Samantha McClary

May 2, 2025

Samantha McClary, former editor of Estates Gazette and Chief Executive of the British Council for Offices, shares her journey in the real estate sector. She discusses barriers to women's advancement and the necessity for initiatives that empower underrepresented groups. The transformative Future Leaders programme emerges as a game-changer, reshaping perceptions through storytelling. Sam also reflects on her emotional path through journalism, the challenges of diversity initiatives, and her new leadership role, emphasizing the importance of resilience and inclusivity in the industry.

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ANECDOTE

EG Team United Through Closure

Estates Gazette staff bonded tightly when closure was announced, supporting each other emotionally.
They kept working hard despite sadness, driven by love for the job and publication.

ANECDOTE

Lesson: Accuracy Over Speed

Sam made a big journalism mistake running a story on a bankruptcy with only one source.
She learned being accurate beats being first in publishing vital financial stories.

INSIGHT

Challenges for Women Advancing

Women in real estate enter in large numbers but struggle to advance into senior roles.
Industry criteria and cultures may need to evolve to promote diverse leadership effectively.

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Samantha McClary, Former editor Estates Gazette, Chief Executive of the British Council for Offices

Until recently Editor of Estates Gazette, Sam's new role is as Chief Executive of the British Council for Offices.

Sam McClary has more than two decades of experience in the UK real estate sector. She spent the first 24 years of her career as a journalist and editor, with an introduction to the property sector through a specialism in hotel and leisure reporting. In 2004 she took up a role as a rookie reporter at Estates Gazette, first covering the retail and leisure sector. Over the following 20 years she moved her way up through the ranks of EG, building connections with key players across the real estate sector and broadening her coverage to include the key issues facing the industry and the core ways the sector contributes to the UK’s economy and prosperity. She took over as editor of EG in 2019 and held the position until January 2025 when the business was sold to family-owned publishing house Mark Allen Group.

Sam is best known in the industry for being a fierce champion and challenger to the real estate sector, utilising her platform to help showcase the good that real estate can and does do for people, planet and UK PLC while poking the sector to continue to improve in key areas such as diversity and inclusion, environmental and societal impact and technological advancement.

Sam is a particularly vocal supporter of ED&I in the industry and of unlocking and attracting talent from places the industry may not have traditionally gone looking. Among her proudest achievements is the launch and development of the Future Leaders programme, which gave powerful voices to underrepresented groups in the built environment, enabling them to tell stories of the true impact that real estate has on all of our lives.

In early 2025, Sam was appointed as chief executive of the British Council for Offices, a key industry body representing the workplace sector and the diverse set of players that bring this vital element of the UK built and business environment to life. She takes up the role from 6 May and plans to continue to be both champion and challenger for the sector as it continues through this most transformative period.

Sam also sits on the advisory board of Black Women in Real Estate.