AREF Update on Real Estate:UK

Communications and Content exists to help investment and financial brands communicate with more imagination, energy and purpose.

David Butcher founded the business in September 2017, because he wanted to distil his long experience and understanding of investment and financial communications into a format that any client could use.

Back in the late 1990s, David was working in media relations with clients such as Citywire.co.uk and Moneysupermarket.com – and rapidly came to realise that the key to effective financial communications is compelling story telling, supported by good quality empirical evidence.

Over a long career, in consultancy and in-house roles, David has evolved this approach across corporate positioning, thought leadership, corporate communications, product communications, content and client communications, including request for proposals.

Anne began her real estate career at Aberdeen Investments in 1999. She was appointed Head of Real Estate Research & Strategy in 2007 and over her tenure has seen their real estate assets under management quadruple to more than £40bn.

Anne has been instrumental in the modernisation of the Aberdeen Investments real estate business over the last 26yrs, embedding and driving a research driven approach which underpins the overall performance of their underlying funds, the launch of a number of innovative products including global real estate strategies and UK long income franchise, and the management and development of world class real estate investment teams.

Anne’s experience across all real estate asset classes, including debt and indirects, and deep understanding of the role of ESG in real estate investing, is essential in her role as Global Head of Real Estate where clients are increasingly aware of the broader benefits of real estate as an asset class.

Anne is chair of AREF's Board. She also sits on Aberdeen Investment's Global Inclusion Committee, is a board member of Aberdeen Investment's Alternative Funds Board (regulated by FCA) and a board member of Aberdeen Investments Ireland Limited (regulated by CBI).

Paul is the CEO of AREF.  Before joining AREF in 2020, Paul was Head of the European Real Estate Boutique within Mercer’s investment consulting business for almost 10 years, previously he was Head of Indirect Real Estate Investment and Global Managed Accounts at LaSalle Investment Management, where he was responsible for managing global portfolios of unlisted real estate funds for clients from Europe and Asia Pacific.

He has over 25 years of real estate experience in investment, corporate finance and research, and has advised investors, occupiers and venture capital companies on property portfolio strategy and on financial structuring, including PFI, senior and mezzanine debt and joint venture arrangements. His employers have included LaSalle Investment Management, Cushman & Wakefield and Henderson Investors.

Before coming into the world of real estate, Paul worked in marketing and market research. He originally studied Physiological Sciences at Lincoln College, Oxford and has a Master of Science in Real Estate from City University Business School, London, now Cass Business School.