the ultimate all-year-round family destination. W: www.valedolobo.com E: vdl@vdl.pt T: +351 289 353 000

Zandspruit stand 1 Lecture Hall Zandspruit Bush & Aero Estate offers 200 stands to people who wish to relocate or retire to a South African paradise, or simply to invest in a second home or holiday home. Of the 200 stands, 162 are Bush stands and 38 stands are Aero stands, where owners may park a plane. Surrounded by the majestic Klein Drakensberg Mountains, the various stands offer a range of views that include a combination of bush, mountain and river views.

www.opp-live.com

W: www.zandspruit.co.za E: info@zandspruit.co.za T: +27 15 793 1192

OPP Advert.pdf 1 07/11/2013 16:46 16:43

SHOWGUIDE / exhibitors

Where in the world? Find Exhibitors by the countries they work and specialise in

GLOBAL Beckett Hanlon Buy Association Feltrim Fractional Ownership Consultancy Global Management Platform Overseas Mortgage Broker Ltd Panashco Media Pinnacle MC Global Rightmove Overseas Smart Currency Exchange

Australia Premier Alternatives

Brazil EcoHouse

Canada Empire Communities

Cape Verde The Resort Group

www.opp-live.com

China

Juwai Panashco Media PropertyGuru

Croatia The Residences at Sun Gardens Dubrovnik

France Barrasford and Bird

Leggett Immobilier

Malaysia PropertyGuru

Mauritius Thor Estates

Poland Department for Promotion Municipality of Gi偶ycko

Portugal Onyria Resorts Tr贸ia Resort Turismo de Portugal Vale de Lobo Fractional Ownership Consultancy MSF TUR.IM Pestana Hotels & Resorts

Russia Domus Alliance (Russia)

Singapore Panashco Media PropertyGuru Investment Life

South Africa Zanspruit

Spain Aloha Hills Rycal Fractional Ownership Consultancy

St Lucia Freedom Bay St Lucia

Thailand Powerhouse Development Co. Ltd. PropertyGuru

Tunisia Home in Tunisia

Turkey Onyria Resorts Universal 21

UK AIPP Assetz Barrasford and Bird D2E Ethical Forestry Global Management Platform Group First Inition Property Investor Media Ltd Rightmove Overseas Rycal Palmetto P1 Communications

Barrasford and Bird CAZ Estates Feltrim North Dakota Developments Rycal Palmetto

savills.co.uk

Student Investment & Development Residential Capital Markets Recent Track Record The Student Team provide investment, development, valuation and consultancy advice to investors across the UK & Europe. Key clients include UNITE, Brandeaux, Victus European Student Accommodation Fund and Campus Living Villages.

KPMG Former Opal Property Group Portfolio, UK Portfolio disposal 6 properties including 4 student assets, one residential property and

Topland Green Park, Bath Site disposal

0.50 hectare (1.23 acres) development opportunity in Bath city centre

one development site

University of Reading On Campus Halls of Residence, Reading OJEU & procurement advice

Portfolio purchase

Stock transfer of 4,321 beds to the private sector

ACIS Beach Fund Assets, Nottingham & Sheffield

Mortar Developments Caledonian Road, London

Two stabilised student assets in strong university cities

Crosslane / Bauer Capital JV Europe

Turnkey sale 350 beds adjacent to Caledonian Road Underground station

Development & refurbishment of student accommodation in Germany 5,000 beds

Key Contacts Marcus Roberts Head of Student Investment mroberts@savills.com 020 7016 3799

savills.co.uk

Melanie Bailey Director mbailey@savills.com 020 7016 3765

James Hanmer Associate Director jhanmer@savills.com 020 7016 3711

Cheryl Jackson Associate Director cjackson@savills.com 0131 247 3726

Global Property Franchise Opportunity

Become a successful property consultant under an ethical, educational and supportive structure. BeckettHanlon is the creative unfolding of Drew Beckett’s experience and passion; a distillation of 30 years of success in the international property and investment markets. Take a look at our video gallery to discover more: www.becketthanlon.com/videos Agent benefits: Freedom to create wealth for yourself World class training and on going support Fantastic worldwide property portfolio Marketing and state of the art technology Access to our database of worldwide prospects

Always the Right Decision

Client benefits: Ethical selling procedures ensuring it is “always the right decision” Vetted Property Portfolio 360 process organising everything for you from the property, insurance, legal, currency exchange, furniture, car rental Taking the stress out of buying abroad

T: E:

+44 (0)2890020700 info@becketthanlon.com

www.becketthanlon.com

SHOWGUIDE / Speakers

OPPLive conference speakers

www.opp-live.com

From development giants to tech wizards. From collectors of big data to distributors of big news. Meet the experts.

Dean Asher is broker-owner with Don Asher & Associates Inc. and the 2013 president of Florida Realtors. He is active in residential brokerage, property management and commercial brokerage.

Andrew Batt is International Group Editor at PropertyGuru Group. Based in Singapore, Andrew leads a team of regional editors and journalists who together publish more than 700 stories every month.

W: www.deanasher.com E: dean@donasher.com

W: PropertyGuru.com.sg E: andrew@propertyguru.com.sg

Koprinka Aksaray has 10 years experience running her own property consultancy company. She is consulting to Affinity Group and is Head of UK Sales on the Freedom Bay project based in Saint Lucia.

Simon Biltcliffe describes his printing company, Webmart, as based on Marxist-Capitalist business principles. Simon will explain what he means by this and how vital it is to the huge success of Webmart.

W: www.freedombaysaintlucia.com E: koprinka@freedombaystlucia.com

W: www.webmartuk.com E: simon.biltcliffe@webmartuk.com

Keith Baker is a qualified English Solicitor and Notary Public. He has practised in cross-border property and succession matters for over three decades. He is currently a Consultant to Brian Harris & Co, Solicitors.

Roy Brazier made his money in Ireland and has since invested widely – and with mixed success – in projects around the world. He has learned a lot and made a lot of money.

W: www.brianharrislaw.com E: Keith.baker@brianharrislaw.com

E: brazier.roy@gmail.com

Sue Baker founded Lexicon Public Relations Ltd and has taken the company from start-up to great success. Sue and her team have run successful campaigns for some of the world’s biggest organisations.

Nick Carlile, founder of Platinum Portfolio Builder, has a wealth of experience in property – from building his own home to managing projects worth tens of millions.

W: www.lexiconpr.com E: sbaker@lexiconpr.com

W: www.platinumportfoliobuilder.co.uk E: nick@platinumportfoliobuilder. co.uk

Robin Barrasford is Managing Director of Barrasford and Bird Worldwide. The company has handed over more than 2,500 properties across 10 different countries.

Jacqui Carrel is a partner in the online marketing and consultancy business Cinnamon Edge. She has been advising and training businesses on SEO and online marketing techniques for 10 years.

W: www.bandbw.co.uk E: robin@bandbw.com

W: www.cinnamonedge.co.uk E: Jacqui@cinnamonedge.co.uk

SHOWGUIDE / speakers

Diogo Gaspar Ferreira has had great success in TV, football and finance. He is now the head of the Association of Portuguese Resorts and runs hugely popular luxury destination Vale de Lobo.

W: www.inition.co.uk E: stuart.cupit@inition.co.uk

W: www.valedolobo.com E: ceo@vdl.pt

Nick Davies created reputation management company www. reputationace.com in order to protect and promote the online image of businesses & individuals, including SEO and PR.

Pedro Fontainhas is the Managing Director of the Portuguese Association of Resorts, which represents top quality residential tourism developments in Portugal. He has almost 30 years’ experience.

W: www.reputationace.com E: nick@reputationace.com

W: www.apr.com.pt E: pedro.fontainhas@apr.com.pt

James Dearsley had been working in the property industry for 11 years before founding The Digital Marketing Bureau. James helps developers understand how to use technology to market their products.

Robert Gavin is a serial entrepreneur and a leading and trusted figure in the global real estate sector and is the Group CEO of North Dakota Developments and associated companies.

W: www.thedigitalmarketingbureau.com E: info@thedigitalmarketingbureau.com

W: northdakotadevelopments.com E: info@northdakotadevelopments.com

Anthony Armstrong Emery is the Chairman and Founder of EcoHouse Group: a leading international property developer and constructor. The company focuses on construction of sustainable social housing in Brazil.

Shameem Golamy is Head of Overseas at Rightmove Plc. Rightmove Overseas is the UK’s leading overseas property portal, displaying over 100,000 properties in over 65 countries.

W: www.ecohousegroup.com E: info@ecohousegroup.com

W: www.rightmoveoverseas.co.uk E: shameem.golamy@rightmove.co.uk

Peter Esders is an English Solicitor who has been dealing with Spanish law for coming up to 20 years and is a well known commentator. Peter joined the Judicare Group at the end of 2012.

Menahem Haim is the CEO/ Managing Director of Matrix Group, a fully integrated property development business operating in Pattaya, Thailand. “Miki” Haim is a pioneer in the Pattaya market.

W: www.judicaregroup.com E: peter.esders@judicaregroup.com

W: www.matrix-developments.com E: mikihaim@gmail.com

Gareth Fatchett is a Solicitor, Notary Public and a Director of law firm Regulatory Legal. He led the team at Regulatory Legal on recent high-profile cases such as Keydata and Arch Cru.

Julie Harvey, International Sales and Marketing Director for Pinnacle, has spearheaded the sales of student accommodation developments, building up a network of property agents from around the world.

W: www.regulatorylegal.co.uk E: gareth.fatchett@regulatorylegal.co.uk

W: www.pinnaclemcglobal.com E: Julie.harvey@pinnaclemcglobal.com

www.opp-live.com

Stuart Cupit is co-founder and head of technology at Inition. He has over 20 years experience running successful high tech businesses, business development and bringing high tech solutions to market.

www.opp-live.com

SHOWGUIDE / Speakers

Philip Hillman is Head of the JLL student housing and higher education team, which is procuring 11,000 beds for universities across the UK and is involved in investment transactions of circa £2 billion.

Garrett Kenny created his own logistics business soon after finishing school. He built it into a successful enterprise and subsequently set up Feltrim Developments to exploit his logistics knowledge.

W: www.joneslanglasalle.co.uk E: Philip.Hillman@eu.jll.com

W: www.feltriminternational.com E: garrett@feltrim.com

Christina Hippisley is General Manager at the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce. She has previously edited Portugal Magazine and is a regular contributor to A Place in the Sun and other property portals.

Claudia Kwan joined Juwai.com early this year as a International Business Development Manager. Her role is focused on forming partnerships with international agents and developers.

W: www.portuguese-chamber.org.uk E: c.hippisley@portuguese-chamber.org.uk

W:www.juwai.com E: claudia@juwai.com

John Howell has been a leader in the international property industry for 30 years. After many years working as an international property lawyer he is now Editorial Director of OPP media.

Ian Lancaster founded Twenty plc in 2005 with the vision of creating an integrated data led marketing services business. Ian’s focus is on driving the business forward to cement its position as an industry leader.

W: www.opp-connect.com E: john.howell@opp-connect.com

W: www.twentyci.co.uk E: enquiries@twentyci.co.uk

Brad Inman is an internet entrepreneur and the founder of several online and offline companies, including Inman News, HomeGain. com, TurnHere.com and Vook, an ebook publishing company.

Stuart Law is the Chief Executive of the Assetz group of companies. He is an active investor in property, property development, currencies and other investment classes and is a well-known commentator.

W: www.inman.com E: brad@inman.com

W: www.assetz.co.uk E: stuart@assetz.co.uk

Lyubov Jones, BA in Law & LLM, qualified to practise as a Bulgarian lawyer (Advokat) in 1989. Lyubov is an expert in Contract & Property Law, litigation, debt collection, and Wills and Inheritance.

Jean Liggett is Director of Properties of the World, an international property consultancy. Jean brings fresh insight as a newcomer to the Russian market and an understanding of what the Russian buyer is looking for.

W: www.bulgarianlawyers.co.uk E: lyubovjones@googlemail.com

W: www.propertiesoftheworld.co.uk E: jean@propertiesoftheworld.co.uk

Justine Keenan is the sales director for Times2, a digital marketing agency based in Leeds and London. They build website – and optimise them, which provides the return on investment.

Stefano Lucatello is senior partner of Kobalt Law LLP, with many years of legal experience. His team of international lawyers advises on all manner of international law matters, covering over 50 countries.

W: www.time-2.co.uk E: Justine@time-2.co.uk

W: www.kobaltlaw.co.uk E: stefanol@kobaltlaw.co.uk

SHOWGUIDE / speakers

Dr Alan Ma is the founder / partner of Maxwell Alves Solicitors. He is a recognised authority in a number of practice areas, notably immigration, commercial and property. W: www.maxwellalves.com E: alan.ma@maxwellalves.com

Matthew Montagu-Pollock is the creator of the Global Property Guide, renowned for its objective approach to informing those interested in international property through detailed news and research. W: www.globalpropertyguide.com E: matthew@globalpropertyguide.com

Kevin Maddison is the founder and Managing Director of Global Management Platform. His focus is to work with clients that need to control complex administrative processes in integrated GMP systems.

Author and journalist, Christopher Nye took over as Editor of OPP magazine this summer, having been features writer for A Place In the Sun magazine since it launched and former editor of Everything America.

W: www.gmp-ltd.com E: Kevin@gmp-ltd.com

W: www.opp-connect.com E: chris.nye@opp-connect.com

Sherry Madera is the Non-Executive Director of OPP Group and Ionic Advisors. She works with property developers to offer plans for international sales with an emphasis on South East Asia and China.

António Pinto Coelho is Operations General Director of Onyria Palmares Beach & Golf Resort in Lagos. He previously worked in Millennium bcp as a fixed income trader.

W: www.ioanicadvisors.com E: smadera@ionicadvisors.com

W: www.onyriapalmares.com E: apc@onyriaresorts.com

James Pullan is a Partner at Knight Frank and Head of the Knight Frank Student Property Team. The team provides agency, valuation and consultancy services in respect of student accommodation.

W: www.spongegroup.com E: alex.meisl@spongegroup.com

W: www.knightfrank.com E: james.pullan@knightfrank.com

Frederico Mendonça is the Head of Real Estate for troiaresort. With a wealth of experience concerning real estate in resorts, Frederico manages client and partner relationships and sales strategies.

Ashley Rigg is the founder and editorial director of www.globaledge. co.uk, a business news and media platform for the overseas property industry. Global edge also coorganises Russian Summit.

W: www.troiaresort.pt E: fcmendoca@troiaresort.pt

W: www.globaledge.co.uk E: Ashley.rigg@globaledge.co.uk

Reza Merchant is Founder and Managing Director of The Collective, which is a progressive lifestyle-led brand of London rental property, aimed at domestic and overseas students.

Barney Roberts has worked in Business Development for Time2 for just under a year now, helping the business grow and move forward by attaining new business clients through various forms.

W: www.thecollectiveltd.co.uk E: info@shareinthecity.co.uk

W: www.time-2.co.uk E: barney@time-2.co.uk

www.opp-live.com

Alex Meisl is the Chairman of Sponge Ltd, the UK’s most successful mobile agency working across Europe and Africa. Sponge delivers mobile strategy and insight, mCRM, mobile sites and applications.

SHOWGUIDE / Speakers

Marcus Roberts joined Savills in 2007 as Head of the Student Investment & Development Team – a team of seven whose main focus is on the student investment and education sector.

Andrew Taylor is co-CEO of sales and marketing for Juwai.com. He created world-first research on Chinese buying behavior, the results of which helped drive Juwai.com’s messaging and brand.

W: www.savills.co.uk E: mroberts@savills.com

W: www.juwai.com E: andrew@juwai.com

Peter Robinson helped found the AIPP back in 2006. Appointed MD of the AIPP in June 2013, Peter now champions buyer education and industry regulation through the AIPP’s Code of Conduct.

Graham Turrell is founder of HighGround Property Investment Limited. HighGround applies the engineering disciplines learned in Graham’s early career to sourcing secure, profitable real estate.

W: www.aipp.org.uk E: Peter@aipp.org.uk

W: www.highgroundproperty.co.uk E: gt@highgroundproperty.co.uk

John Sebree is Senior Vice President of Public Policy for Florida REALTORS®, where he organizes the lobbying and political advocacy activity of the Association.

Aimee Valaitis is an Overseas Business Analyst at Rightmove Overseas. Her most recent project was the Rightmove Consumer Survey (featured in OPP), which collected data from over 3,000 people.

www.opp-live.com

W: www.floridarealtors.org E: johns@floridarealtors.org

W: www.rightmove.co.uk E: aimee.valaitis@rightmove.co.uk

Anabela Silva is the Ernst & Young tax partner currently leading the HC practice in Portugal. Her experience includes global mobility services and social security issues on high net worth individuals

Xavier Wiggins is extremely well connected in the industry. He has launched hundreds of shows, created the OPP brand and managed the marketing for many developers and agents seeking foreign buyers.

W: www.ey.com E: anabela.silva@pt.ey.com

W: www.opp-connect.com E: Xavier.wiggins@opp-connect.com

Jurga Skrabulyte is Co-founder/ Managing Director of Domus Alliance. She specialises in strategic sales, marketing and event management and helping property companies launch their products.

Jo Winchester is Head of Student Housing Advisory at CBRE Ltd. She has worked in the property industry for over 20 years and is a leading commentator and advisor on student accommodation.

W: www.domusalliance.com E: jurga@domusalliance.com

W: www.cbre.co.uk E: joanne.winchester@cbre.com

Peter G C Statham is the Sales & Marketing Director for Pestana Golf & Resorts, part of the Pestana Group. Peter manages sales at all their real estate projects in the Algarve.

Dr. Adam Wu is the Chief Operating Officer of the China Business Network (CBN). Dr Wu has been instrumental in leading CBN in supporting many Chinese delegations exploring overseas investment opportunities.

W: www.pestanagolf.com E: peter.statham@pestana.com

W: www.China-Invests.net E: adam@chinabn.org

SEARCHING FOR A RELIABLE SOURCE OF LEADS? We take the risk out of marketing by guaranteeing a volume of leads for each project or month that you promote with us

Now we can also generate leads in markets such as Holland, Russia, Scandinavia, UAE and Asia

Leads are specific to your project and sent to you in real time, as they are generated With our constantly expanding network we have the ability and know-how to generate leads quickly and efficiently

Leads are exclusive to you and never sold to another agent or developer We are currently supplying clients with lead volumes of anything from 50-1000 per month

TO FIND OUT MORE CONTACT INFO@BUYASSOCIATIONGROUP.COM OR CALL +44 (0)333 123 0320 VISIT US AT OPP LIVE 2013

STAND 57 GREAT HALL

BEST DEVELOPER SERVICE PROVIDER BEST MEDIA BRAND BEST MEDIA

BUYASSOCIATIONGROUP.COM

SHOWGUIDE / OPPLive 2013

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Real time integrated information... anytime, anywhere Ideal for property developers & alternative investment companies

All under one cloud Clear business visibility • Improved efficiency • Improved communication • Real time information • Access all areas • Seamless activity • Increased sales potential • Fully integrated across all departments

Total control all from

£218 per month*

See a live demo of the system 28th November 15:15 @ the “Beyond the CRM” Seminar To book a demo visit

www.gmp-ltd.com or call 0845 504 8868 *Based on 3 user licences, set up charges apply

WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENCY EXCHANGE PARTNER OFFER YOU? Extensive and specialist knowledge of the property industry?

Flexibility to adapt to your ne eds and commerical requirements, not theirs? Regular financial rewards and e? transparent commission structur

The best deal for each client – from staff who aren’t paid on comm ission

WE TALK PROPERTY BEFORE CURRENCY. These are some of the questions we typically ask when discussing the possibility of partnering – questions that we rarely find any other currency exchange companies can fulfill.

CALL +44 20 7898 0541 EMAIL partners@smartcurrency exchange.com VISIT www.smartcurrency exchange.com/partners

If your partner already offers all of these benefits, then congratulations, you’re probably already with Smart. If not get in touch with us today to find out how we can add value to your business.

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