Forthcoming Meetings
Tuesday 18th March 2025
Harvey Soning
Founder & CEO
James Andrew International
Harvey founded James Andrew International in 1974 following the first part of his career at Peachey Property Corporation and Guardian Properties (Holdings) Plc. He has been involved in many major property developments and investment acquisitions and disposals in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and USA over the past 40 years and is well known within the property business.
​After 64 years in the real estate industry, I feel like I’ve seen all the ups and the downs. As JAI enters its 50th year in business, it still gives me great pleasure meeting new and old clients and developing relationships. Come and meet me and my diverse and highly respected team and let’s do some business together.
Thursday 10th April 2025
Mark Shipman
Founding Partner
Michael Elliot & Co
With over 40 years of experience, Mark is widely regarded as one of London’s leading real estate investment advisors. As a founding partner of Michael Elliott, Mark has successfully advised on the acquisition and disposal of over £20 billion of UK commercial real estate.
Mark has been involved with numerous high-profile transactions including some of Central London’s best-known buildings such as the Millennium Dome, Centre Point, the Burlington Arcade, Earls Court & Olympia, Queensberry House, 60 Sloane Avenue and 1 Strand.
Other transactions have included strategic loan workouts for the likes of Nippon Credit Bank, Swedbank and Westpac and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Mark is a senior partner of Metrus, our sister management company helping to grow the portfolio from £300 million in 2001 to more than £5 billion today.
He is a generous philanthropist and board member of Rays Of Sunshine – a UK charity that brightens the lives of seriously ill young people and their families across the UK by granting wishes and providing ongoing support within hospitals.
Thursday 19th June 2025
Darren Arnold
Savills Development Director
Darren Arnold is a Director of the Land team which he jointly runs and manages within the London Residential Development department based in Savills global head office in Central London.
​
Darren’s property career began in 1990 when he joined Austin & Wyatt. He was recruited by Savills in 1995, working in their Social Housing Team. Having moved to Savills Hampstead office in 1997 he worked in the Development and Investment team where he qualified as a chartered surveyor and became Head of Department in 2002.
Darren moved to the West End office in 2005 and has been a Director in the London Residential Development department since 2007.
He specialises in the acquisition and disposal of development opportunities throughout London and also provides development consultancy advice.
Darren and his team transacted 35 development sites and opportunities in 2023 with a total land value of £400 million.
Thursday 11th September 2025
Jacob Loftus
CEO General Projects
Jacob is the founder and CEO of General Projects, the award-winning creative-led development company. The business focuses on the reinvention of real estate to deliver sustainable, inspirational, design focused, buildings for the next generation. Across the UK, General Projects is developing over 1.5 million sq ft of new space - from HQ offices to SME workspaces, film studios to industrial complexes, loft apartments to new public places.
He leads on all thing’s vision and strategy, although he loves to get into the detail when it comes to architecture and design. Over his career he has the led the acquisition and development of over £2bn of real estate spanning over 2m square feet of mixed-use projects, winning a number of notable industry awards in the process.
Prior to founding General Projects, Jacob was Head of UK at Resolution Property, a £3bn pan-European real estate private equity fund.
Jacob holds an MSc in Real Estate from London Southbank University and a BA in International Relations from Boston University.
Tuesday 18th November 2025
Stephanie Hyde
CEO JLL UK
Stephanie joined JLL, the global commercial real estate and investment management company, in 2021. She was appointed to lead the UK business following more than 25 years in professional services. Stephanie is a proponent of technology, sustainability and transformation and at JLL she is responsible for driving strategic growth and leading the business through change in the UK. In a dynamic world where real estate decisions are still at the forefront of so many discussions, JLL continues to provide critical solutions for occupiers, developers and investors where people live, work and play.
Stephanie is also a co-chair of the CBI’s UK Competitiveness Group, addressing the UK's economic competitiveness on the global stage through investment, devolution and the government’s Industrial Strategy. Pivoting the UK economy back to a growth trajectory is essential to reinforce the country’s competitive position in the global market and a key focus of the role.