Noel Roper

Looking back, I feel that I've learned considerably more in the last near decade or so that at any other time in my 46-year career. That's because at FHP, I'm surrounded by surveyors who are highly intelligent, highly motivated and extremely knowledgeable. I buy and sell commercial investments and now sell a number of residential investments, mainly within a 40 or 50 mile radius of Nottingham, although I have bought properties on the south coast and elsewhere. FHP has helped me broaden my investment knowledge in relation to other markets. I have been able to advise certain wealthy individuals on a considerable amount of investment and development funding situations whereby we have provided the finance for small time developers to be involved in projects far greater than any bank would have allowed them. This has given us an unrivalled expertise in the funding and secondary market within the East Midlands area. A large number of those projects have been highly successful although, admittedly, during the present economic times one or two schemes have been “moth balled” but however other ones are ongoing and are, (despite the present market conditions), now letting out well. However we are now coming out of the recession and are looking at pre-letting these outstanding development sites. We believe that the market is slowly improving and there are certain special opportunities where we are taking advantage of market conditions to be able to buy sites and go and carry out developments. In more recent years we have confined the activities to purely selling and buying investments. During the last 12 months we have received a considerable number of instructions to sell investments and providing they are correctly priced they do sell readily well. Throughout my 11 years at FHP I thoroughly enjoyed working here with the other Surveyors and have hopefully been able to add to the profile of FHP in terms of the investment market. Despite the present economic climate we probably do more investment work than any of the other agents in the Nottingham area. Life changes through being in recession since August 2007 and recessions don’t go on forever. We are slowly coming out of recessions, there are lots more lettings albeit soft deals but soon the development cycle will start again even if it is some 12/24 months away and there are lots of opportunities. The current availability of all the main sectors i.e. retail, office and industrial is shrinking and this will consequently lead to an increase in hardening in rents, disappearing incentives as far as the tenants are concerned, which will lead to the development cycle starting again.

• Funding advisor on a 90,000 sq ft warehouse development B2/B8 Wellingborough.
• Ongoing funding advisor on a 90,000ft² warehouse development of B2/B8 Units in Wellingborough where a number of the Tenants are now seeking to relocate to larger premises enabling us to re-let this premises at an increased rent.
• Funding adviser on an ongoing 60,000ft² office development in Burton on Trent which included the acquisition of a further two Maltings buildings. We are currently on site converting one of the original buildings (Phase 1) into 16 apartments for letting with the owner retaining the investment. Depending on the success of that we will then look at developing out a further 60,000ft² of accommodation for residential purposes.
• Ongoing instructions by Blueprint to sell a portfolio of industrial properties throughout the East Midlands which is now nearing completion.
• Currently holding instructions for a variety of investments of retail, office and industrial and at the same time we will be instructed in the sale of three residential investments totalling nearly £5,000,000.

I have always played a significant amount of sport. Surveyors need to socialize and it is a very good way of meeting people. I have played cricket, hockey and squash all to varying degrees. In the latter years it’s now gone to skiing (admittedly the latter is only for a few weeks in the year at the most!) and golf. There is nothing better than a good day out in the middle of the week on the pretext of networking and playing a good round of golf.

One final comment. I never give up on a job once I have been instructed. I always try and persevere unless the matter is totally unrealistic. What is now the new Council offices on Station Street was originally a bare site which took me 4 ½ years to sell on behalf of what was then known as the Burton Property Trust. I sold it to Capital One who then developed their own offices and subsequently retrenched into one building and it was sold to the Local Authority.

What was my proudest deal? Probably bringing Capital One to Nottingham and acting on their behalf and negotiating the purchase of the Boots Printwork site on Station Street, then of course subsequently selling Capital One, the adjacent site as referred to above. I always say “never give up”.