A 3-day conference on 24-26 September 2008
CCTV venue, Barbican, London
                                                                                                                                                                            

GENERAL COURSE OVERVIEW

This three day seminar provides a comprehensive coverage of technical issues in property financing and investment.

It includes analysis and forecasting issues, as well as techniques in measuring property performance, property development and many aspects of property investment.

The approach focuses on an international application of fundamental principles and methodologies, and the course is appropriate for executives needing to improve their understanding of the property sector and its analysis.

Your Course Leader- Julian Roche

Julian Roche graduated with a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University in 1981 and then obtained an MPhil in Soviet foreign policy at Exeter University, leaving in 1984.
He began his career with the MoD as a Soviet and East European analyst, specialising in foreign trade and economic modelling of the Warsaw Pact countries. He subsequently joined the mainstream Civil Service fast stream, where he specialised in major privatisations and procurement at the time of the development of PFI. He then returned to economic analysis of Eastern Europe in the private sector at WEFA and subsequently became a divisional forecasting head for DRI McGraw-Hill. After having established a real estate forecasting service for DRI and subsequently worked on a range of derivative contracts for the London Commodity Exchange, in 1991 he set up his own consultancy with a range of clients from the international property sector including banks and chartered surveyors.

In 1995 he was appointed a senior consultant to a venture capital company, Hudson Venture Partners, where he advised on corporate structure, flotations, trade sales and business valuations, holding that position until 2000. Since then he has been working primarily in Europe as a consultant, advising global banks and government agencies on aspects of investment, valuation and restructuring, and is currently also working with the World Bank on corporate governance matters. He has also published a number of books, including one on real estate derivatives.

His career in training commenced in 1998 and he regularly presents seminars on a range of financial topics, with a particular interest in valuation, leasing, investment and PPP topics. He has also presented PFI and financing seminars to investment bankers, government agencies, and other financial organisations worldwide and currently delivers around 80 to 100 days a year of training.

PROGRAMME

DAY 1

Money & Property
Discounted Cash Flow Measurement for Real Estate
Measuring real estate cashflow
Forecasting
Assessing net present value
Cost of capital issues for real estate companies
Costs, taxes and inflation (including stamp duty and VAT)
Capital allowances
Capital budgeting and real estate
Presentation of financial information

Case Study: Comparing cash flow from real estate and manufacturing investment projects

Valuing Property Assets
Site and building analysis
The “Red Book” methodology
Changes and alterations in the Blue Book
Leases and lease construction
Alternative methodologies

Case Study: Valuing offices in different locations

Measuring Property Performance
Applicable concepts and methodologies
Holding property on a corporate balance sheet
Problems and issues with performance evaluation
Sources of data
Evolution of data measurement
International comparisons of performance
Current issues in performance management

Case Study: Comparing the performance of different property sectors in a range of international markets

Day 2

Financing and Developing Property
Mortgages and Bank Finance
Concepts and applicability of the mortgage
Global statistics
Available types of mortgage
The secondary mortgage market
Lending practice and pitfalls
Recent funding developments

Case Study: Structure and benefits of a range of mortgages compared

Legal Issues in Property Investment
Major legal concepts in the acquisition, use, management, and transfer of real estate
The question of title
Title in secondary transactions
Disclosure and governance in real estate acquisition and ownership
Key case law internationally
Current legal issues affecting the real estate industry

Case Study: Evaluation of legal issues in real estate investment transaction

Developing Property
Essentials of property development
The roles of individual professionals and their accountability
Project feasibility, design and marketing
Project financing and feasibility
Scheduling and budget control
Sales and profit margins

Case Study: Comparison of buy-to-let and buy-to-sell real estate returns

Day 3

Investing in Property
Ownership Vehicles
Listed real estate companies versus direct investment
Investment funds and trusts
Limited partnerships
Securitisation of real estate
The Real Estate Investment Trust in the US market
The European and Australasian REITs market

Case Study: The UK PIF: development and prospects

Risk and Real Estate
Applicable risks in real estate investment
Modelling and evaluating comparative risks
Risk management strategies
Available risk management instruments
Costs and benefits of risk management
Statistical evidence

Case Study: Hedging price risk on commercial real estate

Synthetic Property
Synthetic property on the balance sheet
Replication of property performance
Advantages and disadvantages of synthetic property investment
The development of synthetic property (PINCS, SPOTS etc)
Currently available instruments
Future developments

Case Study: Sale and leaseback – examples, success, failure and analysis

Portfolio Analysis
Characteristics of an investment portfolio
Measuring portfolio performance
VaR as applied to multi-asset portfolios
Real estate in a balanced portfolio
Empirical evidence on real estate investment
Changes in portfolio structure worldwide

Case Study: Comparison of international portfolios with real estate components