Jamie Binstock has established a successful career in real estate with highlights that include working on the sale of London’s famous ‘Gherkin’. Now he is establishing a network of OEs interested or involved in real estate and is appealing for alumni to get in touch.
After initially publicising the nascent network through LinkedIn, he gained a list of some 40-50 names, but would like to hear from more QE old boys ahead of the network’s first meeting.
“The purpose is twofold,” says Jamie, (OE 1993–2000). “Firstly, it’s just putting people in touch with each other and doing some business. But it’s also getting people to give something back to the School by visiting and explaining to the boys what real estate is all about – for example, that it’s more about who you know than what you know.”
Jamie works for global real estate giant Savills, where he is an Associate Director – Central London & International Investment. “I buy and sell office buildings in London for clients,” he says.
After leaving QE, he graduated in Commerce from the University of Birmingham. He then took an MA in Property Valuation & Law from Cass Business School, before becoming a Qualified Chartered Surveyor with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2006.
After two posts as a real estate investment analyst, he joined Deloitte in 2009, working initially on distressed real estate for a number of banking and principal clients.
In June 2014, he became Assistant Director: Central London Investment for Deloitte and it was while in this post that he was involved in the deal to sell the ‘Gherkin’ – or 30 St Mary Axe, as it is officially known. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
He joined Savills in 2016.
Jamie, who is married with two sons, aged five and one, keeps up-to-date with events at QE, where his father, Tony Binstock, is a Governor. And he adds: “My best friends are still those I made at School and they are all very successful.” They include his contemporaries, Simon Walton, Daniel Travers and Adam Sprei.
Jamie would welcome contact from OEs interested in the new network via LinkedIn.