People Property Place #143 Simon Betty - Head of Europe - Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT
From billion-euro retail deals to leading Europe’s largest apartment hotel operator, and now steering one of the fastest-growing healthcare real estate platforms, Simon Betty’s career has spanned multiple cycles, asset classes, and countries.
In this episode, Simon shares how his early career choices set him on a path into retail, how he navigated Hammerson through some of its most challenging moments, and what it was really like to run the €2.5B Project Jewel transaction in Ireland. We dive into the lessons he learned leading through the brutality of Covid, why the macro always wins in real estate, and how healthcare has become one of the most thematically supported sectors in Europe today.
This is a candid conversation about deals, leadership, and how to thrive in sectors that are built for the future.
Key Topics Covered In This Episode:
✅ Project Jewel – Inside the high-stakes €2.5B Ireland loan portfolio acquisition
✅ Retail Realities – The brutal impact of Covid and the £800M rescue rights issue
✅ Macro vs Micro – Why timing beats talent in determining real estate returns
✅ Leadership Lessons – How saying “yes” shaped his career across multiple sectors
✅ Hospitality Shift – What running Adina taught him about operations and culture
✅ Healthcare Growth – Why cure-based facilities are becoming Europe’s next big asset class
✅ The Future – Where capital is heading in European real estate over the next decade
Oh, and one last thing…
In every episode, I ask each guest: Who are the People, what Property, and which Place they would invest in if they had £500m at their disposal? Don’t miss Simon’s answer in this episode!
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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/people-property-place/id1652694140
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