Generator Group / About Us / Our People
Our People
The team’s broad range of experience and expertise enables us to explore and add significant value to a diverse range of property investment and opportunities.
The team’s broad range of experience and expertise enables us to explore and add significant value to a diverse range of property investment and opportunities.
Paul is the founder of Generator Group which he established in January 2006 in partnership with Real Estate Venture Capital Management LLP. Prior to this, he was Managing Director at a private property company, Cathedral Group, where he oversaw the deconsolidation of Cathedral from its then parent company, Mount Anvil, before taking Cathedral forward. Before this he spent 5 years at Frogmore as Director responsible for running their joint venture activities.
With over 20 years experience in residential and mixed-use development, especially in the assessment of planning risk, Paul has been involved in numerous successful projects of varying scale and complexity, including the funding and delivery of the pilot PPP project with the London Fire Brigade for their new facility in Docklands, which formed part of a mixed-use scheme.
Paul originally spent 16 years in banking, the latter half of which was helping to establish the recovery unit and then running one of the property work-out teams for Hill Samuel (part of Lloyds TSB) during the late 80’s/early 90’s which makes him ideally placed for operating in the current marketplace.
James joined the Group as a Director and member of the main Board in 2009. He has 25 years experience in the property industry, with approximately half of this time being in the national housebuilding sector.
Prior to Generator he was Development Director for Barratt Homes, responsible for land acquisition and planning in the east of England covering Essex, Suffolk, Cambridge & Norfolk. Following the acquisition of David Wilson Homes by Barratt in 2007, James successfully managed the integration of the DWH land team into the Division and was responsible for running both land teams as separate acquisition brands. Prior to joining Barratt, he was Land Director for David Wilson Homes covering the south east and before that held a senior land role at Bellway Homes.
James has a wealth of experience and expertise in the identification and delivery of residential and residentially led mixed-use development schemes in the south east. Before moving into the housebuilding sector, James was in private practice surveying as an Associate at Countrywide Commercial (part of Hambro Countrywide Plc) where, after qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor in 1992, he specialised in providing development advice, formal valuations and disposal/acquisition strategies both on residential and commercial opportunities to corporate and public sector clients.
Ed joined the Group from Cushman and Wakefield in January 2007.
At Generator Ed is focused on identifying new land opportunities for the Group, carrying out due diligence and acquisitions, planning promotion, and working with the wider Development Team to see schemes through to a successful conclusion. Ed also works within Generator Real Estate Solutions, providing development and work-out expertise in relation to stressed and distressed property assets.
Ed holds an MA in Land Economy from Cambridge University and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Burt has worked in the construction industry for over 30 years, having qualified as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor in 1996. During this time, he has been employed by some of the largest main contractors in the UK such as Bouygues, Balfour Beatty and Wates. Prior to joining Generator Group Burt was the Commercial Director at F3 Construct Limited who are Construction Management specialists.
Burt has vast experience in the overall delivery of construction projects particularly the initial appraisals of tenders, the development of value engineering solutions and the management of risk during the construction phase of projects.
Prior to joining Generator in May 2018, Simran worked as a Senior Land and Development Manager for R55 Group, where he was responsible for the identification and securing of residential and mixed-use development opportunities across London. Prior to this Simran started his career at The Hyde Group on the graduate scheme, he completed the graduate programme and quickly progressed to Land & Development Manager, working there for just over three years.
His career highlights include successfully acquiring and managing the development of 365 private sale and rental units across a number of sites in Central and South London. At Generator he handles site acquisitions and development management, as well as taking responsibility for the Generator Strategic Land sites.
Simran graduated with a BSc (Hons) Property & Surveying degree from Birmingham University in 2013 and is a member of the Association of Project Managers.
Max has worked in the construction industry for several years. In this time, he’s worked on a number of challenging projects for high profile clients, both as an assistant/project manager and a technical assistant. He has worked with Bouygues UK, Buro Four Project Services and Second London Wall Project Management, overseeing various projects in London, including a bespoke, high-end residential development.
Overseeing the success of Generator’s developments from start to finish, Max upholds the quality standards central to Generator brand. He manages the contractors and consultants required for each individual project and is responsible for the management of risk during the construction phase. Max is currently working toward a RICS accreditation in Project Management.
In June 2004, Valerie set up her own consultancy business that delivers senior level strategic advice to companies, governments and third world organisations addressing complex community regeneration and sustainable development issues. Previously she was Managing Director
of London First and prior to that a Director at Jones Lang LaSalle.
She is a Chartered Architect, Town Planner and Surveyor. Valerie was awarded an OBE in 2001 for services to architecture and to the community in East London.
Graham has in excess of 30 years experience working within the UK property market. 22 years in a combination of lending, credit, legal and recovery roles with mainstream banks, and 11 years hands on development experience as the Commercial Director of a Surrey based residential developer. His time in banking included a 5 year period during the last major recession heading up a specialist property recovery team within Hill Samuel where he was responsible for successfully formulating and implementing work-out and disposal strategies for a wide range of property assets throughout the Country. His prime focus as a developer was to increase the acquisition flow, and actively manage the numerous joint venture activities. This resulted in significantly enhanced profits throughout the period from a number of key London mixed-use developments.
Graham is responsible for sourcing and managing new transactions for Generator Real Estate Solutions.
A highly experienced banker with 30 years’ experience in the corporate banking world, Richard has helped all kinds of clients realise their strategic ambitions, from large multinational PLCs down to small and medium-sized enterprises.
His corporate finance experience spans real estate, energy and infrastructure finance, as well as investment funding, development funding and credit risk management. He brings this extensive experience, industry expertise and established leadership skills to Generator as Group Treasurer.
Neil created his own HR consulting business in 2010 and has been helping businesses acquire and develop their talent ever since. His consulting experience is broad and covers property development, property services, IT, financial services, hospitality and retail to name a few. Neil has been working with the Generator Group since 2016 and has helped them build their HR infrastructure and has supported the growth of the team through the acquisition of key talent.
Neil has been an HR Director both in the banking and luxury retail sectors before creating his own business, he has a Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management, is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and is a master practitioner in NLP.
He enjoys good food and red wine and when the snow comes you will find him on the slopes demonstrating this less than graceful skiing style!
Michael has over 40 years’ experience in professional practice with a number of major surveying practices. For 5 years from 2008, as a Commercial Partner with Cluttons LLP, he led their Property Asset Recovery Service Team where they worked with major companies and financial institutions on capital restructure, financial analysis, distressed loan portfolios and debt and property workouts.
Michael provides valuation evidence, researches current trends and provides sensitivity analysis for current projects from his wealth of previous experience.
Joe was a 50% shareholder in a multi disciplined firm of commercial surveyors involved in property management, investment, Landlord & Tenant, rent reviews, Dilapidations, and bank LPA Receivership work. In 1995 this business was sold to Frogmore Estates Plc where Joe became a main Board Director for Asset Management of a portfolio in excess of £300m.
Joe is a highly experienced asset manager having spent forty years in the commercial property industry, largely in commercial agency investment and asset management. He has an excellent track record of maximising the value of property assets through pro-active strategies.
Joe also takes LPA/Fixed Charge Receivership appointments and he is a fellow of the Association of Property and Fixed Charge Receivers.
Nita has a wealth of experience in residential property marketing, property development and media communications. She first moved into the property industry over 30 years ago, owning her own restoration company, which specialised in Victorian and Grade II listed buildings. She then turned her hand to PA roles, in which her strong organisational skills and her ability to multi-task led her to managerial roles at The Hyde Group and Countryside.
At Generator, Nita’s responsibilities include working closely with the board to maintain the integrity of the corporate and development divisions, from managing all marketing collateral to generating and increasing leads through creative sales initiatives.
Having joined Generator in June 2014, Peter is Finance Director and Company Secretary taking responsibility for the Group’s finance and accounting function as well as HR, IT and corporate administration. He joined the Group from his previous joint roles with PSConsulting (formerly R-S Associates) which he formed in 2002, specialising in strategy development, corporate planning & governance, and business performance, and Invigour Limited, property consultants with whom he had been a director since late 2009.
He was previously with PwC Consulting for 6 years, providing management consultancy services to the public, private & third sectors. He is a former Chief Executive of professional services membership & lobbying organisation Birmingham Forward, and a past President of the ICAEW in the West Midlands.
Peter qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1991, having trained with Coopers & Lybrand.
Matt is a Chartered Certified Accountant and is responsible for the day to day accounting operations across the Group.
Matt joined the Group in April 2013 from Cedar + Co Accountants in Derbyshire.
Usman graduated with a BSc (Hons) Investment & Financial Risk Management degree from Cass Business School in 2014. He then embarked on a career with AGFE as an analyst, overseeing £5 billion worth of debt financing deals, across commercial real estate and other asset-backed securities.
Since then, he has held advisor roles at the aviation start up, Claymont, and the Berlin-based philanthropy start up, R Ventures Foundation, before joining Generator in January 2018. His main responsibilities involve developing bespoke financial models and supporting the development teams by analysing deals and sourcing deals from funders.
Katie began her career in finance at ADM Investor Services International, where she worked as an Accounts Assistant from 2011 until 2018. After earning her AAT qualification, she joined Generator in early 2018, bringing her valuable experience and commitment, along with her financial nous, to the Generator finance department.
Nicola has over 14 years experience working within the Property Industry and re-joined Generator after a short break in November 2015. Nicola started her property career at Minerva Plc in 1999 where the last 2 years were spent as Executive Assistant to the Chairman. Nicola then went on to join the Property Acquisition department at Tesco Plc in 2002 working for the Development Director and through her role at Tesco was introduced to the team at St James’s Investments Ltd where she spent 4 years working for the Managing Director.
Olivia joined Generator in July 2017 to assist the development team, managing diaries and ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the office. Olivia’s tenacious attitude is reflected in the fact she left school and went straight into employment, working her way up from a junior position to become a legal secretary.
Prior to joining Generator, she worked with Alan Simpson & Co. where she dealt with conveyancing, probate and wills. At Generator, she is making her first steps in the property industry.
