SAY Associates Q & A – David Tomlinson
We spoke to our Associate, David Tomlinson who specialises in build to rent operations, design and market reporting consultancy about his time at SAY and his experience in the industry.
This is what he had to say…
- If you could sum up working at SAY in one sentence, what would it be?
Uniquely varied and a different challenge each day.
- What’s your area of expertise within SAY?
I specialise in providing Build to Rent clients with operational advice from pre-acquisition, through the development lifecycle, and onto mobilisation, asset set-up and ongoing operational matters.
- What are some current trends you are seeing from clients approaching you?
In BTR, we are increasingly seeing a lot of new entrants into the market including pension funds, retailers, commercial landlords and traditional residential developers. We specialise in helping clients from other sectors to understand BTR and to leverage their existing systems, resources and expertise to deliver successful schemes.
Some of the other key trends including: incorporating ESG into all aspects of decision-making, utilising modern methods of construction, and an increasing focus on delivering a mid-market product.
- What initially drew you into the industry?
Property is a really varied career path and I enjoy the fact that it mixes the technical with the creative so seamlessly. The industry is huge and touches almost every other industry in some way or another. Yet it is so underdeveloped in a lot of ways, particular in comparison to finance, technology and e-commerce – the scope for innovation is huge.
- What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given about your career and who was it from?
My dad told me not to come to people with a problem and expect them to solve it for you; always come to them with your opinion on potential solutions as well.
- What advice would you give future generations wanting to get into the industry?
Having a solid basic understanding of the entire development and operations lifecycle will hold you in really good stead. It is useful to know a little about land acquisition, planning, development, financing and operations. The more you know, the more you understand how everything fits together and that every decision has a knock-on effect.
If you want to speak to David about your BTR portfolio get in touch
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