Member Article

Behind the business with PMB Holdings

Edward Jones, CEO of property developers, PMB Holdings, takes Bdaily behind the business.

What key challenges has your company recently faced?

The launch of the MK DataVault took us into a highly technical sector of the market that was new to us, necessitating a sharp learning curve to fully understand the market and the technology. One of the biggest challenges was to source a reliable power supply at a competitive cost whilst another was designing a building that was as green as possible, despite being very power-hungry. PMB Holdings has developed many green buildings in the past and we have been carrying over our experience in this area to the MK DataVault.

It is this transference of real estate skills to the Data Centre market that has enabled us to offer building solutions that are flexible to the needs of our future clients and deliver the most efficient, environmentally friendly product.

What is your biggest achievement over the past 12 months?

There have been many personal achievements but being part of a team that has continued to strengthen PMB Holdings’ position in the real estate market by investing in new areas and bringing projects like the MK DataVault to fruition has been the biggest.

Another major achievement has been to gain speculative debt finance for a large City of London office development at 8 Fenchurch Place. Such speculative finance is extremely scarce in the current economic climate and track-record and reputation are everything. It is a measure of the company’s past history and success that we have been able to secure finance when others have not.

What is your biggest focus for the coming year?

We intend to continue to make good use of current capital and banking relationships and will continue to invest in growth sectors such as the data centre market. PMB Holdings sold the bulk of its portfolio in 2006/2007 and thanks to this the company is well-capitalised. Many firms are unable to invest as the effects of the recession continue to linger, but it is key to the future success of the business that we seek out new opportunities in order to produce tomorrow’s profits.

Now construction of the MK DataVault is underway, we need to focus on populating it. Pre- letting and securing tenants is not easy and this will be a key focus over the coming year.

If you had to choose one top piece of advice for someone just starting out in business, or is currently operating within your industry sector, what would it be?

Don’t be afraid to take risks but make sure they are calculated and do your research thoroughly. It is important to identify new growth markets and identify trends and move with the times. Be quick on your feet and don’t be tempted to stay in familiar territory because of previous success. PMB Holdings identified the data centre market as a rapidly developing industry to be involved in as the growth in new technology will clearly remain a leading trend for the foreseeable future.

Can you share with us your view of the current landscape of business, in this region or generally and where your organisation sits within it?

The current landscape is undoubtedly a very challenging one. You have to choose your market sectors carefully. Both tenants and bank finance are difficult to secure. The unstable economic climate means Europe is currently the great unknown for many investors and PMB Holdings is focusing its capital on London property and Data Centres in the South East. We see London as its own City State with its own economy and we believe that it is where the real growth will be over the next few years in the mainstream real estate market.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by PMB Holdings .