After 15 years at CBRE, having had a great time transacting over $12 Billion of Real Estate, I went back to running our own business again, this time with my son Sam, who is a real estate attorney and an ex-broker for a CBRE affiliate. It’s been over 8 years now and now Ben has joined us after leaving the army.

Our prime aim is to offer unbiased advice and to push the transactional barriers of new markets and unlock opportunities throughout the Globe, in particular the UK, Europe, America and Africa.

Market dynamics are changing. The particular challenge in this emerging post Covid19 era enhanced by political flux, is going to be liquidity for all businesses and we are going to see monetisation playing a big role in bridging the gap until the markets return to some normality.

Having worked all over the World since the early 80’s I’ve seen the effects of crisis in markets and have learned a lot of the lessons. You never stop learning and this current series of crisis is going to leave a unique legacy.

We are currently working on projects to reduce costs through consolidation for corporates, raising capital to pay for the change and strengthen the balance sheet through monetisation or redevelopment to match a different market.

This includes pushing boundaries with pre-structured transactions that we take to the marketplace which make it easier for international investors to bid for, particular in the more complex opportunities and the corporate is already comfortable with the parameters of the transactions, in particular IFRS16 treatment.

Since leaving CBRE and forming Balanced View we have been involved in some significant work Globally and have managed close to a Billion $ of restructuring, consolidation and monetisation to date. in 2024 we raised over $200 million for projects and properties.

We are now involved in some interesting office, hotel and mixed use schemes and developments in London & the UK, Europe, America and Africa. Our initial projects as part of the regeneration of Johannesburg and its new emerging property markets have also led to other amazing opportunities in South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and other African Cities and Countries.

Challenging times but we are coming out the other side.

After 15 years at CBRE as the Head of Corporate Capital Markets, having transacted over $12 Billion of Real Estate throughout Europe and Africa, John Wilson set up the company Balanced View with his sons Sam and Ben. Sam had previously qualified as a real estate lawyer in London and worked in real estate consulting and finance for Broll in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ben has recently left the British Army.

The business, based in London and Johannesburg, has had significant success since its formation 8 years ago, transacting and advising on over $1 Billion of assets and financing.

We are now regarded as one of the leading Corporate Real Estate advisors in our own right internationally with a strong knowledge, network and experience in Africa.

Balanced View has raised over $200 million of capital for real estate transactions and developments in 2024, of which half was in Africa.

In particular, Balanced View’s core skills are as follows:

1. Direct Relationships with a Wide, Global Network of Investors, Developers, and Best-in-Class Service Providers.

2. Particular focus and access to Multiple Sources of Finance in Africa and South Africa.

3. In-House expertise with Second-to-None understanding in Developments, Masterplanning, and Disposals, ensuring Global Best-in-Class Advice for Value-Add Services.

4. (Leveraging on the Above) Advice that is truly impartial and, in the Clients’ Best Interests.

5. Second-to-None understanding of Clients’ Investment Finance/Treasury Parameters, Corporate Finance, Development Finance.

6. Relationships with Large Corporates and the Experience & Expertise to Work with them.

Highlights to date:

Africa

• Masterplanning and marketing of a significant site in Yaoundé, The Capital City of Cameroon.

• Running the consolidation project for Barclays Africa (Absa Bank) for their 15,000 Johannesburg employees. Reducing the floorplate by 1 million feet and consolidating to two hubs. Working alongside the Real Estate Team, coordinating all activities with HR, IT and all Operational Functions. Property acquisition and sale.

• Overview of the real estate consolidation throughout Africa in the Barclays Plc/Barclays Africa demerger.

• Sale & Leaseback of a Corporate Regional HQ in Lagos, Nigeria.

• Redevelopment of the Absa Jo’Burg CBD campus using a third party to create a live, work, play environment. Capital saving to Barclays of over ZAR 3 Billion versus their original project recommended by a previous consultant.

• Interim Global Asset Strategy Director for Standard Chartered Bank covering Africa, Middle East & Asia.

• Advising and marketing properties for two real estate funds in Nigeria.

• Over-seeing developments and acquisitions for two UK corporates in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• We are also involved with a philanthropic fund on a number of social housing and urban development projects in Southern and Western Africa.

United Kingdom, Europe and North America

• Masterplanning and sale, with a strong pre-app/re-zoning, of a 9-hectare residential led scheme of a closed plant in Corby, Northamptonshire, England.

• Masterplanning, re-zoning and social redesign of 3 significant sites, office, industrial and mixed use/residential in the Netherlands all sites have been sold in 2024.

• Tenanting and sale of what was a vacant warehouse in Holland, 2024.

• Hotel site acquisition, development agreement and investment sale of a Premier Inn in Hampshire, England.

• Sale & Leaseback of a Veolia Waste Treatment Plant in Poole, Dorset, England.

• Acquisition of properties for an overseas fund, standing investments and developments, predominantly London and Southeast England.

• We have a number of projects underway in North America predominantly the sale of a large industrial site and the regeneration of a manufacturing site to mixed use, both in Tennessee.