SIMON JONES, of Faircroft Properties, works from the firm’s newly-opened Liverpool offices in the Albert Dock.
The company buys, refurbishes and manages well-located commercial buildings and currently has space to let at the impressive city centre office building, Yorkshire House. Simon is responsible for activity in the North-West region. This is an account of his day.
6am: I am awoken by my 2½-year-old son, usually just before six when he bounds into our bedroom with Buzz Lightyear and Woody wanting to play. It takes me a little time to get going in the morning but breakfast with my son and CBeebies usually brings me round.
7.20am: I set off in the car from Parbold to my office in the Albert Dock using this time to make a few calls, on the hands-free, to agents and lawyers, to see how various matters are progressing. Five Live is on in between calls so I can catch up with the news and in particular any footy chat. I enjoy my drive in, it is a relaxing way to start the day in comparison to the 12 years I commuted by Tube in London.
8.20am: I arrive at the dockside office and catch up with my e-mails and go through some investment particulars. I phone my colleagues in London for a quick catch-up on various aspects of the portfolio and to discuss any new opportunities.
11am: I arrive on a site in south Liverpool for a meeting on a refurbishment we are working on. After the usual Liverpool v Everton banter with the site foreman, I am met by the project manager and contractor to discuss the progress of the project. We review the project and I give them instructions on some changes we would like made to the original plan.
1pm: Lunch is spent catching up with an agent in town, while being verbally abused by the Italian restaurant owner. He knows me well, and sometimes I wonder whether he should be on stage, rather than actually serving food!
2.30pm: Lunch is followed by an agency meeting with Mason Owen and Irving Rice, on Yorkshire House, in Chapel Street. We have recently completed a large refurbishment of the building including the addition of an extra floor and basement car parking via a car lift. We discuss which occupiers have shortlisted the building for consideration and any comments they have made as well as reviewing the market.
4pm: We have been working on an opportunity for a couple of weeks, and today is decision time. I pull the final bid together to ensure it is submitted before the 5:30 deadline. The figure is submitted via our agents and now we have to play the waiting game, which is always the worst part.
5pm: My wife phones to remind me to pick some paint samples up on the way home. We have just moved house, so it appears to be in my remit to use my work skills in doing some project management at home.
6pm: In the car on the way home (via the paint shop) hoping to get back to see Freddie and my daughter, Sophie, who is eight months old, before their bedtime, and then it’s time for a well-deserved gin and tonic.
