Management Team

Background & Experience

Nick is a founding Director of Coplan which was formed in March 2006. Nick combines over 25 years’ experience in the property investment and development industry with the proven ability to anticipate future trends, as proved by his pioneering work within the town centre regeneration sector.

Formerly a Regional Director at St Modwen Properties PLC he controlled many high profile projects/partnerships in the South East with several major town centre developments being built or going on site before leaving to form Coplan.

The Elephant & Castle shopping centre which Nick acquired for the Company remains at the heart of one of the largest urban regeneration projects in London .

The most significant partnership was Key Property Investments (KPI) a 50/50 joint venture operation with Salhia Real Estate of Kuwait .Combined these accounted for 50% of the group’s assets worth £350m and generating a development pipeline in excess of £500m. Nick was personally instrumental in acquiring the majority of the assets and was appointed the lead Operational Director sitting on the JV Board coordinating monthly reporting and attendance at quarterly Board meetings.

Drawing on his experience at St Modwen, Nick oversees the Coplan wide development and investment strategy and also manages new business projects.

He is currently working on a variety of mixed use schemes in partnership with a number of Local Authority partner landowners including Bedford Borough, Canterbury and Reigate and Banstead Councils. He is also leading Coplan’s proposals for a large residential PRS scheme on a site owned adjacent to Barking station in East London.

Nick  enjoys time in Scandinavia and so likes the cold… All except his Swedish wife’s occasional cold shoulder when he is in the dog house!!

Position

Managing Director

Qualifications

BSc Estate Management

Professional Membership

Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Key Skills

• Established personal track record in delivering large scale complex mixed use schemes
• Identification of development/investment opportunities
• Bidding management with the public sector
• Site appraisal and viability analysis
• Land acquisition and site assembly experience, including CPO
• Team Leadership and senior management experience
• Reputation built on trustworthiness and integrity
• Highly intuitive with strong perception and communication skills

Background & Experience

Barry joined Coplan from South Central Management, the development arm of Oakmayne Properties where he developed residential led mixed use schemes including Oakmayne Plaza which is now under construction and has a GDV of over £200M. He also delivered prime residential developments in St Johns Wood and the fabulous Cornwall Terrace in Regents Park.

Previous employment was at McBains Cooper leading the Project Management department and before that at Skanska as a site based Project Manager.

Barry’s project experience is vast, ranging from multi-million pound fit out projects for banks to the construction of Gap’s flagship store in Oxford Street to several years as a Project Manager for the Home Office.

Buildings with a Listed status, projects whilst in occupation and the high security environment of Her Majesties Prison Service or the Jubilee Line Extension Project are all aspects that add to his projects’ demands.

Barry believes his involvement on all projects is at an intense level. He believes that by having an in-depth project knowledge mitigates many disputes and assists the whole project team to achieve the programme, quality and cost requirements.

He is currently involved in the major regeneration projects in partnership with the Local Authority in Herne Bay and Bedford. He is also dealing with the sites in Sutton where a 119 bed Premier Inn has been pre let and all other construction activities including the PRS model Coplan are developing.

He continues to believe that Construction is the MOST  important part of a Development Company. Barry also enjoys active sports and is equally in his element in the Chamonix powder as he is in the demolition dust.

Position

Construction Director

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Degree in Construction (Production Management)

Professional Membership

Member of the Chartered Institute of Building
Member of the Association of Project Managers

Key Skills

• Site acquisition and due diligence
• Agreement for Lease negotiation and production
• Pre Contract Management; including appointments and building contracts
• Design & Programme Management
• Construction Management and Procurement
• Leadership
• Contractual Control
• Financial Control
• Dynamic and Flexible
• Enthusiastic and Motivated

Background & Experience

Colin is a founding director of Coplan and was previously a Development Director at St Modwen Properties PLC, During his time at St Modwen, Colin was involved in a number of large mixed used projects including Edmonton Green Shopping Centre, Wembley Central and the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre.

At Coplan, Colin is leading on a number of our major redevelopment projects, including two major schemes in Bedford, a further scheme in Herne Bay and a further scheme in Bromley-By-Bow. Colin’s approach to all his schemes is to be completely hands on, and is heavily involved in the planning, pre-let and the funding process, as well as close liaison with our respective local authority partners.

One of Colin’s key strengths is his ability to deal with people from all levels, and is well respected  by a number of key corporate occupiers  across a number of sectors. Potential demand for any of our schemes, can be established quickly through Colin’s black book!

He inspires everyone with his positive, Gallic charm and has a core belief that the correct conclusion is always achieved… That said his wife has not yet agreed for his young son to have an Irish passport!!

Position

Head of Development

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Degree in Urban Estates Management

Key Skills

• Extensive Experience in Mixed Use Development
• Specialist in Local Authority Partnership
• Financial Appraisals
• Managing extensive professional teams

Background & Experience

Prior to joining Coplan Nic was Finance Director for several small regional property investment and development companies.  Prior to that he spent 10 years working for St. Modwen Properties plc where he had financial responsibility for its £500m investment portfolio, which had an annual rent roll in excess of £50m and over 1,000 tenants. Nic has an in-depth knowledge of the financial aspects of property investment, development and finance.  He also has considerable experience of managing joint venture relationships. Nic is responsible for the financial management of all of Coplan’s projects. He is also responsible for Coplan’s bank relationships and jointly manages the serviced office business, Sameday Offices, with Paul Stanley. Just mention a round of golf to Nic and he will forget his tax expertise, cost overruns and funding offers… He needs to concentrate!! Nic is a big family man and loves the Midlands.

Position

Finance Director

Professional Membership

ICAEW

Key Skills

• Financial experience in small entrepreneurial businesses and FTSE 250 PLC’s
• Thorough knowledge of property related accounting and tax issues
• Excellent understanding of property funding requirements and related reporting obligations
• Good knowledge of property asset management
• Commercial awareness and good communication skills

Background & Experience

John joined Coplan from Whitbread Group Plc where is was responsible for property acquisitions for the most part in South London for Premier Inn Hotels and the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre brand of Restaurants. He has delivered over 40 major acquisitions which are either open for trade or under construction, generally by way of freehold/long leasehold purchase or leasehold developer turnkey.

John is a specialist in negotiating contracts for purchase, leases and agreement for leases.

Previously John was an agent and commercial surveyor at Carter Jonas predominantly based in the Midlands and East Anglia regions.
John has vast general property experience ranging from property management, Lease renewal and rent review negotiations, valuations and advising on the sale and letting of a range of property types. He even sold a couple of schools and a church.

John believes in maintaining strong relationships, he is a team player and driven motivator, tenacious and enthusiastic with a good knowledge of the property market.
He is currently involved in a range of projects including Sidcup, Caterham and Redhill.

When he is not searching the country seeking new property acquisitions he is touring around it in his classic 80’s retro volkswagon campervan with his wife and young daughter…..with another baby on the way he has had to hold off buying a classic VW beetle to go with the van!

Position

Development Director

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Degree in Estates Management

Professional Membership

Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

Key Skills

• Identification of development/investment opportunities
• Negotiating terms, contracts, agreement for leases etc
• Site acquisition, appraisal and due diligence
• Understanding of market positioning for brands seeking to expand
• Managing professional teams

Background & Experience

Paul has over 25 years experience in the property industry, and, as a founding director of Coplan he is motivated and dynamic with a wide knowledge of the real estate and consultancy fields. Prior to setting up Coplan, Paul was founding Director of a niche corporate property consultancy where he established a successful £2m business. Paul managed thousands of properties for PLCs, Investors, Third Sector and Occupiers. As a management consultant working in the property sector, Paul had a good understanding of how a robust consultancy process works and how it “fits” with different organisations.

At Coplan Paul was involved in the acquisition and subsequent lettings/sales as well as management and disposal of a £20m South West London Commercial Space portfolio. This involved numerous occupiers in type and sizes and required a real understanding of operators’ businesses.

Paul enjoys both the marketing and asset management side and is heavily involved in  Sutton and Barking and the Company’s operational businesses.

An avid West Ham Utd fan,  Paul is much happier managing Coplan’s assets as they are much more successful… But what isn’t!!

Position

Head of Investment

Qualifications

BSc Estate Management
Master of Business Administration

Professional Membership

Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Key Skills

• Asset Management
• Identification of development/investment opportunities
• Site appraisal and viability analysis
• Land acquisition and disposal experience
• Team Leadership and senior management experience
• Highly intuitive with strong perception and communication skills