The seventh edition of Getting to Know Who’s NEXT features Matt Walker, Partner at Gowling WLG and Chair of ULI UK NEXT.

As a partner in Gowling WLG’s real estate group, Matt Walker has over twenty years of experience, acting for developers, institutional investors, funders and corporate occupiers in the logistics, retail, offices, mixed-use, student accommodation and residential sectors on high-value complex development and investment transactions. He is passionate about helping clients navigate complex legal matters and achieve their real estate goals, with a particular focus is on driving transactions and seeking to come up with commercial and pragmatic solutions. Current Chair of ULI NEXT UK, Matt has been an active member of ULI since 2011

In the following Q&A, Matt explores his passion for the commercial real estate industry and his experiences with ULI.

Q1. ULI: So many of us in real estate fall into the industry and hence commercial real estate professional organisations. How did you get involved with ULI?

My initial involvement in ULI began when the ULI were looking at setting up a Midlands branch and as a junior lawyer at the time our group leader Adrian Bland was looking for a bag carrier as he took on the role of chair of the Midlands Executive Committee.  My role pretty quickly evolved into starting a Young Leaders group in the Midlands and becoming involved with the YLs at a national level as well.

Q2. ULI: What is the most interesting project you’ve worked on over your career in real estate?

As a lawyer, my favourite transactions are the most complicated and technically challenging ones but also those that result in regeneration because I love seeing that the work I’ve done has helped create a tangible benefit.  To that end I’ll cheat and use two projects that I’m working on currently – firstly Station Hill, Reading (a development by Lincoln MGT) which I’ve been working on since c 2019 and is the regeneration of a site immediately adjacent to Reading train station to create c. 650 BTR units in Phase 1 and a 250,000 square foot office building in Phase 2.  Phase 3 is still being worked up at present, so there’s more life in the project yet.  Secondly, Circus Street in Brighton, which was a scheme developed by U&I (now LandSec U&I) and which we forward funded for GCP Student Living and was subsequently acquired by Scape Student Living when they and Blackstone took GCP private. It’s a complex legal structure but has helped regenerate the site with public open space and a new Dance Studio for the Council which was delivered as part of the scheme.

Q3. ULI: What challenges do you face at this point in your career?

Well, the market could be better for a start, but I can’t control macro factors like that! What I can control however is making sure that my team and I deliver eye-popping service for our clients’ day in day out such that when they do decide to acquire an asset or start a development, they choose us to act for them. I’d imagine, like any other NEXT member in a leadership position, the challenges of leadership (outside of the economy) ebb and flow and can range from HR to finance to business development. That’s one of the reasons I love our Leadership Insight sessions for NEXT members, as they give sound bites and learnings from experienced leaders and I invariably take away a number of points that I think can help me in my day-to-day role.

Q4. ULI: What are you most excited about regarding the industry’s future?

Whilst the ability for the real estate industry to positively impact the environment is without doubt up there, for me, in my c. 20 years in the industry I’ve watched it evolve massively and the focus on place making and experience for residents/customers/workers far more than when I started and I think that trend will continue to make developments desirable and thus sustainable and successful.

Q5. ULI: ULI: What are you currently reading/watching? 

I’m not a huge reader as I do so much of that for work, but I’ve just started reading “Sur tes traces” by Harlan Coben – I studied French at University and realised that I’ve not used it as much as I should have done so wanted to get back into it and it felt like a good starting point and not too heavy for my first foray back into reading in a foreign language!

Check out the past Getting to know who’s NEXT articles here.