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Property is a people game - Thomas celebrates 12 months at NG

Time flies when you’re having fun – and our Head of Agency, Thomas Szymkiw, would know as he’s celebrating one year at NG Chartered Surveyors.

As he looks back on an extremely busy year – and forward to how he will help shape the agency going forward – we sat down with Thomas to find out about his first twelve months with us.

Over the past 12 months, the East Midlands commercial property market has demonstrated resilience, despite facing economic challenges such as high interest rates, inflationary pressures and geopolitical uncertainty. While investment activity has slowed nationally, the East Midlands managed to maintain a more stable performance.

Against this background, Thomas opted to join NG Chartered Surveyors to, in his words, “experience a fresh and varied challenge”.

He added: “That’s what I joined the company for – and it’s what I’ve found.

“The past 12 months haven’t been without its challenges. We had the Election earlier this year which affected confidence in the market. However this has settled, with signs of increasing appetite and enquiry levels improving – long may this continue.”

Indeed, the East Midlands market has shown a healthy resilience. In 2023, the region saw approximately £1.2 billion in commercial property investments, which was relatively stable compared to the previous year. The industrial sector remained dominant, accounting for 62% of all investment activity. However, industrial investment volumes did decline by over 20% compared to the five-year average, mainly due to a lack of available stock rather than a decrease in investor interest.

Looking forward, Thomas said: “I wish I had a crystal ball to see what was coming next – however, hopefully we see new more development and releasing of further industrial and warehousing stock into the market to service demand and ‘best in class’ quality office refurbishments.”

Talking of the future, technology is increasingly playing a more important role in Thomas’s day-to-day job at NG Chartered Surveyors. The rise of the proptech sector is one of the fundamental changes in the commercial property sector over the last decade.

Platforms for virtual property tours, online leasing, and automated property management systems are becoming more prevalent, reducing the need for in-person interactions and expediting processes. Additionally, blockchain technology is being explored for secure and transparent property transactions.

Thomas said: “Technology is playing an increasingly key role in our business which is something NG have always tried to keep up with and it will be interesting to see the role that AI will play generally in the coming years.”

One of the key mantras at NG Chartered Surveyors is “teamwork makes the dream work”. The company has fostered a culture of co-operation and constant improvement at all levels.

Thomas has fully bought into this.

He said: “The team at NG are all a great bunch to work with and are such a close-knit group of professionals. This generally sees us dealing with any challenges quickly and efficiently with everyone’s involvement – meaning we can offer an unrivalled service to our clients.

“My values are very much aligned with the ethos at NG. Disposing of a property is a people game and it’s great to work with a company that puts its people at the forefront of everything we do.

“As head of department it is a pleasure to work with the agency team. The hard work and improvements that we have put in place has definitely started to pay off and I feel we as a department are going in the right direction.”

So, while the East Midlands commercial property market will need to navigate economic uncertainties, its strengths in logistics, industrial developments, and adaptability to new technologies position it well for future growth – and Thomas and the NG Chartered Surveyors team will be at the forefront of this.

If you’re a landlord who wants to maximise your property portfolio – or an ambitious company looking for your next big move, you can contact Thomas on 07564 580300 or thomas@ng-cs.com