James Craig, Co-Founder of Oval Real Estate, shares his entrepreneurial journey in the diversified real estate market. He discusses how he pivoted from surveying to property trading, learning to manage and exit deals across Europe. James highlights the significance of building high-trust partnerships and navigating complex projects, particularly in Birmingham's C Factory revitalization. He provides insights on market dynamics, emphasizes the importance of public-private collaboration, and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to embrace risks in their ventures.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Leaving The Surveying Track
James walked away from a surveying practice just before his APC and passed it while working from home.
He then joined a small trading property company and spent a decade learning deal origination and asset management.
insights INSIGHT
Power Of Small, Focused Teams
James prefers small, tight teams because they preserve control and foster collegiate working.
He believes businesses start to lose control once you can't fit all the people around one table.
question_answer ANECDOTE
From Limbo To Oval At The Cricket
Post-Kenmore James struggled for years to match deals with capital and tried many approaches.
He eventually partnered with Nick and secured a major investor, launching Oval after a casual cricket-ground naming moment.
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James Craig, Co-Founder of Oval Real Estate, joins me on the People Property Place Podcast this week. We discuss James’s journey from surveying to running a diversified real estate investment business. He reflects on pivotal career decisions, key deals, and the thinking behind Oval’s sector-agnostic strategy. James shares lessons from launching Oval in a down market, building high-trust partnerships, and navigating complex development and regeneration projects. He also gives his view on current market dynamics, the role of public-private collaboration, and what it takes to build a successful, enduring real estate business. If you're interested in real estate entrepreneurship, platform-building, public-sector partnership, or value-add investing, this episode is for you. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: · Betting on Fit Over Convention · Why he walked away from his APC and corporate surveying path early, in favour of an entrepreneurial property trading-led environment. · Skill stacking – how he learned to originate, manage, and exit deals across Europe · Reality of trying, (unsuccessfully) to match deals with capital, and the lessons learnt · Oval’s origin story, approach to business, investment thesis and partnership philosophy · How they have pivoted during market cycles, and have deliberately avoided single-sector exposure. · Inside scoop on what it takes to have a successful public & private partnership · We discuss key deals, from Digbeth and the Langham Estate to Mayfair offices and the £900m Henderson portfolio · Message to would-be founders: "Don’t wait. It doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad market. You’ve just got to go for it." And finally... With £500m to invest, which People, what Property, and which Place would he choose? Enjoying the show? Follow and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. The People Property Place Podcast is powered by Rockbourne: Giving real estate investors a difficult choice, who to hire. If you're serious about hiring top real estate talent in 2025 and want to do it differently, DM me on LinkedIn. #realestate #property #podcast #regeneration #realestateinvestment #placemaking #offices #birmingham #london
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