Editor of Estates Gazette with over 20 years’ experience in business journalism. He led the magazine’s relaunch in 2025 following its acquisition by Mark Allen Group. Tim’s background includes roles at Dow Jones, The Economist, and Thomson Reuters, with a focus on real estate and finance.

With a 25-year career spanning the UK and Australia, Jace Tyrrell is a leader in urban regeneration and place development. Now CEO of Opportunity London, he is driving efforts to secure £100bn in capital investment for the city. Formerly CEO of New West End Company, Jace has a track record of building impactful partnerships and advocating for sustainable, future-focused cities.

Leonard is a business owner at Lightwork, a UK based PropTech firm. Within the finance industry he was a Fund Manager responsible for the Melchior European Hedge Fund at Dalton, a London based billion dollar hedge fund. He started his career in Fund Management at GLG in 2003, having previously spent 5 years at Goldman Sachs in London as an equity trader. He holds a Bsc in Management Science from UMIST

Co-Founder of Regal, Simon De Friend has led the company since its inception in 1998. With a background in residential agency, he has guided Regal to become one of London’s leading privately owned mixed-use developers. Regal focuses on unlocking value in complex urban settings and building long-term partnerships, operating fully across the entire asset lifecycle with a customer-centric approach

Laurence brings nearly five decades of experience in the property industry, having overseen

the development of more than 2 million square feet of office, retail, and numerous

residential projects. He is now channelling his extensive expertise into the Purpose-Built

Student Accommodation (PBSA) sector.

Laurence began his career in partnership with the late Irvine Sellar, initially focusing on retail

before transitioning into broader real estate ventures.

Beyond property, Laurence has a keen interest in technology and a lifelong passion for

cigars, which he has turned into a successful business Sautter Cigars.

Mickey Schiller is the CEO of Leumi UK, where he oversees lending in property, hotel, and asset-based finance. With more than 25 years of international experience across institutions such as Bank Hapoalim, ABN AMRO, and Standard Chartered, he has driven major strategic shifts at Leumi UK since 2020. Under his leadership, the firm has doubled its loan book, achieved record profits, and embraced a digital-first approach. Mickey also sits on the board of UK Finance, championing a transparent and innovative financial services industry.

Emma Squire CBE joined Historic England in November 2023 to job-share with Claudia Kenyatta as Director of Regions, before their appointment as Co-CEO in November 2026. Under their leadership, Historic England is working to ensure the historic environment is understood as an opportunity not a barrier for growth, driving efforts to embed heritage within planning reform, champion retrofit-first approaches, and forge strategic partnerships with developers and government agencies. Their vision is for Historic England to be recognised as am enabling partner in unlocking housing, infrastructure and regeneration opportunities, while preserving the character and richness of England’s historic places.

Emma has been a senior civil servant since 2009, with senior roles on local growth, trade and as Principal Private Secretary to the Business Secretary, before spending six years as Director of Arts, Heritage and Tourism at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport where she was responsible for policy on the art market, culture, heritage, tourism, libraries, museums, treasure and cultural diplomacy. Her role included sponsoring 28 Arms Length Bodies and agencies such as Arts Council England and national museums, and she led for Government on programmes including the £1.59bn Covid pandemic Culture Recovery Fund, for which she was honoured with a CBE. Alongside her current role at Historic England, Emma is Chair of the Board of Trustees at Bridport Museum, and, with Claudia, an Ambassador for The Mayor’s Cultural Leadership Board, advising the Mayor of London on emerging and ongoing issues facing the creative industries and culture sector.

Tom Bloxham MBE CBE is chairman and founder of award-winning regeneration company Urban Splash, which has received 489 awards to date for architecture, design and business success.

The company is responsible for development projects across the country, including Manchester, Liverpool, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford Sheffield, Bristol, Plymouth, North Shields and Morecambe.

Tom has also held many other prominent positions; he was the Founding Chair of Manchester International Festival and Factory International before stepping down in 2024 having led the development of the organisation’s £250 million Aviva Studios. Tom was also Founding Chair of the Centre for Cities think tank, Founding Chair of the Ancoats Urban Village Trust, Chair of the Arts Council NW, Chancellor of The University of Manchester, Trustee of The Tate Galleries, the Manchester United Foundation, The Big Issue in the North, Barbican Centre Trust and The Bloxham Charitable Trust.

In 1999 at the age of 35, Tom was awarded an MBE for his services to Architecture and Urban Regeneration.

In 2025, Tom was awarded a CBE for Services to Culture and MIF Factory International.Tom Bloxham