A London-based property company, now branded GPE, that owns, redevelops and manages offices and shops across the West End and other parts of central London.
GPE, formerly Great Portland Estates, invests in and improves property in central London, with a particular focus on the West End. Wikipedia describes it as a property development and investment company that mostly owns offices, with a smaller share of shops. The company's 2017 annual report says it is entirely focused on central London, a market it says it knows inside out. It runs its business in three stages. It acquires buildings that are under-used in strong locations, repositions them through refurbishment or redevelopment, and recycles by selling them once the plan is complete and reinvesting.
Wikipedia says brothers Howard and Basil Samuel founded Great Portland Estates in 1959 to invest in properties that had been developed by the Dukes of Portland, and it listed on the London Stock Exchange that year. It bought the Ilex Estate in 1997, became a real estate investment trust (REIT) in 2007, and in November 2021 rebranded as GPE. Wikipedia names Toby Courtauld as chief executive, but that may be out of date. In its annual report GPE describes its aim as generating strong returns for shareholders and for its portfolio by improving central London property, with an intense, customer-focused style of property management.
All of its work is in London. The largest cluster, in and around Great Portland Street, is just north of Oxford Street in Marylebone and Fitzrovia. Other areas include Hanover Square in Mayfair, Soho (the 2017 report mentions 30 Broadwick Street), and the former Bloomberg headquarters in the City. In its 2017 report the company also describes having developed a group of schemes at 78 to 92 Great Portland Street, one of which was pre-let to a not-for-profit organisation, and says it also aims to improve the public spaces around its buildings.
On people, the 2017 annual report says GPE is entrepreneurial and collegiate, with in-house teams in asset management, development, investment and finance. In its first employee survey 96% of staff said they would recommend it as a great place to work, 89% of staff stayed in the year, and 75% of staff took part in a share incentive plan. These are company figures from 2017, so treat them as dated and as the company's own claims. The report also says GPE was ranked first in the property sector in Management Today's Britain's Most Admired Companies survey.
Jobs at a company like this include asset managers who work closely with tenants, development managers who run projects with architects and builders, investment analysts who look at which buildings to buy or sell, finance and legal staff, and sustainability and marketing specialists. Maths, geography, economics and business all help. The company's own website is the best place to check current vacancies and how the team looks today.
Website: www.gpe.co.uk
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