Everard Goodman ?

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Everard Goodman, 76, set up London-based Tops Estates, making £130m when it was sold in 2005. The same year he gave £5m to educational and medical charities.

Yorkshire grit - Everard Goodman

By Natalie Stevenson - propertyweek.com

Everard Goodman, chairman of Tops Estates, has been the subject of controversy in the past, but few could doubt his devotion to the city of his birth.
'I don't usually speak to the press because I'm NOT in favour of piecemeal comments in place of the full story,' says Tops Estates chairman Everard Goodman. 'Let me ask you a question: why have you come to see me?'

As founder of a company with almost £500m worth of shopping centre assets, £160m of that invested in Leeds, 2.5m sq ft (232,256 sq m) of shopping centre space under its ownership and several high-profile disagreements to his name, the question could almost be a joke.

As a quoted property company, responsible to its shareholders, Tops could certainly be more media friendly. But this is just one of many incongruities arising from this public company being run by a private man.

While the net asset value has risen 73% in 10 years from 239p to 413p as at 30 September 2003, Tops' share price performance has not been spectacular. It was only at the end of last year that it bounced back to its 1994 price but is now on a good run and for the first time stands at above 300p.

There has been speculation over whether Goodman will take Tops private. One of Goodman's contemporaries, Manny Davidson formerly of ASDA Property, sold Asda to British Land in 2001, prompting speculation as to why Goodman hadn't taken Tops private or sold it.

Added to this is the fact that if a company does not embrace the potential benefits of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), it could be missing a trick. Analysts agree that Tops' current relatively low dividend would make it a good candidate for the REIT structure, increasing dividends and alleviating corporation tax.

But Goodman, now in his 70s, continues to run the type of old-school patriarchal property company that has secretaries rather than press officers.

Goodman has a 48% stake in the business, which announced interim pretax profit of £5.27m for the half year ending September 2003. With a dividend of 1.05p a share – a 5% increase – there are no flashy rewards for investors but the company has been doing well since the £34m sale of Ladysmith Shopping Centre in Ashton-under-Lyne last year. These accounts show the solid characteristics of a traditional property company.

It's a management style that has its detractors. His fervent dedication to Yorkshire, while bringing the company much success, has also brought some criticism of the traditional way that Tops is run.

Disagreements with 7% Tops shareholder Delancey, headed by Jamie Ritblat, over the family-run style of the company dragged the company into the media glare. Ritblat objected when Goodman wanted to up his stake in the company beyond 50%, giving his family control of the business.

Goodman asked shareholders for permission to buy back 10% of Tops' shares at an extraordinary general meeting, which would raise the Goodman family's stake from 47.5% to 52.7%. Goodman asked for a waiver of any requirement under rule 9 of the Takeover Code for he and his family to make an offer for Tops, as a result of going above the 50% level.

But Delancey sent a letter to other Tops shareholders urging them to vote against the waiver, which it dubbed the 'Whitewash Resolution', and said it could 'seriously prejudice shareholders' interests'. Ritblat declined to comment on Tops.

Delancey had argued that Tops was frozen in time but Goodman's tenacity and dedication to Leeds and the company he founded has since shown little sign of changing. And Tops shareholders and players in the Leeds market agree that whatever their criticisms of Tops, Goodman is good at what he does.

'My father was a surveyor who grew up in Leeds so I have a family background in property,' he says. Starting as a chartered accountant his career during the 1950s and 1960s was varied. But he always had a hand in property, acquiring and redeveloping in Yorkshire.

Goodman's grandfather and father were born in Leeds in the 19th century but he was prised away from the town he loves in 1950 when he moved with his parents to London. If anything, this distance made him strengthen his links with Leeds, not least in terms of property.

In 1956, at the age of 24, Goodman bought the freehold of a hardware store at 33, 35 and 37 Albion Street, Leeds. Today, JJB a Sports superstore is on the same ground, forming part of Goodman's Leeds Shopping Plaza. The purchase was not impressive foresight, it was just a part of what has made Everard Goodman successful: belief in Leeds.

Economic resurgence

When asked why he invests in Yorkshire, Goodman responds with what could be taken as ferociousness but what is, in fact, disbelief that anyone would invest elsewhere.

“I buy property in leeds where I have always believed that opportunities must be developed ”

Everard Goodman

'I buy property in Leeds, where I grew up and where I have always believed that opportunities must be developed. The economic resurgence in the area is one of many reasons to be proud of the city.'

Everard Goodman bought a small engineering works in Stanningley Road in 1961, which he relocated to Pudsy's Grangefield Industrial Estate just outside Leeds. On that site he bought a former mill in 1966 and by 1971 it had been developed from 20,000 sq ft (1,858 sq m) to a 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sq m) factory.

After accruing a portfolio of northern property, including Thorntons Sports Store', Langleys furniture store Lands Lane and Albion Place, in 1972 Goodman accepted a bid for it and it was not until 1984 that he created Tops Estates, floating on the stock exchange in January 1993.

After buying more property in Yorkshire for investment, Goodman bought the Bond Street Centre, known today as the Leeds Shopping Plaza. Four years later, in 1998 the centre won a British Council of Shopping Centres award for best shopping centre refurbishment in Britain.

But Goodman did not stop there. He continued to develop the plaza and acquired the former Provincial Building Society site and the Co-op department store on Albion Street.

Leeds had developed into a city dominated by many arcades and Goodman argued for more than 20 years that Leeds needed larger shopping centres.

'I wrote a paper to Leeds Council in 1994, outlining my vision for the city,' he says, showing characteristic forthrightness. 'My vision has not changed since then but Tops is now doing its best to make this happen.'

Goodman brought the shopping plaza down to street level, eradicating concrete stairs, and built a route through it from City Square to Albion Street and Briggate. 'The future of retail development is to put the consumer first and our strategy is also to prioritise the disabled, elderly and the infirm,' he says.

To provide good access for shoppers and larger shops, Goodman says teamwork is required. But after wrangles with USS over opposing planning applications for Leeds Trinity (see box below), it is clear that he aims to lead any team that is formed. Goodman's plans for the shopping centre redevelopment began with an initial attempt to get landlords together but when only Marks & Spencer agreed to work alongside Tops to reach a resolution, the difficulties had only just begun.

Some might have walked away from the ongoing struggle, but Everard Goodman has continued to invest financially and emotionally in what he sees as the 'heart of England'.

Goodman pulls himself away from his notes, for here is a well-prepared man, and reminisces about his childhood in Leeds. Goodman dwells little on his parents and home life and instead recalls the impressions made by Leeds Vicarage in Headingley, north Leeds, Leeds town hall, and the 17th century Mill Hill chapel which was rebuilt in 1848.

Goodman later demolished a building that obscured the view of the Unitarian Mill Hill chapel from Leeds Shopping Plaza. 'The chapel is very important to me. It's next to the old Bond Street Centre which obscured the view of it. We've just agreed to buy gates for the chapel – it's not all about property interests.'

Memories of the chapel are punctuated by a vision of Goodman as a boy, leading the Cub pack in Leeds. Larger in presence than in actual stature, it is no surprise that the faultlessly polite yet intimidating and intense Goodman ruled the roost as a child.

'The principle shopping street in Leeds was Boar Lane and leading cloth merchants, gentry and very successful people in Leeds worshipped at the nearby Holy Trinity. On the spire, there was a golden fleece representing great wealth.'

Short journey

Although not planning to move back to Leeds because of his six grandchildren, Goodman says the fact that he can travel from London to Leeds in two hours is one of its biggest selling points. Fanatical opera lovers, Goodman and his wife of 48 years, frequently visit the theatres in Leeds. 'I think that Leeds has enough good venues but it doesn't use them,' he says, visibly frustrated by anything that holds Leeds, and himself, back.

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Land Securities shops for Everard Goodman's Tops Estates

By Saeed Shah - independent.co.uk

Everard Goodman, the chairman of Tops Estates, is to walk away with £120m after agreeing to sell the quoted property company he set up more than two decades ago to Land Securities.

Everard Goodman, the chairman of Tops Estates, is to walk away with £120m after agreeing to sell the quoted property company he set up more than two decades ago to Land Securities.

The deal valued the ordinary shares of Tops, which owns shopping centres, at £236.8m in cash, delivering Mr Goodman £113m for his 47.7 per cent stake in the shares. In addition, he will receive about £7m for the convertible loan stock he owns. Land Securities will also be taking on £207.3m of net debt, giving the deal an enterprise value of £517.2m.

Mr Goodman, 73, set up Tops Estates in September 1982, with £500,000 worth of assets. He floated it on the London Stock Exchange in early 1983 at the equivalent of 2.5p a share. The acquisition of Tops is worth 515p a share.

Mr Goodman said yesterday: "Land Securities is well placed to continue to develop further the assets of Tops Estates and to capitalise on its existing resources, knowledge and experience in the town and city centre shopping centre development market."

Retirement does not lie ahead for Mr Goodman, who has other business interests. "It'll be back to the grindstone for me... you've got to be creative," he said.

Mr Goodman first floated a company, another property venture, 46 years ago, for which he accepted a takeover bid in 1971 - after he had suffered a near-fatal car accident.

For Land Securities, the deal increases its presence in the retail sector. Last year the company decided to sell out of industrial property to focus on retail and offices.

Francis Salway, the chief executive of Land Securities, said: "Land Securities has one of the leading property businesses in the UK, with over £8bn currently invested. The acquisition of Tops Estates will further strengthen our position in the retail sector, enabling us to capitalise on the synergies arising from managing an enlarged portfolio of shopping centres."

Tops Estates' property portfolio comprises shopping centres with a total gross area of about 230,000 square metres in seven locations - three in the North of England, three in the Midlands and one in London. The property portfolio was independently valued at £566.7m.

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British Council of Shopping Centres - General - BCSC honours Everard Goodman

propertymall.com

Retail property organisation BCSC has honoured property developer Everard Goodman with a lifetime honorary membership for his industry achievements and charitable work. The award was presented by BCSC President Bob De Barr at a BCSC industry luncheon held on 28 September.

Goodman was recognized for his contribution to the UK shopping centre industry and his considerable charity work with a range of UK charities. He built up Tops Estates before selling his holding to Land Securities in May of this year. The portfolio included seven shopping centres with adjacent office properties with centres such as the Victoria Centre in Harrogate, Clayton Square in Liverpool, the award-winning Leeds Shopping Plaza, and the West 12 Shopping Centre in Shepherd's Bush, London.

Commented BCSC President Bob De Barr, who presented Goodman with a certificate, a BCSC medallion and a pair of opera binoculars to reflect his love of the opera:

"I was personally delighted that the BCSC Executive decided to recognize Everard with a lifetime honorary membership. His career and achievements with Tops Estates are well known in property industry circles. What is not so well known is his tireless work for charity and the fact that he spent much of his early life as a retailer acquiring and building the publicly-listed Collingwood Jewellery Chain which was sold in 1972 to a publicly listed property company. His time as a retailer built and reinforced his belief in customer service which the BCSC recognizes as a key issue in a challenging retail climate."

Goodman, who was born in Yorkshire in 1932, said of his honour:

"I have been fortunate enough to enjoy 25 great years in the shopping centre industry and am delighted to accept this honour from BCSC. I had been an accountant by training but based on the design flaws I saw in the early stages of the shopping centre industry here in the UK I was prompted to move into shopping centre development and ownership. It was a career move that worked well.
"What really concerned me was that architects and developers were not recognizing that the first client they should be designing for is the consumer, then the retailer, then the developer. I decided to do something to remedy that."

Everard Goodman added:

"Now we moving to lifestyle centres with more focus on consumer needs. Shopping centres and other retail destinations are part of the fabric of life and having seen that happen has been quite rewarding."

Goodman's charity work has been important to him. He recalls:

"I started out collecting on Monday evenings in the dark -- in 1943 -- knocking on doors with a collection box for Mrs. Churchill's Red Cross Aid to Russia Fund. I guess you could say the charity ethic stuck with me. I have particularly enjoyed supporting medical research projects such as the work going on at St. George's Hospital and I am proud to have provided, amongst other features, the beautiful gardens at the Nightingale House Old Age Home in Wandsorth, amongst my other charity work."

Goodman joins an exclusive group of only seven BCSC Honorary Members named since the organisation was created in 1983. The list includes former BCSC Presidents Peter Spriddell, Harold Couch, Roger Lucas and Ian Northen as well as International Council of Shopping Centres (Europe) founder member Jean Louis-Solal and Albert Sussman, first head of staff for ICSC. Donald Gordon, the chairman of Liberty International, was honoured in 2004.

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British couple recognised - Everard Goodman

by: Leslie Bunder - somethingjewish.co.uk

Bar-Ilan University in Israel has named its Faculty of Life Sciences after Mina and Everard Goodman, a British couple who have devoted nearly 50 years of support to the Ramat Gan educational institute.

Areas of work that will be supported by the facuulty which is being given a donation said to be in the millions includes: cancer, infectious diseases and environmental issues. The donation will also help bring back scientists to Israel so that it will compete with the best research centres in the world.

"You chose to give your name to the fastest-growing faculty at Bar-Ilan University. We are at the cutting-edge of research that, with your help, will benefit mankind and impact upon future generations," said Bar-Ilan University Rector Professor Yosef Yeshurun at a special ceremony to mark the opening.

The London-based couple are known for their generous support of causes both in Israel as well as the UK by donating millions of pounds. This has included a recent Ł110,000 grant to support tests into Prostrate Cancer at St George's University of London.

As chairman of Tops Estates, Everard Goodman built up a property empire that was taken over by property giant Land Securities in a Ł517m deal last year which has enabled him to devote additional time and resources to help charities and educational institutes.

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BCSC Honours Everard Goodman

propertyexecutive.co.uk

Retail property organisation BCSC has honoured property developer Everard Goodman with a lifetime honorary membership for his industry achievements and charitable work. The award was presented by BCSC President Bob De Barr at a BCSC industry luncheon held on 28 September.

Goodman was recognized for his contribution to the UK shopping centre industry and his considerable charity work with a range of UK charities. He built up Tops Estates before selling his holding to Land Securities in May of this year. The portfolio included seven shopping centres with adjacent office properties with centres such as the Victoria Centre in Harrogate, Clayton Square in Liverpool, the award-winning Leeds Shopping Plaza, and the West 12 Shopping Centre in Shepherd's Bush, London.