Richard Auterac, chairman and auctioneer, Acuitus

Richard is probably the best-known professional auctioneer and commentator on the UK commercial property auction and private investor markets having overseen the sale of more than £7bn of individual property assets. He has more than 40 years’ real estate advisory experience, and was a founding director of Acuitus in 2010.
Richard’s main focus is on the development and expansion of Acuitus, and in ensuring that the company delivers a best-in-class service to its clients. He is responsible for promoting the brand and raising awareness amongst a diverse range of investors across the UK and internationally. He is a leading promoter of technology and research in enhancing client service. In his role as chairman of the Real Estate Auction Group of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors he leads the UK real estate auction industry in adopting the highest ethical and professional standards. He is a member of the Investment Property Forum and has sat on the Bank of England Residential and Commercial Property Forums among other professional and educational organisations.

Oliver Childs, head of commercial auctions, BidX1

Oliver is responsible for BidX1 operations in the UK, bringing 25 years’ experience in the real estate sector, and particular expertise in the auction market. Before taking the helm at BidX1 UK, Oliver was head of auctions at Lambert Smith Hampton, and prior to that worked at Savills. In 2016, he oversaw the UK’s first online auction, managing a bespoke sale for a FTSE 100 utility company. A seasoned industry commentator, Oliver regularly contributes commentary to well know publications in the property sector.

Vijay Parikh, managing partner, head of commercial property investment and auctions, Harold Benjamin

Vijay has been a partner with Harold Benjamin since 2010 and took over as managing partner on 1 January 2019.
Alongside the day to day management of running the firm, he maintains a busy client portfolio, particularly specialising in property acquisitions, disposals, funding arrangements and auctions for a range of small to mid-range builders and property developers, and assists on high-value residential and mixed-use schemes, including the redevelopment and regeneration of brownfield and greenfield sites.
Vijay has been the lead on several hotel deals, including the acquisition of both boutique hotels and more mainstream hotel brands for private investors and companies. The hotels are spread across London and the UK. The firm has been engaged in deals with hotel brands including Hilton, Marriott, Accor and the work has included the full gambit of real estate instructions together with franchise and service agreements.
He is an active deal broker and legal adviser and a number of Vijay’s most entrepreneurial and influential family business clients/connections hail from the Asian community.

Anthony Ratcliffe, founding partner, Ratcliffes Chartered Surveyors

Anthony is the founding partner of Ratcliffes Chartered Surveyors, which celebrated its 50^th year in business in 2020.  Ratcliffes specialises in high street retail property development and investment, arranging syndicated investment ventures, for a wide range of property investing clients.
His firm recently released details of its 30^th anniversary year audited syndicate investment returns since their inception in 1991, confirming audited averaged annual returns of 19.75%, twice the FTSE All Share Index returns and almost two and a half times the Investment Property Databank Index returns, over the same 30-year period.

Doug Ryan, wealth management director, Mattioli Woods

Prior to joining Mattioli Woods, Doug worked at a local building society as well as a nationwide insurance company. Since joining the group as a client relationship manager, he has moved through the ranks with his main focus being the delivery of holistic financial advice to his long-term clients, with a speciality in retirement and inheritance tax planning.
Over the years Doug has helped the group by leading a team of consultants for a number of years, while also focusing on the integration of acquired businesses. Currently, he is more involved with the group’s business development and marketing initiatives while continuing to look after his clients.

Mark Sayers, head of real estate, Nationwide

Mark has led the real estate team at Nationwide for the past eight years. During this time there have been a number of disposal programmes involving 300-plus assets as Nationwide has right-sized its portfolio following the purchase and integration of several building societies, such as the Portman. More recently, Nationwide has resited a number of key branches to improve its offer across the UK.
Prior to Nationwide, Mark delivered strategic consultancy to private and public sector occupiers with LSH; was Head of Property for an international bank spanning 20 countries ; and spent 16 years at Barclays bank where his role included acquiring and rationalising the Woolwich portfolio and overseeing the property management team.

Richard Shepherd-Cross, managing director, Custodian Capital

Richard qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1995, joining Mattioli Woods in 2009 to establish Custodian Capital as the property fund management subsidiary to the group.
In 2014 he was instrumental in the establishment of Custodian REIT and following the successful initial public offering, which raised £55m, Richard has overseen its growth to its current market cap.
He was also central to the establishment of a new business line for Custodian Capital, which offers asset-backed private equity investment opportunities to the high-net-worth clients of Mattioli Woods.

George Walker, partner and auctioneer, Allsop Commercial

George has been an auctioneer for over 23 years and has had a hand in selling more than £6bn of commercial real estate.