The Return: Property & Investment Podcast
The Return is a podcast for property investors and developers who want to get UK housing deals done, even in a tough market.
Getting homes built is harder than ever. Planning delays, rising construction costs, funding gaps and shifting market conditions stop most projects before they start.
Learn from investors, developers and policymakers discussing what's happening in the UK housing market right now and how to learn from their experience.
Each episode features a real life case study or topic including: planning reform, policy shifts, funding conditions, deal viability, sales, delivery challenges and measuring impact.
Hosted by Anna Clare Harper, Director at Pinnacle Investments and author of three best-selling books on residential investing. Her mission is to help mobilise capital to drive the delivery of 10,000 more, better homes by 2030.
Join 350,000+ listeners learning how to build, fund and deliver more, better UK housing deals.
The Return: Property & Investment Podcast
Melanie Leech CBE, British Property Federation CEO
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Melanie Leech CBE, British Property Federation CEO joins Anna Clare Harper.
In Anna’s words:
‘35% of no new homes is still nothing.’
People love to blame planning for our housing crisis.
But it’s only half the story.
You also need to:
- Tackle construction cost inflation
- Manage skills and labour shortages
- Navigate new regulations (eg building safety, net zero)
- Make the numbers work with 35% ‘affordable’ requirements
I loved chatting with Melanie Leech CBE, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, about the blockers and opportunities in real estate today.
Melanie is one of those rare leaders who instantly earns trust: diplomatic, clear and genuinely passionate about making things better - not just talking about it.
Key takeaways include:
- Policy stability matters as much as policy content.
- Housing remains investable and is evolving fast. Those who understand new delivery and ownership models (e.g. for-profit RPs, JVs) will unlock huge opportunities.
- The new Building Safety Regime is a major bottleneck. Emerging leaders must understand how these rules affect delivery timelines and project viability.
Guest website: https://bpf.org.uk/about-us/board/
Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-leech-58053218/
Host LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaclareharper/
Host website: greenresi.com