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FEBRUARY 2011 |www.opp.org.uk


HEAD OFFICE 17 Heath Road, Twickenham TW1 4AW, UK ✆ +44 (0)20 8734 3960 www.opp.org.uk


EDITORIAL Group editor Geoff Hadwick ✆ +44 (0)208 734 3970 geoff .hadwick@richmondgreengroup.com


INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY REPORTER Amit Katwala ✆ +44 (0)208 734 3973 amit.katwala@richmondgreengroup.com


PUBLISHER David Le Lacheur ✆ +44 (0)208 734 3963 david.lelacheur@richmondgreengroup.com


ADVERTISING David Le Lacheur ✆ +44 (0)208 734 3963 david.lelacheur@richmondgreengroup.com


MARKETING & OPERATIONS MANAGER Naomi Zammit ✆ +44 (0)208 734 3968 naomi.zammit@richmondgreengroup.com


DESIGN & PRODUCTION Martin Lane ✆ +44 (0)208 734 3971 martin.lane@richmondgreengroup.com


PUBLISHED BY OPP Media Ltd


Chief Executive Xavier Wiggins ✆ +44 (0)208 734 3967 xavier.wiggins@richmondgreengroup.com


IN THIS MONTH’S OPP...


Cardea Consulting OPP Interview (p64) International property development is often seen as something of a masculine world, so it is encouraging to see two young women making waves with their own consultancy company. OPP talks exclusively to Lisa Basire (left) and Naomi Cambridge of Cardea Property Consultants about their work in the Caribbean.


Daniel Kiernan Alternative Investor(p38) IFAs and agents looking to broaden their off ering of investment products should consider farmland. It’s a product with a great back-story that off ers solid returns.


Mark Jeff ery Execuive Panel (p7) OPP International Executive Panel co-chairman Mark sets the scene for his band of thinkers: “The theme this year is implementing the rebirth of the overseas property industry”


Tony Barker Award Winner (p57) Former music industry publicist Tony had a good idea when his investment in Cyprus went sour. The result: the award- wnning Marcus James Recovery Service. How does it work?


© Copyright Richmond Green Group. No reproduction in whole or in part without written permission. The Publisher cannot be held liable for any loss suffered as a result of information held herein, accepts no liability for views expressed by contributors and advertisers, undertakes that prices were correct at time of going to press and neither accept responsibility for loss or damage to unsolicited material nor return it without an SAE. No product or service advertised and/or publicised and/or appearing in The Overseas Property Professional magazine is, unless expressly stated to the contrary, endorsed by and/or otherwise associated with the Overseas Property Professional (OPP) brand. OPP Magazine is printed by Pensord.


Please note that the cost of a yearly subscription to OPP is £71.50 (UK), £110.50 (Europe) and £123.50 (rest of the world).


Gordon Miller Sustainability (p45) If your business wants to get involved in the sustainable residential sector, be warned. It is being shaped by factors such as legislation; economics; market forces, and architecture.


Trouble in store for pension investors? A


Group editor Geoff Hadwick


s Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign chief famously reminded everyone, whenever


a new issue or debate arose and the election team needed to respond: “It’s the economy stupid.” In other words, don’t be distracted, focus on the essential. Stick to the plan and talk about what really matters. And for most people, nothing is more essential than the money in their pocket. Are there funds in the bank? This month OPP takes a look at what is happening to the funds in the international property industry’s bank account. And the message is far from clear.


For many western agents and developers the banks are still not playing ball. Lending lines are long and slow. Sovereign debt and currency crises still haunt the EuroZone. And, for the fi rst time in a generation, the world cannot rely on the USA to lead it out of recession. But in the Far East and the BRIC economies things are very different. Life is much more positive and the markets there are booming. China and Singapore have even been taking measures to cool prices down. In Europe, many developers have been jumping on the pensions bandwagon to get things going, making their schemes SIPP


compliant wherever possible. And thank goodness for that say fi rms like The Resort Group and Harlequin. They have been selling huge swathes of their product to SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) buyers. SSAS (Small Self Administered Schemes) have also started to take off too.


The only danger is that the bandwagon runs out of control. As several of our interviewees report, too many poor quality and inappropriate developments have rushed into the SIPP space. They will prove to be bad long-term investments and, once again, the public reputation of the industry could suffer when the shortcomings of these investments come to light. As OPP’s legal columnist John Howell says, “The fi rst thing to remember, always, when you are trying to help someone invest in an overseas property SIPP is that it is their pension you are talking about.


“It is poverty in old age if you get it wrong. And there is an awful lot of miss-selling going on out there with misleading ads and missing paperwork. I personally think that far too many developers are far too cavalier about the whole thing.” And that is a very sobering thought. After all, when the public come to judge you, “it’s the economy stupid.”


Editor’s letter • Geoff Hadwick ✆ +44 (0)208 734 3970 geoff .hadwick@richmondgreengroup.com | 5


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