Louise Emmott, founder & MD, Kingsdene on becoming Chair of WiP NW, mid-market demand, and being heard.
Founder and managing director of Kingsdene – a leading estate agent situated in the heart of Manchester – Louise Emmott has her eye firmly on the fast-paced comings and goings of the property market.
Her keen insight has been honed over the course of a 20-year-career, which began in a PA role, sparking a long-term love affair with the sector she has worked in ever since. This has led to Louise founding her own company, and from next month, becoming Chair of Women in Property North West – something she is in a prime position to undertake.
Along with her Vice Chair, Catalina Ionita “a powerhouse”, as Louise describes, the theme for this year will be “Raising your profile” – an endeavour that means a lot to the duo, encouraging women to have their voices heard.
In the interview to follow, we talk about all of this, plus Louise’s view on the current property landscape – what’s been holding it up, heating it up, and what is, and should, come next?
Talk us through your career to-date
“I started off in property as a PA. So completely fell into it. I’d never really considered that property consultancy existed – all I’d ever seen were boards on the side of an industrial unit on the motorway, and you don't really think about who's letting that. When I was in my first role, my boss and the team were headhunted for King Sturge, so I moved with them. Because it was a small LLP, it felt like a large boutique business - so welcoming and homely - it was an amazing brand to work for.
“I was heavily involved in the launch of the residential brand for King Sturge. We set up the residential team and were one of the largest agencies in the city centre selling city centre apartments - new build and resale. It was incredible, and it really sparked something in me. And fortunately, King Sturge allowed me the opportunity to do a graduate rotation, without being a graduate, trying out different roles within the business to see what I enjoyed the most.
“It was the new homes side of the business I enjoyed, getting to know a development from start to finish. My role involved selling to investors – there was lots of overseas interest at that time because of the Manchester United connection. And my PA skills really came into good use with the organisation of paperwork, etc – I love a spreadsheet! Over time I worked my way through the ranks, and moved across to JLL when King Sturge was acquired in 2011. This then opened up even more doors, with JLL’s huge global presence, and one of the main reasons for the acquisition was due to the residential expertise we had.
“I was lucky to travel to Hong Kong, Singapore and China frequently, doing what I love, selling Manchester and apartments! It was an experience like no other.”
What led you to setting up Kingsdene?
“I think me wanting a new challenge more than anything. I felt like I'd achieved everything I could at JLL and I just needed something new. At the same time, JLL were looking to separate the regional residential aspect of the business, so it seemed like fate and I decided to take the plunge and set up Kingsdene. I loved my team – it was one of the things that kept me at JLL for so long – so this ticked many boxes.
"I could carry on doing the job I loved, with the people I enjoyed working with. But we'd have autonomy. We could have our own website, not buried within a global company’s website. Kingsdene is also very B2C, whereas JLL was B2B – we needed to be more agile rather than corporate.”
You were originally situated in an office on Deansgate with a shop front, but you’ve since moved?
“Yes, we’ve moved now. You just don’t get people walking into an agency office looking for an apartment anymore.
“At the time, I thought it was quite a brave move away from the high street, but then a lot of our competitors were doing exactly the same, it made complete sense.
“We’re now in Oxford Court on the ground floor of a three-story townhouse building. We're all together - our property management team; our sales and lettings team; our tenancy management team and the management team. We can all hear what’s going on, and it’s bred a much more inclusive culture.”
What does your day-to-day look like?
“Every day is different, which is why I love my job. I always start by going to the gym, because that’s my thing, it helps with my mental and physical wellbeing. Then it could be a client meeting, a board meeting, business development, a Women in Property catch up, an event…”
In terms of the property landscape, what’s it like at the moment?
“It’s tricky. We keep thinking this year will be the year. We’ve seen a flurry of new high-rise apartment buildings in the city, which is phenomenal, but the introduction of the Building Safety Act has really slowed down progress – the majority of new schemes have to go through Gateway 2 before they can get planning permission. This has proved frustrating for developers. But it does mean you've got that golden thread of information right from the beginning and it does obviously make buildings a lot safer. The benefit is clear, but I just don’t think the government were ready for the amount of work and didn’t have the resource to cope with it.
“The resale market is very, very active at the moment as a lot of buildings have now got their EWS1 forms, which is the form to say that the building is safe and mortgageable, so those buildings that have had cladding wrapped around them for two or three years are now saleable again. And, generally, these apartments have got lower service charges as opposed to the new builds with higher service charges due to the level of amenity. That mid-market has just been on hold.”
Is the city centre population a transient one, do you think?
“It’s a very transient city – I think it always will be because of the universities and high graduate retention rate. There’s also scope for empty nesters to come back into the city, there’s no need to rattle around a four bedroom house in the country, why not come into the city where you've got everything on your doorstep? I'm a big advocate for trying to develop apartments that are bigger than the norm with a larger kitchen and more of an entertaining space, and maybe a pantry or utility room.
“You also see more children around the city now, with schools in New Islington and New Jackson, which is great to see. Developers build mainly from a viability perspective and include one- and two-bedroom apartments because that's what we know. But townhouses are always super popular because there’s extra space, with more bedrooms and sometimes a garage. You’ll need to be fast though as they get snapped up quickly!"
You’re about to become Chair of Women in Property North West – congratulations! Let’s talk about that…
“Thank you! It’s a massive role, but I’ve been more involved for the last year and I’ve learnt a great deal about the organisation. I’m loving it – such a good group, great vibes and so welcoming.
“The first WiP event I attended was an Annual Dinner, and the rest is history, because as soon as you go to an Annual Dinner, you’re sucked in for life. [Agreed!]
“Shannon Conway was the Chair, and had a JLL table, so I went along. It was fun from start to finish - not stuffy – just relaxed, and you get the best out of people in those environments.
“After that, I became a member and started going to more events. Soon after, I asked if there were any spaces on the committee and they were looking for new people to join. It’s a phenomenal support network, it’s been a game changer for me, I've got some incredible friends in that group now and that's down to everybody being so helpful. Nothing is ever too much to ask. And it’s a broad network.
“Steph [current Chair] asked me a long time ago if I’d consider becoming Chair, so I’ve had a while to get my head around it, and we’ve worked closely over the last year so I now feel I’m very well placed to take over. I also have Catalina Ionita as my Vice Chair, who I know is going to be amazing – she’s a powerhouse. She will bring a very different feel to it as well, which will be great for our younger members.”
Your theme for this year is ‘Raising your profile’ – tell us more
“Yes, so my theme is raising your profile, which is very much about helping our members put themselves forward for speaking opportunities or editorial opportunities or basically the things that they might never, ever do.
“Speaking from my own personal experience on this, it’s easy to pass opportunities over to other people because we think we're not good enough to do it. So for me, it's about arming people with those skills and that confidence to be able to say yes. It could be a roundtable or a panel but it's important to get your voice heard. You will have a valid opinion.
“I was asked to be on a panel, which I agreed too but I didn’t want to know how many people were in the room. It turns out there were 300! I was so proud of myself afterwards for doing it. I want the same for our members – it’s another benefit of being a part of Women in Property.
“My advice to anyone is just say yes to everything. What can go wrong? What's the worst that can happen?”
What do you hope your legacy as Chair will be?
“Just to have empowered our members to be more confident and to be able to say yes to things. To take themselves out of their comfort zones and see what can be achieved when we really push ourselves.”
Any clues as to the theme of the Annual Dinner…?
“I have got an idea…we’re mixing it up a little bit. What I can say is there is absolutely no doubt in my mind it will be incredible.”
What else is on the WiP calendar for this year?
“On 23 April, we have the People Innovation Place Summit in Manchester at the Lowry Hotel. This is a national conference, with panels and presentations and breakout sessions with mentoring and networking, plus lots of fringe events the night before and morning after. You can find out more here.”
And finally, what’s next for Kingsdene?
“Just to keep doing what we’re doing. For me, it's really important that we always provide the best customer service to our clients.
“We’re working on a couple of exciting projects with developers bringing a different type of property to the city. Not just shiny towers. Watch this space.”
You can hear more from Louise by listening to her episode of 42 Roles in the Built Environment here.
