Leading figures from the commercial property sector have called on the next generation of property professionals to change the face of the workplace, at the British Council for Offices (BCO) second East Anglia lunch.
Held at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Cambridge, the sold-out event was attended by more than 170 BCO members and their guests, including guest speaker Roger Madelin, CBE, the mastermind behind the £3 billion transformation of London’s King’s Cross.
The lunch was hosted by Mike Ayton, director at Juniper Real Estate and BCO East Anglia committee chair, who highlighted the role young property professionals can play in shaping the office of the future.
Mike Ayton said: “Millennials are at the forefront of introducing different ways of working and I am convinced this is where the impetus for change in our sector will come. We are rolling out a free mentoring programme through the BCO’s NextGen initiative, which will allow students and younger generations of property professionals to draw upon the experience of more senior colleagues.
“The BCO’s mission is to define excellence in office space and to research, develop and communicate best practice in all aspects of the office sector. The hugely positive response we’ve received to this event suggests it has all the hallmarks of becoming a key date in the Cambridge property calendar.”
As the head of the development team for the regeneration of 53 acres at Canada Water in London’s Docklands, Roger Madelin is responsible for delivering up to 4m sq ft of mixed space – more than half the entire stock of Cambridge offices – and 4,000 new homes. He picked up on the event’s key theme by talking about the changing requirements of the workplace, including a greater emphasis on health and wellbeing, cloud security, mobile productivity and the need to provide flexible accommodation to attract and retain talent.
Established in 1990, the BCO is Britain’s leading forum for the discussion and debate of issues affecting the office sector. Its members are organisations involved in creating, acquiring or occupying office space, including architects, lawyers, surveyors, developers, engineers, financial institutions and public agencies.
The event was sponsored by Overbury, COEL and Carter Jonas, while Mills & Reeve supported NextGen.
