Nicole Bremner

EP135: As interest rates soar, inflation rises, and labour shortages continue, homeowners are left wondering what the future holds. Property consultant, Eyeedul Haque, reveals the data behind the headlines about the state of the housing market and the impending mortgage payment increases."What has actually happened is the rate of growth has slowed but it's nowhere near the Knight Frank’s and the Savill’s with their very negative forecasts; that's a huge positive."In this episode, we:·      Delve into the complexities of the housing market and who is actually impacted by mortgage rate increases. ·       Discuss the climb in interest rates and impact on inflation. ·       Dissect the mismatch between market data and realistic pricing, its significance, and repercussions. ·       Predict future investment opportunities and the course of house prices and rents. The key moments in this episode are:00:00:00 - Impact of Mortgage Rate Increase 00:02:34 - Effectiveness of Monetary Policy00:05:09 -

EP134: "Nationwide, Halifax and Rightmove all reported increases of 7.2%, 8.3% and 7.2% over the last 12 months. Compared to last month, the annual figures were 9.5%, 9.8% and 8.7%."  But prices are showing the first signs of slowdown. Some pundits are saying prices will drop by 30% over 2023. What about rental demand? Take a listen to see what the data is indicating. What do house price movements mean for you? I was joined live by Eyeedul Haque of My Property Consultant and we discussed: Which indices are going up or downWhat the forecasters are saying and why they differ so widelyWhat is happening with rental demand and whyComments from a conveyancing lawyer about the two year lag in Land Registry dataComments from another conveyancing lawyer about the time delays to property transactions and how they compare to other countries - spoiler alert - dismally! All that and more. Follow me on LinkedIn to be notified of the next live discussion on 22 December where we look back at the indices for the yea

EP133: "I think most people appreciate someone making a purchase easier for them. Selling is not about persuading someone to buy something that they do not need but making a decision easier. ‘People buy from people,’ is a common saying and our job is to ensure that people buy us and not the product."Meet Bob Harvey, now non executive director at SeventySeven Wealth Management after 25 years in management at St. James's Place. In this interview he reflects upon his career in sales and why it's now seen as a dirty word as well as wellness and his views on retirement. "Compared to 30 years ago, the consumer is far better off. The industry is regulated, and people are more financially aware. The financial adviser is also treated as a professional person (which was not the case 40 years ago). There has been a shift in perception from financial advisers as product salesmen to genuine professionals."In this interview we discuss: the importance of saleshow Bob's father was one of th

EP132: "Nationwide are quoting a 9.7% increase this month compared to 10% last month. Halifax are also quoting 9.8% this month compared to 11.5% in the previous month. So the rate of change of house price growth is slowing, but there's no evidence of this massive downturn that people are talking about."I met with Eyeedul Haque of My Property Consultant for a live discussion on the UK house prices. Each month Eyeedul puts together a tracker plotting the changes in the major house price indicators. On a single page you can see the latest data from the Halifax, Nationwide, ONS and others. Live on my LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube, we discussed:- The indicators, what they are and whether they're leading, lagging or real time- What September's indicators are, well, indicating- The reversal of the Truss government's mini-budget and appointment of Michael Gove as housing minister- Potential interest rate increases and how they will impact house prices- Making sense of the current turbul

EP131: “I need to push myself to build that and get myself to a point where I feel that I am financially secure. And probably that's one of the main drivers for why I'm so passionate about encouraging people to learn about money and understand money and be empowered by it so that they can reap benefits later on.”Louise co-founded GoHenry in 2012 when she realised that her children needed to learn how to manage money in an increasingly digital world. At the time her son was eight and her daughter was 11. Louise was so frustrated by how much they were buying online without realising the implications that she would pin Apple invoices to the fridge door to help them understand why their £4 a week pocket money was now just 50p. Fast forward ten years and GoHenry now has a community of 2 million customers in the US and UK who fiercely believe that good money management is a vital life skill.“It’s always fantastic when a customer contacts us and says that their kids' behaviors changed or decisions hav

EP130: Olive recently celebrated her 94th birthday and is still in fine form. Her active mind and unfussy approach to life is refreshing in people of any age, not least those in their 10th decade. She narrates her story in exactly the same way, and even when tragedy strikes - for example the loss of a dear cousin and step-sister in a car accident - she is able to see the bigger picture. This is a lively and spirited account of a long life lived to the full. Olive's story is a remarkable one. Beginning in the north east of England in the late 1920s, her life encompassed the aftermath of the First World War, the upheavals for Word War Two and the unexpected post war opportunity to travel and see the world. Born in Morpeth, Northumberland, in March 1928. Her parents had suffered the hardships of a working class upbringing but at the time of her birth were happy and settled into family life. This was all to change with the death of her father, who died in 1934 of TB, the result of a chest weakened by a gas a

EP129: "We are in a very interesting time. On one side, we have the Chancellor trying to encourage house sales with fiscal stimulus. And on the other, we have the Bank of England using monetary policies to control lending. What makes the decision of when to invest more interesting is exchange rates."In the first of a new monthly series I met with Eyeedul Haque of My Property Consultant for a live discussion on the UK house prices. Each month Eyeedul puts together a tracker plotting the changes in the major house price indicators. On one page you can see the latest data from the Halifax, Nationwide, ONS and others. Live on my LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube, we discussed:- The indicators, what they are and whether they're leading, lagging or real time- What September's indicators are, well, indicating- Recent changes in the Truss government's mini-budget including SDLT and tax rates- Recent interest rate increases and how they will impact house prices- Making sense of the current turbul

EP#128 "If you've had some sort of trauma in your early life...the problem you potentially suffer with is an inherent feeling of a lack of self worth. And success won't fill that."Sam White tragically lost her mother to an overdose at age 23. By 24 Sam launched her first business from her sister’s conservatory and she hasn’t stopped since. Starting as a small uninsured loss company in 1999, Sam has grown the Freedom Group to become a hugely influential and expanding business. In the past 20 years she has spearheaded the growth of a dynamic company in an ever-changing sector, all the while maintaining a strongly principled approach to business.But the road has not been an easy one. While living her best life in LA even having Robbie Williams, her neighbour, sing at her wedding, a regulatory change saw Sam lose 60% of her business's revenue overnight. Swift action eventually saved the business but it was not without the war wounds of going through an experience like that.  With the cont

EP127: "We've had amazing news in the last few weeks. We had interest rates go up again last week... We then had the mini-budget with the changes to stamp duty...to come into play. There's a third element with the pound taking the biggest fall in 37 years against the US dollar. All these moving parts make it an interesting conversation around when is the right time to invest."Join us live every month as Eyeedul Haque of My Property Consultant and I crunch the data behind the UK house price headlines.  Our first session will be live at 11:00 on 29 September on my LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube, links below. We hope you can join us as we look at the indicators and explain what they are, what they're indicating and how this might impact your buy, sell and hold strategy. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolebremner/https://www.facebook.com/NicoleSBremnerhttps://www.youtube.com/c/NicoleBremnerSupport the showDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the hos

“My whole life has been one safari and I am still living it now. Even as I sit here in Monaco, I cannot wait to get up and have another adventure.”My guest today, Geoffrey Kent, is the founder of luxury international travel company, Abercrombie & Kent, and the pioneer behind safari being a “hunt with a camera, and not with a gun.” After being expelled from school, riding a motorbike off into the Kenyan sunset, and later training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Geoffrey brought all his experiences together to forge a business that would not only change the face of travel, but also people’s lives, forever. “Nobody had ever decided to camp on safari and guide people to take photographs.”We discuss Geoffrey’s journey from starting with nothing but an old Land Rover and visionary ideas to how, 55 years after the founding of Abercrombie & Kent, he is enjoying life’s safari with adventures spanning 150 countries - from the Galapagos to the South Pole. We also reflect on the meaning of prosperity and

EP125: “I was on fire. I was fighting well. Then I've got to one of the most important fights I just needed to get through. This fight was probably the most important fight to get that chance to have the Olympic gold medal. I received a head kick with two seconds to go, and two seconds just wasn't enough to get the points back.”Jordan was on the pathway to Tokyo Olympics 2020 when he missed his dream by two seconds. Rather than wallow in the disappointment Jordan has shown incredible resilience to jump back up and keep going. Jordan was very aware of the risks in this sport. His father was also a world and European karate champion. He was also aware of what a financial strain it could be to fund full time sport. For many years Jordan worked full time training others before turning his focus on training himself in the evenings. “...before my world final, I got a message the night before that my phone bill had bounced...I was 22 at the time…Then I won my world final, very convincingly…and still came b

EP124: My podcast is back! We have another series of 12 guests to share with you over the coming weeks. “Many people reach the age of 50 having been on a treadmill of career and families and they're faced with this realisation…they need to take responsibility for themselves as they move into the last period of their working life…If they don't, they may face a retirement…which could be less comfortable than they had in mind.”Paul Green came from a conservative background where money wasn't something that people talked about. As he went through life, he realised it’s one of the key things to get right. Heading into retirement himself and shocked by how little people knew on the subject, Paul founded Over50sMoney to help people sort out their finances as they prepare to enjoy their retirement. In this show you’ll hear about: ·       How Over50sMoney came about·       People’s expectations of their retirement·       Your home as a potential retirement pot·       The social care conundrum ·       Th

“Being a stripper taught me more lessons than I could possibly imagine, a lot of which I’ve been able to apply to my business life..” For the penultimate episode of The Nicole Bremner Podcast, I’m joined by former stripper Paulina Tenner. Paulina is the founder of GrantTree, where she leads a team of 50 people in helping businesses secure government funding. To date, the company has raised over £200m for tech start-ups and larger companies. Originally from Poland, Paulina is a true trailblazer, challenging the status quo of how companies are set up and scaled and proposes a truly radical alternative of financial transparency and self-set pay.“[Self-Set pay] is a very courageous and responsible process but it’s hugely empowering for people and I think that anything that you implement in your company that is empowering to your people has long-term advantages.” Like many business people, Paulina has had times where she has faced burnout and it was during one of these periods that a chance encounter ignited a pas

“‘Workations’ have become really popular. We’ve ditched the office and have really embraced ‘out of office’ work.” My guest today, Ivo Gospodinov, is one of the entrepreneurs behind industry leading prop-tech company Staykeepers, which he runs with his brother, Miroslav across the UK, US, Spain, Ireland, Germany and France. Aimed at the Build to Rent market, Staykeepers is a fully-compliant, user-friendly online platform which ‘uses Smart Technology to sell empty rooms’, generating passive income for both long-term tenants and building owners by offering short lets while the tenant is away or the unit is vacant. Travel and tourism was one of the key markets hit heavily by the pandemic but Staykeepers were one of those agile companies who were able to adapt their offering and consequently achieved 520% growth from January to August this year. “The pandemic was one of the best things that could happen to our business. It really made us think about what we do and how we do it,” he says. “Initially, it impacted o

“A career in construction is not just about muddy boots.”Today my guest is Julia Starzyk, a property quantity surveyor, project construction manager and founder of Stars Projects London, a dynamic property consultancy focusing on cost consultancy and project management in the luxury £1m to £6m property sector. From converting a 150-year-old building in Mayfair into a luxury seven-bed hotel to a modern apartment in Chancery Lane with raw concrete ceilings, she has project managed over 90 luxury property renovations and listed building restorations. Julia arrived in England from Poland 11 years ago and has since worked her way up in the property industry, from assistant site manager to commercial director of a construction company, studying for and achieving two master degrees in the process. Back then the property industry was fiercely male dominated, and while more women have joined and found success in construction, there are some things that still haven’t changed. “I’m yet to work on a site where there are

“It’s so important to think about what you put into your body and so we should be taking that view with our skin too.”For anyone who has ever had problem skin or is fed up with trying endless beauty products in a bid for that healthy glow we all long for, this is the episode for you.As a beauty blogger in London, Rachel Noble was living the dream being sent skincare to try and write about and attending big brand launch events. But her blogging career soon led her down the path of deep research into what actually goes into the products we put on our skin. That journey led her to step away from the mainstream beauty industry and create her own brand, The Noble Apothecary. “I found myself getting a little overwhelmed by it all – that skin that was once happy, was no longer happy because I was testing so many different products,” explains Rachel, who also works as a health consultant for the NHS. “I became quite disillusioned about the big beauty marketing machine and being a cog within that. I wanted something t

“Most folks have $1 to $2 million dollars in hidden capital available to them within the people they know.” Joining me this week, all the way from British Columbia in Canada, is Dave Dubeau, the creator of the Money Partner Formula. As a bestselling author and speaker, Dave has shared the stage with people like Robert Kiyosaki, George Foreman, Robert Herjavek, Arlene Dickinson, Ted Thomas and more, sharing how he works with ‘mom ‘n’ pop’ real estate investors to help get started raising capital. He began his career almost 20 years ago, when he did 18 deals in the space of 18 months and nowadays he invests passively in multi-family properties or what we would call in UK, multi-investment apartment buildings. Dave developed Money Partner Formula, which uses marketing techniques to raise capital for new business entrepreneurs, after he struggled to raise finance for his own business venture.   “Part of the problem was, I had a deal on the go and I was desperate for money,” he explains. “I really needed that capi

 “Buying art is a little bit like buying property in Knightsbridge…if you buy a blue-chip artist who’s dead and sit on it long enough then you probably will make money, but that means you need to be able to afford to sit on it for something like 30 or 40 years.“Art is a very difficult asset class generally, it’s felt that if you have a wide portfolio then art is something interesting to put your money into, but you certainly wouldn’t do it as your primary source of investment. It’s also very easy to lose money.”Jane Morris is the editor-at-large of CultureShock Media, an arts and culture content agency that delivers print, digital, film and social media strategies for leading arts businesses, museums and galleries. Jane went to Central St Martins, where she studied fine art before studying journalism and has managed to establish a career which combines her fascination with both. She has written for The Art Newspaper, Monocle, the Economist, Artnet and the Guardian and has built teams of international writers

“Mortgage brokers are a bit like the crocodile in that we’ve been around for ‘4 billion years’ and nothing seems to be able to kill us off! We’ve managed to get through the credit crunch and the pandemic – good brokers survive those downturns because they are good business people and quite resilient.”My guest today on The Nicole Bremner Podcast is the CEO of The Money Group and founder and driving force behind its inaugural company, London Money.  Martin Stewart has been working in financial services for 30 years and believes that unifying a previously fragmented sector is the best way to get the broker at the forefront of the industry. We talk about how to break through the white noise and micromanagement within the financial industry, where the property and mortgage market is heading following the pandemic and how the simplicity of the London Money brand is set to provide unlimited outreach for his business.“Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ideas. You can spend an awful lot of money on rebranding a

"People will instantly judge a book by its cover, that because you're a woman who wants to have nice hair, have their nails done or have false eyelashes you can't participate in a certain sport...the old stereotypes still exists unfortunately," My guest today is Bev Clifford, who has forged a path for herself in a very male dominated industry...fishing.  Bev's father is Kevin Clifford,  who was one of the founders of the weekly angling magazine, Carp-Talk, and once hailed the 'Carp King of the North', so carp fishing is in her blood. She worked at the magazine form an early age, and took over the business when her father retired.  However, she didn't take up carp fishing herself until she was 26 years old following years of battling with drugs, alcohol and eating disorders. "After struggling with alcohol and drugs, I needed that time on my own, I needed to figure myself out, I needed to become comfortable being on my own," she explains. "Your 20s are a bi