UCEM celebrates high achievers at 37th Property Awards ceremony
Posted on: 11 October, 2024
On Thursday 10 October, UCEM hosted its 37th Property Awards event at The Institute of Directors in St. James’s, London.
Hosted since 1987, this annual ceremony is a chance to recognise incredible achievements among UCEM students and alumni, as well as individuals that have made an outstanding contribution to the property industry.
Amanda Clack, Chair of the Board of Trustees, gave a welcome speech where she discussed the most significant events and highlights of the past year, including the retention of the patronage of His Majesty the King:
“This sustains a nearly fifty-year connection of this institution with the monarchy, some nearly forty years of involvement with King Charles himself who has championed the institution and encouraged our collaboration on a number of special built environment-related projects, particularly with The Kings’ Foundation. I know I speak for everyone at UCEM when I say we are deeply appreciative of His Majesty’s support and engagement in our efforts to provide education and to help create a sustainable built environment.”
After lunch, Vice Chancellor Ashley Wheaton took to the stage to give his perspective, pointing to UCEM’s recent appearance in The Times Higher Education Rankings and the institution’s plans going forward.
“Overall, it has been another year of exceptional highs. We will be publishing the next iteration of our Strategic Plan to 2030 in support of our long-term vision in the next few months and I urge you all to remain with us on this transformative journey. We remain highly ambitious, but wholly committed to the vision we have articulated.”
Alumni Award Winner – Annabel Huffer
After Ashley’s speech, the first two awards were presented. Annabel Huffer, Senior Building Surveyor at Knight Frank and graduate of UCEM’s BSc (Hons) Building Surveying apprenticeship programme, was first as recipient of the Alumni Award.
Annabel began studying at UCEM whilst working as an Apprentice Building Surveyor for Eddisons in 2019. Graduating in 2023, she won both the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ and ‘Principal’s Choice’ categories at the 2023 Built Environment Apprenticeship Awards. Since graduating, she has remained a vocal champion for both the institution and apprenticeships as an education pathway.
Outside of UCEM, Annabel is Vice Chair and Junior Liaison Officer of the Southampton Property Association and Vice Chair for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Matrics Hampshire and Isle of Wight. She has also recently been appointed to the RICS Matrics UK Board.
As Ashley commented before giving the award to Annabel:
“Annabel’s contribution to the industry has been outstanding with unwavering passion… she demonstrates a true desire to give back, support others and bring about positive change in the sector and will be a trailblazing figure for years to come.”
Learn more: Making waves as a female Building Surveyor: a Q&A with UCEM Alumni Annabel Huffer
The other nominees for this year’s Alumni award included:
- Dan Nixon
- Adam Wilton
- Hanrun Rashid
- Esha Bhasin
- Samantha Lloyd
Academic Excellence Winner – James Wheeler
James Wheeler was the recipient of the Academic Excellence award. He graduated with distinction from UCEM’s MBA Real Estate and Construction programme in 2024. His interest in built environment academic research, cultivated directly from his experiences on the MBA research project, led to James pursuing PhD opportunities focused on how human and non-human entrepreneurial actors can drive systematic change in response to global crises.
With the aim of informing policy and practice in built environment and decarbonisation globally, James’s research project was titled ‘What we talk about when we talk about SDGs – a comparative content analysis to explore the extent to which British Tier 1 General Contractors discuss the UN Sustainable Development Goals differently to European Tier 1 counterparts’.
On James’s research, Ashley commented:
“In what is again an extraordinarily strong field of competition, one submission marks itself out as exceptional– this year the work not only received a very high distinction but clearly made an original contribution to an understanding of how to develop a more effective engagement with SDGs and in doing so is at the forefront of the discipline. The work was exceptionally well written, handling an extensive array of sources, complex ideas and theories dexterously and supported by extensive references and an exemplary use of visual sources.”
The other nominees for this year’s Academic Excellence Award included:
- Faye Williams
- Rachel Meir
- Abel Muvhimi
- Romain Lahalle
- Laura Meakin
Property Award Winner – Chris Grigg
Chris Grigg is Chair of UK Infrastructure Bank and Evelyn Partners (former Tilney Smith & Williamson), and in the ceremony became the 37th recipient of the Property Award. He is also a member of the Corporate Board at Cancer Research UK, as well as Senior Independent Director & NED at BAE Systems and, previously, Chief Executive Officer of British Land. As Amanda Clack noted before presenting the award:
“Our winner has a formidable reputation in the built environment sector and across business generally… in April 2021, he was appointed as Chairman of the UK Infrastructure Bank after being approached by the UK Treasury which he committed to as a critical part of supporting the UK’s road to Net Zero and helping grow the UK economy both locally and regionally. He is an incredible role model for so many and a truly inspiring leader.”
