Women in Leadership: Morgan Allen
Championing Purpose Driven Property Strategy
Meet Morgan Allen, a highly respected property consultant and Fellow of the RICS known for her deep expertise in education and charity sectors.
When you meet Morgan, you’ll notice immediately how she strikes a wonderful balance with her constant professionalism and approachable personality. It’s how she successfully supports clients, colleagues and friends across the education market, like myself, to navigate some of the complex areas and opportunities facing the sector. I have known Morgan for 5 years. We had a zoom call maybe one month into the pandemic in 2020 to discuss an article. I was instantly relaxed as we both joked about our new pandemic morning routines and not having our hair finished up before the call. It became one of many calls for work, advice and general catch ups.
Now she has taken a leap into launching her own independent consultancy after over 14 years at Gerald Eve (now Newmark). In this exclusive Women in Leadership feature, Morgan chats with me about the new business, lessons learned, and her inspiring vision.
Tell us about the leap to start your own business?
Friends and clients have been suggesting I do this for years; saying that I’d “smash it”, as I have a good profile/reputation, network of contacts, sector expertise, etc etc... At the time, I felt that I was ‘institutionalised’. i.e. I was too risk averse to be bold enough to leave the comfort of a monthly salary and benefits… Then, I stumbled across an old WhatsApp that I’d sent to a friend years ago:
“This is day-dreaming, but how about this: We start up on our own; a consortium of quality self-employed women, unless it makes sense for us to form an actual company. We only undertake work for clients with strong ESG credentials and on projects that we are passionate about/believe in. All work we undertake MUST have a positive influence on People, Places and Planet. If it doesn’t, we decline it. We invest in staff, training and support. We nurture talent. We have less privileged interns and trainees from non-surveyor-y/middle-class backgrounds. We have total transparency. Furthermore, a total ban on willy-waving egos. It will take a while before we are large enough that we are obliged to report an annual Gender Gap report. But, when we are, we will publish one which we won’t need to polish and roll in glitter… We have junior staff on the Board, to up-skill us. We commit to being open to change and innovation. And, when we are decrepit, we step aside to make way for the next gen to take over.”
This message, which reads like a visionary mission statement, was a turning point. After finding this old WhatsApp, I canvassed friendly contacts who had similarly left the safety net of a large company to start up independently. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone was so encouraging and supportive. Their only gripe was that I hadn’t started sooner.
What are the key services you will offer clients?
I am sticking to my core specialisms of education and charity property, providing valuation, agency and other professional services (i.e. Charities Act compliance). Within the education space, I focus on nurseries, independent schools and SEND schools. I advise on vacant and operating education property, of single sites, portfolios, sale and leasebacks, etc.
By building a specialist, trusted advisory model with integrity at its heart, I’m able to focus on what really matters to my clients and to me.
What lessons will you take forward from Gerald Eve and what are you most proud of achieving during your time there?
That’s a tough one to answer, as I worked at Gerald Eve (“GE”, now Newmark) for over 14 years. I have many lessons and achievements to consider.
Lessons:
● If something isn’t working out, abandon it and start afresh. If something needs structural change/is beyond repair, don’t waste time on sticking plasters.
● Everything we do is about people and relationships. Having the right people is enormously important. I am fortunate to have a network of specialists who I trust implicitly, and, furthermore, they are nice people to work with!
● Before I joined, I knew that GE was the best place for me to learn and hone my skills, which I have brought forward into my new venture. I know my way around a DCF, buyer appetite (which fluctuates) and the idiosyncrasies of education assets.
Achievements:
● Progressing my career rapidly to a senior role in a male-dominated industry, where c. 85% of senior positions are held by men.
● Being viewed as a role model by junior females at GE (I cried when GE’s external career coach told me that!)
● I was appointed a Fellow of the RICS; this demonstrates professional achievements and is a measure of excellence, joining a group of professionals who stand out in the eyes of peers, of business and of the public.
● Playing a key role in an award-winning Education team, advising on a number of substantial landmark transactions. I established the Nurseries team, which flourished.
What are your goals for the next 12 months?
I will grow the pipeline and consolidate the business. Within just my first week of trading, I am cost-neutral (including start-up costs and running costs). By the end of the first month, I will be profitable, which is positive. I always make an effort to carve out dedicated time each day for the different sides of the business, even the less glamorous ones. Admin, operations, accounting, and compliance can be time-consuming (and a bit of a slog), but most of the heavy lifting was in the start-up phase. Now it’s about smoothing out the bumps and getting everything running more efficiently.
Putting in regular time for business development is vital to maintain a healthy pipeline. So, I will be getting out there, growing my profile and building those long lasting business relationships.
I expect I will continue to feel both excited and nervy, until I have a very full pipeline. Then, I predict there will be a tipping point, where I have so much work that I worry about servicing it, yet not quite enough to justify committing significant expenditure to recruiting so early on. I predict the tipping point will come sooner than I anticipated. Actually; that’s a good example of another lesson I will bring forward; I won’t wait until I’m drowning before I start to recruit.
I’m focused on building a sustainable and scalable consultancy that puts quality, impact and purpose at the centre of everything I do.
I have really enjoyed making friends along the way. I thought that didn’t happen often. Generally, people make real friends at school and Uni, and in their 20s. I’ve really enjoyed working in a sector with nice people who genuinely CARE about what they do, and can have a laugh. Making new friends via my work has been an unexpected pleasure.
If anyone in the EDI-T network wants to speak to me about this, I’d be very happy to have a chat, in confidence, of course.
E: morgan@morganallen.co.uk
M: 07585 300033
W: www.morganallen.co.uk
