Name: Nick Nelson
Job title: Co-founding director, Sixteen Real Estate
What I do: My expertise sits within commercial office space. For the last decade at Sixteen we have advised commercial occupiers, landlords and investors across the office and industrial markets. We take a very hands-on approach, from acquisition and leasing through to long-term strategy. We are not interested in simply brokering deals and moving on. We like to stay close to the full lifecycle of an asset and help clients make better decisions as markets evolve.
Why I got into the property industry: It was the people that drew me into property. When I was in sixth form and university, I spent some time around people working in the industry and what stood out was the energy around it. Everyone seemed ambitious, driven and actually enjoyed what they did. It felt like an industry built on relationships and personality, which really appealed to me.
How I did it: I studied history and politics at university before travelling for a year and playing football in America. During that time, I spent a lot of time looking back to when I first was introduced to property and felt it would be a career that was fulfilling and enjoyable. To get into property I came back and applied for a master’s in property at Northumbria University before joining the graduate scheme at CBRE in Manchester.
My first proper job: CBRE’s graduate scheme in Manchester.
My first big break: It was a bit of a sliding doors moment. I was originally due to join CBRE in Budapest, but just before starting, an opportunity came up in Manchester instead. I moved back, joined the Manchester office and two months later the financial crisis hit. The Budapest office sadly closed not long after, so looking back, that decision completely changed the direction of my career.
My inspiration(s): A lot of the people I worked with early on at CBRE still inspire me today. This includes people like John Ogden, who is now managing director there and Will Kennan, now executive director of investment, who were great examples of how to combine commercial intelligence with strong relationships and calmness under pressure. Working alongside Alex Russell early in my career was also a great learning experience.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered to date: Starting Sixteen Real Estate in 2016 with Andy Backhouse. We launched the business with very little behind us financially, just as Brexit unexpectedly happened. At the same time, my first daughter was only a couple of weeks old. It was one of those moments where you question everything. But difficult periods sharpen your focus. You either panic or you back yourself and luckily we backed ourselves.
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: Getting through the first 12 months of Sixteen. We spent the early days working out of what we glamorously described as a “windowless cupboard” in a serviced office, building the business from scratch. Given the tumultuous Brexit market, many pipeline opportunities we anticipated to come through were understandably put on hold by clients.
We had to become super agile as a business to create new relationships and win entirely new instructions. Once we secured a couple of major mandates, including an asset management mandate with Aviva and another with Distrelec, which at the time was the biggest inward investment deal in Manchester, things snowballed from there. Building a respected business from that starting point with my co-founder is something I’m incredibly proud of.
The biggest misconception people have about the property industry: That it is easy. People often assume property is simply buying buildings and making money, but creating long-term value is incredibly complex. Occupiers and landlords are dealing with huge financial and operational decisions and mistakes can be very expensive. Good advice can be the difference between tens of thousands of pounds of additional costs for occupiers and landlords alike.
My biggest bugbear about the industry/the one thing I would change about the industry: I think the same rules apply for life and business. For me, style over substance won’t go far. We have always tried to build Sixteen around experience, honesty and delivery rather than noise. Clients ultimately remember outcomes, not presentations.
Why I’m so passionate about DE&I: Commercial property has traditionally been very male-dominated, particularly agency side. Early in the life of the business, we brought one of the first female graduates into an office agency team in Manchester and she was outstanding. Since then, we have continued to champion talented women across the business. The industry performs better when it reflects a broader range of people, backgrounds and perspectives.
Where I’d like to be in five years’ time career-wise: I want Sixteen to continue doing what we do well rather than chasing growth for the sake of it. We are very focused on quality over quantity. The more bloated businesses become, the further senior people move away from clients. We have built a strong balance over the last decade and the goal now is to maintain that while continuing to deliver proactive, hands-on advice into the next 10 years.
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: I’m a big believer in not meeting your heroes, I’m much more interested in characters and real people who are unapologetically themselves and do not play a game.
What I do in my downtime: Most of my time outside work revolves around my daughters. Between gymnastics, football, tennis and running, there is always something happening. I also play golf whenever I can and try to get to the gym to clear my head.
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: Probably a PE teacher.
My advice for someone just starting out: Get as much experience as possible, leave your ego at the door and be prepared to do the jobs nobody else wants to do. The people who progress quickest are usually the ones who stay proactive, work hard consistently and do not see any task as beneath them.
My motto/mantra: Work efficiently. There are too many busy fools around.
