The next episode of investment agency Harris Associates’ Reinventing Real Estate podcast – Olympian Home: From Sandhurst to Student Living: Richard Simpson CEO on Leadership, Resilience & Reinventing Real Estate – welcomes the CEO of Olympian Homes Richard Simpson.
Richard joins hosts Jenna Harris, Head of Co-living and Jamie Harris, Head of Student Accommodation Capital Markets at Harris Associates
From his early career in the British Army to leading some of the UK’s most respected real estate firms, Richard shares powerful lessons on resilience, transparency and the importance of followership.
He reflects on his time at Unite and Watkin Jones, unpacks Olympian’s growth strategy and offers a compelling vision for the future of the living sector.
The episode explores the evolution of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), the growing importance of tenant experience and the seismic opportunity in co-living. Richard also issues a rallying call to capital markets: back innovation earlier and don’t underestimate the power of repositioning legacy stock for long-term value.
This episode is essential listening for capital investors, developers and next-generation leaders looking to build resilient teams, back the right trends and think differently about UK real estate.
Topics covered:
- Leadership lessons from the military.
- Transitioning into property and growing Olympian Homes.
- How to energise teams in challenging markets.
- The evolution and future of PBSA and co-living.
- Why the squeezed middle’ of real estate is most at risk.
- Strategic insights for long-term real estate investing.
Reinventing Real Estate is the podcast that gains insights and expertise from the property development and investment sectors.
