黑洞社区

Vinod Thakrar has a wide smile, bright eyes, an infectious laugh and a terrifying habit of switching the whole lot off in a heartbeat. Hammerson鈥檚 director of project management is as jolly and gregarious as they come, but as anyone who鈥檚 worked for him will tell you, this doesn鈥檛 stop him striking terror into you if it means getting the best results. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 take any prisoners,鈥� he says when asked about the firm鈥檚 reputation as a client. 鈥淎nd I expect an awful lot from the supply chain. I am a strong believer in tough but fair. I have a lot of youngsters coming up to me after projects saying 鈥橤od - so many times during that project I went home and I told my wife or girlfriend, I had a right old bollocking from Vinod today. But I thought about it and learned from it鈥�.鈥�

Thakrar, 52, says he is 鈥渇irm, not ruthless鈥�, but admits there are others who may disagree. 鈥淢y idea of firm isn鈥檛 to be nasty. I treat people how I would want to be treated,鈥� he says earnestly. 鈥淏ut then I guess there may be people out there who think I am a total bastard.鈥� he laughs, the smile firmly back on his face.

It鈥檚 hard to keep up.

Thakrar鈥檚 demanding nature comes from having spent almost 30 years in the industry after moving to the UK from east Africa in 1972 - he started off working on site as a civil engineer for Taylor Woodrow in the early eighties and has spent the past 17 years rising through the ranks at Hammerson overseeing work on projects including West Quay Shopping Centre in Southampton, Cobalt Circus in Bristol and the Bull Ring in Birmingham. Now he is overseeing the client鈥檚 retail and commercial portfolio on the project management side. No surprise then that firms with an eye on the client鈥檚 multimillion pound pipeline of development are banging at his door. Thakrar warns it may take him a while to get around to everyone: 鈥淧eople say I don鈥檛 get back to them. But I will - they will get their chance. But there are only so many people I can meet in 52 weeks each year.鈥�

Anyone who thinks the clients are the ones who come up with the good ideas 鈥� that鈥檚 a load of bollocks

So what鈥檚 the best way to impress him and how does he go about discovering potential new supply chain members? Thakrar says he is aware of the industry鈥檚 perception that Hammerson sticks to the suppliers it knows. But he says that although they do get a lot of repeat business from firms they are familiar with, there is no formal agreement with anyone and that people would 鈥渂e surprised鈥� to learn how much time he spends on the lookout for fresh blood. 鈥淲e鈥檙e actually very flexible. I am always meeting new people and I try to see everyone who approaches me, though this isn鈥檛 the only way I find out about them. I read 黑洞社区 every week to look at who is doing what, winning which project, providing what service and keep an eye on them. I also talk to people on other jobs, other clients to see who they give good feedback on. It鈥檚 amazing how much someone鈥檚 name will come up if they鈥檙e good, you know. And I go on an awful lot of site visits. I look at the work myself and if I like something I will find out who did it.鈥�

He does admit that, because of the large projects Hammerson tends to take on, there are few direct opportunities for small firms, although he says it is always possible for them to win work through the main contractor.

鈥淵ou have to be the best鈥�

With such a dearth of work available at the moment, Thakrar, like most private sector clients, can afford to be more choosy when it comes to selecting a supply chain. As you would expect, he demands the best and says that firms wanting to work for him will have to accept the way Hammerson operates, something that plenty of companies weren鈥檛 too keen on back during the boom times.

鈥淎 few years ago, we would be struggling to find a dozen contractors to take on one of our schemes - they鈥檙e certainly easier to find now. The thing is we do believe that the contractor is the best person to take the risk. Why should we take it on? Some people don鈥檛 like that and think the risk should be shared. I just turn around and say 鈥檒ook, you鈥檙e the man managing the works and we鈥檒l pay you for that. Either you have the skills to manage the risk or you don鈥檛鈥�.鈥�

Thakrar also points to innovation and good ideas as two more of the qualities he looks for in his supply chain. He has no qualms admitting that, as a client, it is not Hammerson鈥檚 job to be 鈥渃lever鈥�, nor would he expect it to be: 鈥淲e want guys who can think and come up with good ideas. Because we鈥檙e not clever - they are. They鈥檙e the guys with the knowledge and we rely on them to tell us what we need to know. Then it鈥檚 up to us to take a view and utilise innovations - but we want someone to come up with them first. Anyone who thinks the clients are the ones who come up with the good ideas 鈥� that鈥檚 a load of bollocks.鈥�

Apart from a willingness to take on risk and the ability to come up with 10 great ideas before breakfast, what else impresses Thakrar? Well, in no particular order, they are: 110% effort, complete and total honesty, a cultural fit, like-minded thinking and a phobia of shortcuts - 鈥渢hey always hurt you鈥�. And he probably expects a degree of comradery and some socialising too. 鈥淚 like to take an interest - down the supply chain to the subcontractors, too. That means a lot of site visits. And a lot of eating, drinking and socialising.鈥� The smile is back.

Where鈥檚 the work?

But Thakrar rounds up his supply chain wish list with a harsh dose of reality. 鈥淚 just wish I had enough work available to give these guys,鈥� he says. And that鈥檚 the problem. Hammerson, like many private developers, has had a pipeline on hold for months and months. Things are starting to creak back into action - Thakrar points to retail projects including Eastgate Quarters in Leeds worth 拢300m, Sevenstone in Sheffield, worth about 拢150m, and commercial schemes in the pipeline such as London Wall Place with an estimated value of 拢170m and Bishops Place in London - another big job with a value put at about 拢300m. But there is no clear idea on when these schemes will get off the ground properly, and Thakrar warns that there are tough times ahead - particularly in retail.

鈥淎 few years ago I would be sat here showing you plans and presentations about all the schemes in the pipeline and what we鈥檙e working on and what鈥檚 about to kick off. But these are different times we live in now. Retail in particular is really tough.

We鈥檙e struggling. Is it because people are tightening their belts? Or internet shopping? I don鈥檛 know, but the fact that we are struggling to get our retail projects off the ground suggests that times ahead will be tough. We have an equity stake in nine shopping centres though so we鈥檙e working out how we can make more money from existing assets, how we can sweat them. Those will be the short-term fixes as a survival strategy.鈥�

The future

Where might things go? What can the industry expect in the future? Thakrar bursts out laughing. 鈥淵ou know what?鈥� he gasps. 鈥淚 went to an event about three years ago and predicted the future of the industry and I got it so wrong. I was so bloody bullish and it was miles off. I am no economist. I wouldn鈥檛 want to try to make another terrible prediction.鈥�

No crystal ball gazing, then, but Thakrar has some words of reassurance for the industry: 鈥淲e are looking at things and we have our eye on an awful lot of office projects. The main thing to say is that it. will. come. back.鈥�