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The Rodcast - Property, Business, Investment
Identifying Investment Sectors - Mike Kovacs
Mike Kovacs is a founding partner of uk based real estate investment firm, Castleforge. https://castleforge.com/
Under his leadership they have invested £1 Billion of asset value into the UK and Europe combining research-led investment themes with vertical integration and in-house operating platforms.
Mike has a great way of explaining how he identifies sectors in the real estate market to invest in.
In this episode we discuss;
How did someone from the states working in M&A at Blackstone become an investment manager specialising in UK and European Real estate?
What's more important, investing with good management or investing into a good sector?
How he decides on what sector to invest in for example flexi office space?
How he sees different types of office investments performing over the next few years?
What metrics or data would he would need to see to change his mind?
How does the UK market differ to other markets?
When investing into real estate how long is he forecasting to be in the investment until it matures.
What has been the hardest thing about raising capital for investment and what advice would he give to people trying to raise capital?
What advice would he give to a young person looking to get into the property investment industry?
What is he bullish and bearish on?
What is the biggest risk to his portfolio and what is he doing to mitigate it?
What has been the biggest challenge in scaling his business?
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113. Investment Mastermind Q4 2024
54:30||Ep. 113Manish Kataria and Adam Lawrence join me once again for our quarterly investment mastermind where we discuss what we are investing in on the Financial Markets and why.If you have not listened to one of these episodes before the idea is we each pick a stock, Bond, ETF or investment that most people have the ability to buy and explain why we think it is a good pick. We then open it up for critique from the others. We should point out that although we do invest in these, this is in no way Financial Advice.We also discuss the wider markets and the factors that may affect future earnings.For this quarter Manish chose BLOK an ETF that invests in Transformational Data Sharing Technologies https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BLOK/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKfCtRCxJAg5gC4MeXtZFtEjw4297ANcxQoWndKd_TyUQLKIgfWgDZMvF3xwlpjtvr-Y-kvgFf25Mf4WTNx_mZNVSA-T8-XWVZg6KdAOR1K_qF74GJmJvi6DpHhhMR-CNzoVDH_A4XIwg0u-ND-JYtlAn6ichUJr527R_uDYHZIpRod chose Ranmore Global Equity Fund, an actively managed Value fund. https://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/funds/snapshot/snapshot.aspx?id=F00000J58QAdam chose WISE, a fintech company focused on Global money transfers https://www.google.com/search?q=wise+stock+price&oq=wise+stock&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0i131i433i512j0i512l4j69i60j69i61.4827j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8I would really appreciate it if you like, follow and leave us a review wherever you listen or watch the podcast.Enjoy112. The Specialist Mortgage Market
49:54||Ep. 112I am joined by Ryan Etchells the Chief Commercial Officer at Together https://togethermoney.com/Ryan describes his role as CCO being between the raw products (in this case pound notes) and the sales team.This is a cracking episode that has so much information for any investor wanting to understand the specialist mortgage market better, including;The mortgage market review.Production costs of credit vs costs of risks.How the way the UK lives and works determines the demand of products.How the specialist mortgage market has changed over the years.How the low base rate decade affected the mortgage market.The shift in types of property investors over the years.Changes in Demand for Buy to let property.Credit lines for lenders vs SWAP rates.Examples of why the ability to Hedge a loanbook can change mortgage product pricing.Historical spreads between high street lenders and specialist mortgage products.How lender price specialist mortgages.Why savings rates have lagged lending rates.How banking regulation has built resilience in the UK.Mortgage product and application fees vs interest rates.Managing customers expectations when base rates double.Differences in the housing market compared with other period when rates increased.The need to unlock SME Housebuilders.Market responses to politics and of course their Residential Market report which can be found here https://togethermoney.com/residential-property-market-report-2024?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=general&utm_campaign=resi2024&utm_content=div_groupaud_direct041024campaignutm15If you are interested in our Property Business Workshop on the 16th January in London please check out the details here https://www.tickettailor.com/events/boardroomclubconsultingltd/1433877111. Residential Property Market Analysis December 2024
50:40||Ep. 111This episode is a thorough review of the UK residential property Market.We use a lot of graphs and charts so it may be better for you to watch on our youtube channel here https://www.youtube.com/@rodcastITPWe show and analyse data on RentsAffordabilityRegional differencesRoom RatesHouse PricesFactors affecting House pricesFirst time buyer dataWage growthHousehold dataInflationLending markets Labour MarketsIf you would like more information on the Property Business Workshop mentioned in the episode please click on this link for more info. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/boardroomclubconsultingltd/1433877110. Investment Mastermind Q3 2024
52:05||Ep. 110I am joined by Adam Lawrence and Manish Kataria again for our quarterly investment mastermind, where we discuss what we are investing our ISA's and Pensions into and why.This is not investment advice!We give our thoughts on the investment environment including the economy, productivity and the stockmarket.As always we each have 1 pick of a stock, ETF, Bond, REIT or other financial product that would be available to most everyday investors. We give our reasons for the pick and then open up the floor to the others to critique our choices.Adam chose 30 year UK GILTRod chose Liberty Media Corp Series C (LSXMK) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LSXMK/ A media stock listed on Nasdaq which is involved in some M&A action.Manish chose HSBC FTSE EPRA NAREIT Developed UCITS ETF (HPRS.L) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/HPRS.L/ A Global REIT ETFDon't forget you can now watch all our episodes on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@rodcastITP please give us a follow there.Do you want to know how to negotiate better with sellers, understand what is involved in exiting a business as well as working out what your exit should look like? Or maybe even just trying to understand which professionals you should look for and what to ask them whether that is estate planning, selling a business or even structuring a deal. Our latest workshop taking place in London on 1st October 2024 goes through all of this. Check it out here https://www.tickettailor.com/events/boardroomclubconsultingltd/1333219As always thats to our sponsors who make this episode possiblewww.978finance.com - Get in touch with them about financing your next deal.109. Affordable Housing - Pieter Zitman
52:43||Ep. 109Pieter Zitman has spent 37 years in the construction industry with the last 2 decades focusing on Affordable Housing.His developments have achieved 4 RIBA awards, 5 Evening Standard awards, The RICS award and The Royal Fine Arts Commission Trust Award. So when he suggested we discuss some of the ways that more housing can be built I jumped at the chance!In this episode we discuss;Pieter's background and how he came to specialise in Affordable Housing.What Affordable Housing is defined as.What the main Problems with Housing in the UK are.What is stopping more affordable housing being developed in the UK.Thoughts on recent news that Section 106 transactions are dwindling. Why and what can be done.How the government can motivate more SME's to develop Affordable Housing.Traps that Developers should consider when it comes to developing affordable housing.The changes to Affordable Housing over the years.How the planning system is playing a part in the development of Affordable Housing and what changes could be made.And Lots more.If you enjoy this episode or any of our other 100 + previous episodes please be sure to leave us a review where ever you listen to your podcasts. It really helps us to continue to attract more fantastic guests. Thanks in advance.Don't forget we are also now on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/@rodcastITP please give us a follow.As ever thanks to our sponsors www.978finance.com (Contact them for finance on your next deal) and www.konnexsion.com (contact them for fantastic property management software)Don't forget that myself and Adam Lawrence will be hosting our next Property Business Workshop (for Property Business Owners and portfolio holders) on 1st October in London. You can see more information and tickets here https://www.tickettailor.com/events/boardroomclubconsultingltd/1333219108. Supported Living - Toby Wilde
55:27||Ep. 108In this episode I was joined by Toby Wilde the Founder of Oparo www.oparo.co.uk to discuss what has become the "Wild West" industry of Supported Living.We discuss;Toby's background in property development and lettings and his motivation to be in the supported living sector.What the definition of Supported housing.Challenges of running an investment House in this sector.Using data and tech to assist with asset management and finding deals.Use classes and the planning system when it comes to supported housing.The difficulties of finding and dealing with operators in this space.Different types of leases and what they mean for investors and operators.The regulator and the mismatch of what they want and what is happening in the market.The LHA rate and what is sustainable rent for supported living sectors and why.And Lots more.Once again thanks to the sponsors www.978finance.com please contact them about financing your next dealwww.konnexsion.com please contact them to enhance your property management.Also a quick note of our next workshop.I see it come up all the time when people want to exit/sell a portfolio/business. They've got no exit plan. Understanding your own is crucial otherwise there's no point putting all this effort in.Understanding all this also helps you provide proper solutions for vendors that can help to get deals over the line.Check out details of our property business workshop on exits in October here https://Bit.ly/pbwfour107. AI in Property Management
32:51||Ep. 107James Pick founder of Konnexsion www.konnexsion.com joined me for this episode to discuss how AI is being used in Property Management.We talk about communication and how important it is in property management.Different ways to communicate and to whom eg voice, SMS, Whatsapp, email etc.Audit trailsRecord keepingGetting all stakeholders communications recorded in a centralised place without changing their preferred method of communication.Integration and using Cloud.Asset ManagementTenancy ManagementFinanceAI and document ingestion.transcription of videos and voice notes.If you are interested on efficiencies in the property management of your business then this episode is one for you.106. Offices, Hotels, Residential & Data Centre Investments - Michael Kovacs
56:26||Ep. 106Before we get started, I’m delighted to say our next Property Business Workshop on 4th July only has 10 tickets left.This time Adam Lawrence and I will be taking on: The fundamentals of property investment. Risk mitigation and control. Relevant investment metrics. Differing secured debt arrangements and loan structures – and – Scaling your property portfolio/business – why, when and how?Thursday 4th July, in a Central London location (Blackfriars). Let’s face it – there’s nothing else on that day apart from a rout. Early Bird tickets are running out – and thanks to the early bookers who make it viable to book a room and organise the event – we reward them with 10% off! There are tickets still available here: http://bit.ly/pbwthreeNow to this episode.Mike Kovacs from Castleforge is always a fountain of knowledge when I talk to him and this time was no different. I love his data led research approach to investing in different use classes and geographies.In the episode we discuss what Mike has been up to since we last spoke on the Rodcast a few years ago in episode 72 https://shows.acast.com/5d72784e408342486f3e10c1/633ee475050f5400123d2eafWe discuss;What has happened in terms of people being back in the office and how that differs in different markets.Structural differences in Markets that technology cannot fix in the office market.What has happened to Traditional office leases over the past couple of years.Flexible office market and how this is changing.We Work' s effect on the London flexible office MarketRegional office markets.How commutes affect office demand.Office costs as a percentage of a Businesses costs and how that has changed.Security of income in Flexi offices.What investors should be concerned about in regards to metrics.What office investors can learn from Hotel investments.The parts of the office market he focuses on and why.Why investors are only now realising the operational efficiencies of old school investments have changed.How Covid affected the Hotel market and why they felt it was the right time to get into hotels.How they chose the type of hotels and locations to invest in.Issues with the capital structure of some Hotels.Why Hotels have a track record of keeping up with inflation so well.What are the factors and some examples of what they look for in locations for Hotels.The effects on Hotels on the short term let and holiday let market.Why their residential arm "Ocasa" focuses on lower to middle market and affordable products.Barriers of entry in lower value residential areas.How they built a portfolio of over 2,250 residential units.How to look at the addressable market.The cost of Development.Cost of Living and how that is affecting affordability for renters and what they do to mitigate these risks.Operational costs of operating a residential portfolio.he ongoing costs and investment metrics needed in residential investment.Should operations be split from ownership?How regulation is affecting operational costs.The problems of investors realising they are running a business.Options for tired landlords.The future of Data Centres.How energy markets affect Data Centres.Why there are supply constraints in Data Centres.Different types of Data Centres and what to look for in a building or location for a good investment.And lots moreThanks to our sponsors www.978finance.com & www.konnexsion.com105. Senior Assisted Living - Honor Barratt
49:32||Ep. 105If you are interested in Supported living, Impact Investment, Private Equity, Operational Efficiencies, EBITDA, ESG, Housing Crisis then you are in for a treat.I was joined by Honor Barratt the Managing Director of Birchgrove, https://www.birchgrove.life/ a Senior Assisted Living operator that is funded by Impact Fund, Bridges https://www.bridgesfundmanagement.com/our-story/We discuss;Honor's background in business and how she became the Managing Director of Birchgrove.Coping with changes when your business is bought by Private Equity.Upskilling through business programmes such as Harvard.Transferable skills from a Creative industry.The scale of the retirement living problem in the UK.When people should look to downsize.Renting in later life.How the housing market is affected by the older population.How the senior living market in the UK compares with other countries.Why does it take us so long to create buildings in the UK.The biggest challenges Birchgrove faces.Market and Investors concerns over the supported living industry.Where the money is currently coming from that is investing in UK Senior Living.Measuring Impact.Delivering EBITDA with impact.How ESG and EBITDA are not mutually exclusive.The biggest challenges with scaling a business where there is an absence of comparables.The demographics of the industry and why this sector looks rosey.Identifying the problem with insight.How the cost of finance affects the business as well as impact.The realities of paying for care.Having a sense of purpose and how that really supercharges things.Ghetto-ising certain communities and how sometimes some communities want it.How impactful gestures can be.And Lots more.Thanks again to our sponsors 978 Finance https://978finance.com/andKonnexsion property management software https://www.konnexsion.com/user-login