"A long time ago, two young but enthusiastic northern men - David Hargreaves and John Proctor - got together with the seasoned operator Brian Fisher to form Fisher Hargreaves Proctor - as our first ever corporate brochure said 'Mustard Mellowed by Sage'. Our common ground sport, but particularly rugby and cricket."
Profile
When the world fell apart and development became unfundable and unviable, I changed direction a little and built a good rapport with the insolvency professionals and banks. I now head a team of professionals managing and selling distressed property to help banks get back some of their money to lend again (hopefully) to new viable businesses which will kick-start this country's economic recovery .
I continue to buy and sell investments and, indeed, am once again starting to advise on new developments, the most exciting of which is the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Broadmarsh shopping centre with the team at Capital Shopping Centres PLC, alongside Ben Tebbutt and Alan Pearson from our Retail Department .
Current Role
- Twenty years later and not quite so young, I continue to 'lead from the front' the team now known as FHP.
- I have in my time advised CSC on the extension of the Victoria Shopping Centre and the most successful city centre leisure scheme in the country, The Cornerhouse. I've also been responsible for the sale/letting or acquisition of retail bar and restaurant units to/for the likes of Zara, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Yo Sushi, Wagamama and recently Jamie's Italian in Nottingham.
- I've advised developers on the sale of hotels to the likes of Jurys Inns in Nottingham and Derby and Village Hotels at Chilwell, the development of more than 600 student beds in Nottingham and the sale of more than 500 city centre apartments.
- During this time, I've led the development of our Residential Division, FHP Living, which now dominates the sales market in Nottingham's premier residential areas and in particular the plus £500,000 sector with our Distinctive Homes brand. I've also worked closely with landowners and housebuilders in structuring a variety of strategic Residential Land deals which will bear fruit over the next few years.
- My role also encompasses Strategic Land Sales and Acquisitions for Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's, helping them to reach their growth targets.
Interests
I have a weekend and evening job as taxi to three boys and a girl, and I coach the under 14s and under 16s at Nottingham RFC where my 'leading from the front' skills prevail. My boys have had the privilege of playing at Twickenham twice and Leicester Tigers three times - lucky lads!
I have recently stepped down as a Governor of Nottingham Boys High School and from the Development Board at my old poly - now rather grandly known as Nottingham Trent University - due to lack of time, but I will always support these two excellent academic establishments.
So I started FHP with John and Brian and we've had a great journey to date. However, when I look at the quality of our people and the great talent coming through I think the journey may have only just begun.
