Inside the Prideview Office: Diary of an Intern

As part of our ongoing commitment to sharing knowledge and bringing through the next generation of property professionals, we have started a flexible internship programme in 2017. Our first intern, Ria Lakhani, a recent University graduate, wanted to share her experiences from inside the Prideview office:

Life in the world of property isn’t as simple as meets the eye; insurance, management, acquisition, finance, a taste of the Prideview Property realm.

Prior to my internship at The Prideview Group, I was under the typical illusion the world of property was ‘plain vanilla’ (jargon for a simple financial investment that provides a stable return); like many twenty one year olds, my ambition lay in becoming a property investor, to live the lifestyle which allows me to live off the rental income of the properties I acquire, with minimal hardship involved.

Naturally, with this in mind, I opted to seek an internship in this field. Being from north-west London, I reached out the most well-known property consultancy in the area, The Prideview Group, and they were happy to accommodate me, so I thought why not?

My internship definitely lived up to the expectations of the property domain; meetings at private member clubs, posh lunches and interacting with investors & agents, whilst also learning the fundamentals of blue-chip commercial property investment, what more could your average 21 year old want from an internship?

My initial task was to assist Prideview with their contact database update, a major project they were undertaking to ensure their communications with their mailing list of several thousand buyers is kept relevant and personalised. I was required to contact many investors and agents to confirm they were still active, and received a very positive response. Being able to see the requirements of so many of Prideview’s contacts gave me a very good insight into the current market and what investors are looking for specifically.

In the context of the current economic and political uncertainty around Brexit and the flash General Election, I was surprised to see all of this has actually contributed to increased demand for Prideview’s services in relation to sourcing secure and long-term commercial investments. And with the Pound near to all-time lows, it was exciting to see the amount of overseas interest in UK property – I was able to sit in on one meeting with a Russian agent keen to educate his investors about the perks of investing within the UK, and also assisted the directors organise a fund-raising trip to the Middle East.

IMG_1037

Evidently, many of these property concepts were foreign enough to myself, let alone understanding the underpinnings of breaking through national borders, so back to basics I went. I was asked to work through the catalogue of an upcoming property auction, calculating the yield (the annual return likely to be achieved through an investment) for each lot based on its rent per annum and guide price. I was quickly able to appreciate the impact of location, tenant type and lease term, and many other factors on a property’s yield. Calculating the yields for each property formed foundations for recognising the ideal investment opportunities; the higher the yield, the higher return, but also the higher the risk – and assessing the risk was key to see what looks like a good buy.

Having seen how the auctioneers summarize each property lot, I was then asked to do it myself on Prideview’s very well-known website. The guys had clearly been busy and had a backlog of ca. 50 investment acquisitions that they wanted to showcase on their website, but did not have the time to do so. By uploading individual investments to the website, I was able to understand the fundamentals of those properties – the description, location, tenancy, tenure and other key features.

Working in a predominantly male office, there was sure to be high energy levels, constant banter, heated disputes, but dedication to negotiating deals is always a top priority. The family business aspect definitely created a warming welcoming and closeness in the office.  As for my ambitions in this sector, well, they are positively alive.

If you want to discuss more about a flexible internship with The Prideview Group, please write to Nilesh at [email protected]

Current Opportunities

Current Opportunity

Retail & HMO, Southall

2-6 The Broadway, Southall, UK View on map
6701 sq ft
Call for price
Current Opportunity

Tesco Express, Twickenham

246 Powder Mill Lane, Hounslow, UK View on map
Gross Yield % 5.5
4157 sq ft
£ 2,300,000
Current Opportunity
9968 sq ft
£ 450,000
Current Opportunity

Tesco, Shepherds Bush

Tesco Express, 31 Uxbridge Rd, London W12 8LH, UK View on map
Gross Yield % 5.5
3800 sq ft
£ 2,200,000

Vacant, Wokingham

68-70 Peach Street, Wokingham RG40 1XH, UK View on map
6242 sq ft

McDonalds, Wolverhampton

50 Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, UK View on map
10462 sq ft

Nail Salon, Chelmsford

33 Springfield Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 6JE, UK View on map
830 sq ft

Ladbrokes, Camberley

Park Street, Camberley, Surrey GU15 3PL, UK View on map
1000 sq ft

Rohan (Outdoor Clothing), Chelmsford

35 Springfield Rd, Chelmsford CM2 6JE, UK View on map
Gross Yield % 7
830 sq ft

Costa Coffee, Bournemouth

1577, 1581 Wimborne Road, Kinson, Bournemouth BH10 7BB, UK View on map
1823 sq ft