Passenger Terminal Expo 2024

Abyss’ Managing Director, Richard Nelson, will be attending Passenger Terminal Expo in Frankfurt on 16-17 April 2024.

Since its inception in 1998, Passenger Terminal Expo has grown year-on-year to become one of the most influential forums for the selection of suppliers for airport development schemes across the globe, with some 10,000+ people in attendance.

Passenger Terminal Expo in Frankfurt will be the place to hear about the latest projects and industry trends and developments, see technology in action and catch up on the latest views of industry influencers. It is an opportunity to make informed decisions and be one step ahead of the competition.

To book a time to meet with Richard, please contact us.

Doing the Cannes-Cannes again!

Abyss Managing Director, Richard Nelson, will once again be attending the global property event MIPIM in Cannes, France.

Since 1990, MIPIM has been drawing together thousands of people from across the spectrum of property and construction worldwide, as well as political and business leaders, and it is the largest global event of its kind.

If you wish to connect with Richard at the event, please fill in our contact form here.

Property markets turn toward optimism – IoD Property and Built Environment Q3 Economic Update

On 21 September, the IoD Property and Built Environment Special Interest Group (PBE SIG), which is chaired by Abyss’ Managing Director, Richard Nelson, hosted around 50 people at Barclays amphitheatre space in Moorgate, central London, for their Q3 Economic Update event.

A nearly equal split of members and non-members braved the rains to hear the incredibly high-calibre speaking panel, which included:

  • Neela Chauhan, Partner at UHY Hacker Young

  • Rebecca Shafran, Senior Associate Director at BNP Paribas Real Estate

  • Victoria Bajela, Director at Savills

The evening was expertly chaired and moderated by PBE SIG Vice Chair, Perminder Ghataore (Managing Director of Finance House Solutions Ltd), while PBE SIG Chair, Richard Nelson, presented an overview of the Institute of Directors (IoD) and our PBE SIG’s activities.

The panellists discussed how the current economic situation is impacting real estate investment, development and construction; the impact of taxation on property investment; and what is happening in residential and commercial real estate markets, including some very useful data in sectors like student housing, senior living, built to rent, offices, life sciences, retail and hospitality.

The outlook was generally positive, particularly with the Bank of England’s decision not to raise interest rates earlier that day, which perhaps signalled the peak of rate rises.

Neela Chauhan’s focus on tax was particularly eye-opening for owners of UK real estate, as several reporting requirements have been introduced in recent years, particularly affecting foreign owners, such as the Registration of Overseas Entities, Registration of Trusts, Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED), and Non-UK Resident Landlords (NRLs).

In addition, there are a number of taxes to consider, such as Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Inheritance Tax (IHT) and Value-added Tax (VAT). Chauhan noted that owners should seek professional advice in order to ensure they avoid potentially onerous penalties, which can include substantial fines and even imprisonment, in certain cases.

Rebecca Shafran looked at residential property markets, which are all in positive territory against a backdrop of falling unemployment and rising incomes. However, housing ladder aspirations for first-time buyers are starting to drift due to the price of property, particularly in cities such as London. This demand is being redirected to the rental sector, where property types such as Built-to-Rent (BTR) are experiencing high demand, and indeed becoming a preferred lifestyle option for many under 35s, according to research by Strutt & Parker, a BNP Paribas Real Estate company.

Additionally, an ageing population is driving demand for senior living and retirement communities, as we are expecting the population of over 75s to increase by more than 1.2 million in the next 10 years.

At the same time, a post-pandemic resurgence in UK university applications, particularly from overseas students, is swelling demand in key cities for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).

Victoria Bajela rounded out the night with a look at commercial property markets. Her presentation was prepared before the interest rate hold earlier that day, so she admitted that the forecast may have to be adjusted slightly, from a skew to the downside, to potentially a more moderate outlook, so watch this space.

Although a plateau in London prime office pricing was thought to have occurred in Q1 2023, that positivity waned in Q2, as new heights were being reached for pricing of prime product, largely due to lack of high-quality, well-located product.

Much of the dynamic in the office sector now has to do with occupier preferences for high-quality, eco-friendly, well-located space, which they are willing to pay a premium for – for example, good grade-A London offices with a roof terrace can fetch as much as a 14% rental premium!

Victoria took a quick look at the Life Sciences, Retail and Hotel sectors as well. Life Sciences is an emerging sector with a lot of demand in markets such as London, Oxford and Cambridge, but a lack of supply, which is driving growth.

The signs were encouraging in the retail sector, as London West End retail spend for 2023 was finally back to pre-pandemic levels, and likewise in the London hotel sector, which she noted is 30% up on pre-pandemic levels – somewhat thanks to the USD to GBP exchange rate, which is driving a rebound in tourism from the US and elsewhere.

Long-time IoD member John Muldoon was the lucky winner of the champagne raffle, presented to him by Nelson and Ghataore.

The group’s Q4 Economic Update will be held at Barclays Moorgate on 7th December 2023, and you can check their website here for announcements.

Happy 10th Birthday! 🎉🎂🍾

Abyss Global Ltd. turned 10 years old on 4th October 2022!

Many thanks to all our clients and friends who helped us celebrate on 11 October with a reception at The Betjeman Arms Grand Terrace in St Pancras International Station.

Richard Nelson, managing director, started Abyss Global Ltd. on 4 October 2012 as a specialist consultancy exclusively dedicated to advising architecture, engineering, construction and property firms on exporting their services and growing their businesses globally.

We’ve had the great fortune of working with some of the world’s best firms, such as Scott Brownrigg, WT Partnership, KEO International Consultants and PJA, as well as startup Digital Twin Unit.

We look forward to the next 10 years with anticipation!

Thank you to all our clients and friends for their continued support and confidence.

Please contact us if you have any enquiries.

Abyss Managing Director Joins UKREiiF Advisory Group

Led by property events company Built Environment Networking and supported by the IoD City Property SIG and some of the biggest UK property and infrastructure companies, the first UKREiiF event will be held in Leeds on 17-19 May 2022.

Richard Nelson, Founder and Managing Director of Abyss Global Ltd, as well as Committee Member of the Institute of Directors City of London Branch and Chair of its Property Special Interest Group, has been appointed to the UKREiiF Advisory Group.

Business and political figures from across the UK announced in March the launch of The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), with the first UKREiiF networking event, exhibition, and conference to be held in Leeds on 17-19th May 2022.

UKREiiF will bring together the public and private sectors to support the ambition for the UK to Build Back Better following the pandemic and the UK’s exit from the EU – with an annual networking event, exhibition, and conference, the showpiece of the forum, which will connect investors from the UK and overseas to development opportunities within our shores. The forum will attract inward investment, generate economic growth, and drive a more sustainable and inclusive culture within the property and construction industries.

“It is an honour to be involved in this groundbreaking event and to be able to contribute to its development and success,” said Richard. “We have a real opportunity to showcase en masse what the UK has to offer as one of the safest, most innovative and transparent property and infrastructure markets in the world. We are world leaders in areas such as zero carbon design, the adoption of technology in construction and property, property law and property finance, and UKREiiF will provide a superb new platform for international investors to meet UK businesses, entrepreneurs and public sector bodies.”

Alongside Richard, a number of influential senior figures and businesses have already announced their commitment to UKREiiF including:

  • Lord Bob Kerslake - Chair of the UKREiiF Advisory Group, Chair of Peabody, Chair of Be First and Chair of the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation

  • Kate Willard OBE – Thames Estuary Envoy and Chair of the Thames Estuary Growth Board

  • Gagan Mohindra MP – Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Regeneration and Development and MP for South West Hertfordshire

  • Joanne Roney OBE – Chief Executive of Manchester City Council

  • Pete Gladwell – Head of Public Sector Partnerships, Legal & General Investment Management

  • Ghislaine Halpenny – Director of Strategy and External Affairs, British Property Federation

And organisations including:

  • Department for International Trade

  • Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation

  • Allied London

  • Scarborough Group International

  • Black Professionals in Construction

  • MEPC

  • First Base

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

  • Newcastle City Council

  • Munroe K

  • Hull and The Humber Partnership

  • Blackpool Council

  • Avison Young

  • Lendlease

Other organisations include the Royal Town Planning Institute, Capital & Centric, Willmott Dixon, Constructing Rainbows, Pagabo, Rider Levett Bucknall and CB Collier.

Lord Bob Kerslake, Chair of UKREiiF Advisory Group and former Chief Executive of the Homes & Communities Agency, said: “I was really keen to join this initiative that will bring together the public and private sector along with companies large and small. It’s becoming increasingly odd for the UK’s property and regeneration industries to travel to the South of France annually to meet people you can do just as easily and effectively in the UK.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has given us an opportunity to pause and reflect, an opportunity to ask ourselves what the future should look like in terms of a conference that brings these industries together. Such a conference is needed – to connect and network, learn from each other and highlight new opportunities, and this new UK based forum will be really important. UKREiiF is a new future that we should embrace. A new UK property and investment event can and must have a much greater focus on sustainability, inclusion and a healthy environment.”

Kate Willard OBE, Thames Estuary Envoy and Chair of the Thames Estuary Growth Board, said: “I’m already looking forward to The UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds in 2022. There is a huge amount of investment and development potential in the UK, including the Thames Estuary, the UK’s number one green growth opportunity. It makes sense to have an event of the highest calibre in this country.”

For further information regarding UKREiiF visit: www.ukreiif.com

Media Enquiries: nathan.spencer@built-environment-networking.com

Richard Nelson Named Chair of IoD City Property Group

Richard Nelson, MD/owner of Abyss, has been named the new Chair of the Institute of Directors City of London Property Special Interest Group.

From 7 September 2020, and serving a three-year term, Richard will lead the property group for the influential IoD.

Richard’s aim for the group is to bring together people from the City of London, Canary Wharf and Greater London—as well as the wider UK and internationally, with the advent of the IoD’s Business Xtra webinar series—who share an interest in property and the built environment, and to be a catalyst for developing and growing property-related businesses.

“By organising events focused on interesting, relevant and timely content in the sector, we hope the group can be an influential part of the built environment ecosystem in London and beyond, facilitating knowledge sharing and stimulating innovation,” Richard said.

The group held a highly successful webinar on 4th August entitled ‘Property: Innovation for the New Normal’. Read the summary of the event, and you can also view the webinar recording.

Upcoming events include ‘Property: Going Zero Carbon – The Impact’ on 8th October, and ‘Current & Future State of the London Property Market’ on 17th November.

In addition to chairing the property group, Richard will also serve as a committee (board) member of the IoD City of London Branch, one of the most influential branches of the IoD, holding such prestigious events as its annual Mansion House dinner and the Bank of England economic forecast, as well as events from its Financial Services, China, South Asia and Young Executives Groups.

Learn about the IoD City Property Group, and join their LinkedIn Group in order to receive event notices, updates and to participate in online group discussions.

Abyss Global \ Update \ Summer 2020

We have released our latest update newsletter, which you can read online here.

In this issue:

  • The Times They Are a-Changin' — Opening remarks on what’s been happening the last half-year and what we are aiming to do going forward.

  • Lockdown does not mean 'shutdown'! — Insights article on how to maintain your new business pipeline during the pandemic.

  • Abyss offers pro bono Covid-19 recovery planning advice — Doing our bit to help design and construction firms through these challenging times.

  • Institute of Directors support for businesses during pandemic — Highlights of the valuable resources and support being offered by the IoD.

  • Institute of Directors Property Group update — Richard Nelson taking over as Property Group Chair, and notices of upcoming events in August and October 2020.

Click here to view.

Abyss Offers C-19 Recovery Planning Workshops

Pro bono help for design and construction firms

Abyss is doing its part to help qualified design and construction firms get through the pandemic by offering 'recovery planning' virtual workshops on a pro bono basis.

A recent report in Building Design magazine cited that almost 95% of architects have no C-19 recovery plan in place, and 40% have not even started recovery planning yet. An even starker report in Building magazine suggests almost 10% of architecture practices may go out of business due to the fallout from the pandemic. We suspect similar statistics exist across the design and construction industry.

In addition to the C-19 pandemic, a number of other ‘black swan’ events have affected the design and construction industry over the last 12 years, including the GFC and Brexit. What’s next?

Firms require robust strategic business planning so they can position themselves to be able to react to such economic shocks, as well as specifically how to pivot to target the right markets and sectors, identify potential opportunities, develop a quality sales pipeline, work the opportunities, and convert them into revenue-producing projects. 

The C-19 Recovery Planning Workshop will help firms with resetting their strategies and repositioning their brands, if needed, as well as looking at methodologies and approaches to help them develop new business to get on the road to recovery.

We held our first C-19 recovery workshop with a London-based structural engineering firm in early June, and the feedback was very positive. According to the firm's managing director, he appreciated us "taking time out to share your wisdom and knowledge. We found it very useful and informative and personally has given me some clarity of thought and focus."

Richard Nelson, Managing Director of Abyss, says "I understand the design and construction industry, having worked in it for over 30 years. The sector is hurting right now, and that is why we are offering this service on a pro bono basis. This is about helping firms make it through this incredibly challenging time, and to give them the confidence to recover and grow again."

Abyss is offering C-19 Recovery Planning Workshops until 31 August 2020. Please contact us if you would like to arrange a workshop for your firm. 

BuildUp Business Development Webinar

Richard Nelson, Managing Director of Abyss, had the pleasure of being a panellist on 13 May 2020 in a business development webinar hosted by BuildUp, the networking community for communications professionals who work in the built environment.

BuildUp’s ‘Homing In!’ series is a programme of Zoom discussions helping to navigate communications and business development in architecture and design during lockdown.

Several dozen attendees tuned in to hear the latest about about business development in the ‘new normal’ from Richard and fellow panellists:

  • Jo Cowan, CEO of Jo Cowen Architects

  • Mark Shaw, Founder of Studioshaw

  • Martha Gale (chair), Architectural New Business Development Consultant and former Associate — New Business Development at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

Richard discussed some of the advice and insights that he wrote about in his article ‘Lockdown Does Not Mean 'Shutdown'! - The New Distance-Selling Challenge’, which you can read by visiting our Insights page.

Visit the BuildUp website for more information about their network.

IoD Business as Un-Usual Launch

Richard Nelson was one of four panellists in the Institute of Directors inaugural ‘Business as UnUsual’ webinar series on 21 April 2020.

Representing the IoD City of London Property Group, Richard discussed the challenges, reactions and discoveries that are coming through the property industry in response to Covid-19 pandemic.

Click here to watch the recording.

Richard Nelson appointed to IoD City of London Board

We are pleased to announce that Abyss Global’s Managing Director, Richard Nelson, was appointed (co-opted) on 9 September 2019 to the Committee (board) of the Institute of Directors, City of London Branch.

Richard has also been tapped to be the Chair designate of the branch’s Property Special Interest Group for a three-year term starting from September 2020.

He has served as a member of the Property Group since early 2018, and he will be following the footsteps of Hamish McArthur, Director of Grenbas Management and Vice Chair of the IoD City Branch, who has successfully chaired the Property Group for the last six years.

The team is planning Property Group events for the following dates, so please put them in your diary:

  • 10 October 2019 – Modular Construction, hosted by Slaughter and May

  • 28 April 2020 – Annual Networking Drinks at the National Liberal Club

  • 8 October 2020 – Property Going Zero Carbon: The Impact, hosted by Stephenson Harwood

Please fill in our enquiry form to contact Richard Nelson if you would like to be placed on the IoD Property Group’s mailing list to receive invitations to future IoD events.

Visit www.iod.com to learn more about the IoD generally, or click here for information about the IoD City Property Group. 

Abyss Global \ Update \ Spring 2019

Going Global. In this brief update we review some of the articles and blogs on international business development that Richard Nelson has written over the years, and we also do a roundup of major international property and construction events for the coming year.

Click here to view.

Abyss Global \ Update \ Autumn 2018

After a long hiatus, we’re back. In this issue, we highlight the mad travel schedule that Richard Nelson had over the last year, taking in 11 countries on 32 separate trips, many over a week long!

We also look at the impact that Brexit is starting to have on the markets in the UK and Europe, with some insights from Gleeds chairman Richard Steer, as well as Richard Nelson’s own article “International Business Development in a Post-Brexit World”, which was published in the October 2018 issue of MARKETER, the Journal of the Society for Marketing Professional Services.

We also look at the Smart Shed, developed by Scott Brownrigg architects’ Advanced Technologies team as an elegant and innovative approach to urban logistics and modern productive uses.

Click here to view.

Abyss Global \ Update \ Summer 2016

In this issue, we highlight that Richard Nelson’s article “When is the best time to expand internationally?” was published last October in MARKETER, the Journal of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS).

We also look at a couple new clients, Shen Milsom & Wilke (acoustics, AV, IT, security consultants) and Plowman Craven — in addition to surveying and laser scanning many of the UK’s premiere commercial buildings like The Shard, they’ve also done laser scanning of celebrities’ bodies for use in the visual effects of several of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: Civil War. How cool!

We also do a roundup of a Built Environment Networking event that Richard Nelson chaired back in February on ‘London’s Inward Investors’, looking at the wave of foreign investment coming into London from around the world.

Click here to view.

Abyss Global \ Update \ Summer 2015

Sense and React. This issue looks at the still-fragile state of global recovery after the Great Financial Crisis, and advises that we need to be flexible in our business planning in order to react to unforeseen events that may happen.

Additionally, we look at:

  • ULI Real Estate Trends conference roundup

  • Advisory Services Overview

  • Abyss Global Golf Day

  • Upcoming Industry Events

Click here to view.