Matt Crompton

Managing Director
Muse Developments

Matt is the Managing Director of Muse Developments – one of the UK’s best in mixed-use development and urban regeneration, with a forward development pipeline of £2.5bn. A true national developer, Muse delivers innovative places and spaces through collaboration, bringing together the best of the public and private sector to drive transformational change and maximise community benefit. Matt has considerable experience of commercial, residential and mixed-use development and through a highly focused and driven team. Matt is also on the board of The English Cities Fund, a £200 million mixed-use regeneration vehicle owned by Muse, Legal & General and Homes England. Muse also acts as the development manager for the fund. Matt joined Muse in 1990 as Development Surveyor, was promoted to Development Director in 1995 and joined the Board in 2001. He was appointed Managing Director in 2018.

Caroline Simpson

Deputy Chief Executive
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Caroline Simpson has worked in regeneration and place-making for over twenty years developing strong partnerships across the public and private sector.

As the Deputy Chief Executive at Stockport MBC she is currently responsible for the growth and place agenda, and in particular leading a major £1bn transformation programme to redevelop the town centre. Recently her focus has been to establish the first Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) in Greater Manchester to deliver Greater Manchester’s Newest, Greenest and Coolest Neighbourhood. The MDC is promoting the development of Town Centre Living as the next phase of renaissance for Stockport Town Centre alongside driving investment in major new infrastructure.

As well as leadership of development, regeneration, planning and transport she is also leading the delivery and reform of frontline place management services. She has responsibility for corporate estate transformation and promoting active communities across the Borough.

Previous roles include:

Corporate Director, Place, Stockport MBC

Executive Director of Economic Growth and Prosperity for Cheshire East Council with responsibility for an ambitious economic growth agenda, leading place–based services and corporate property & development functions.

Other roles include the Development Director for a Housing Association; Head of Regeneration and Partnerships for Northwest Development Agency and regeneration based roles at Advantage West Midlands. Her career started in Liverpool delivering community-based regeneration projects with a particular focus on work and skills.

Mark Garmon-Jones

Director, Head of Shopping Centre Investment & Repurposing
Savills

Mark has over twenty five years’ experience in the property sector, all with Savills. Mark is Head of Shopping Centre and Retail Investment at Savills. He also leads the Savills Repurposing initiative nationally across the Savills divisions.

Mark specialises in investment sales and acquisitions, with a focus in the retail market, particularly shopping centres in the UK and Ireland. Since 2008 Mark has been the market leader in the consensual and non-consensual bank strategy and sales, as well as advising on the most amount of retail assets to Local Authorities.

Mark has been involved in some of the most high profile of transactions including
• the sale of 50% stake of the super-regional Meadowhall scheme to Norges;
• Advising the South African REIT Growthpoint on their investment into Capital & Regional plc
• advising Dutch fund APG on taking a 75% stake in the Edinburgh St James redevelopment with a GDV of over £1.1bn.
• the sale of Stratford shopping centre in London for £142m with consent for 600 residential development

With the Repurposing initiative at Savills Mark is leading the teams across the UK advising on over 15,000 residential units from PRS through student to retirement living, over 1.5 million sqft of offices, 8,000 hotel beds, markets, esports venues, education campus’.

Colette McCormack

Partner
Winckworth Sherwood

Colette leads the national Winckworth Sherwood Planning team and has over 25 years’ experience specialising in complex housing led mixed use developments.  She is ranked band 1 and a leading individual in planning in the legal directories ( bites by clients and peers).She provides strategic planning advice and is known for her ability to lead on and deliver complex projects.  She is solutions driven and collaborative in her approach to unlocking obstacles to development.  She understands the development cycle but also the regulatory and public law paradigm that public bodies and housing associations work within.  Her work advising developers, local planning authorities, Government departments and housing associations gives her a unique insight and in depth knowledge of housing delivery including BtR .  Colette advises on some of the largest and complex developments across the country including the iconic Battersea Power Station for Wandsworth Council, Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters for Peel Holdings and Barking Riverside Limited acting for the joint venture between L&Q and the GLA (all of which deliver BtR) and BtR operators such as Moda Living .

Tom Whittington

Director of Retail and Leisure Research
Savills

Tom is Director of Retail and Leisure Research at Savills. He specialises in retail development, store location strategies, consumer analysis, retail modelling and market commentary and has been helping retailer, developer and investor clients with insights and thought leadership for 20 years.