Above left to right, speakers included Ellie Bradbury, Mobilisation Manager, urbanbubble, Alexandra Brown, Senior Development Manager, L&G, Jackie Kelly, Group Human Resources Director, WJ, Jodie Cain, Associate Development Manager, WJ & Jessica Way, Development Manager, Titanic Quarter.
Highlights:
- Watkin Jones leads on bringing women together at Women in Property Northern Ireland event
- Multi - partner model brings together diverse expertise, with strong female representation
- Belfast’s build-to-rent market attracting sustained institutional investment, supported by proven delivery capability
Watkin Jones, the UK’s leading developer and manager of residential for rent, recently brought together investors, partners and industry stakeholders for a sold-out Women in Property Northern Ireland event held at its Loftlines development in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. The event not only showcased the scheme and wider market opportunity but also highlighted the depth of female leadership and involvement across the lifecycle of the project.
Organised by Jodie Cain, Associate Development Director at Watkin Jones, the event welcomed over 40 attendees, bringing together L&G as funder, Titanic Quarter Limited as master developer, and urbanbubble as property manager.
The event offered early access to Loftlines ahead of practical completion later this summer, providing a platform to showcase both the partnership model, and the role women are contributing at each stage of delivery, from planning and development through to mobilisation and operations. Designed for renters, Loftlines provides large-scale, professionally managed homes with a suite of resident amenities to meet growing demand for high-quality rental housing in Belfast and support long-term asset performance.
The discussion underlined the strength of Belfast as an emerging build-to-rent market, with increasing institutional capital targeting the city, and schemes such as Loftlines demonstrating the scale, product quality and operating model required to support that investment.
Jodie Cain, Associate Development Director at Watkin Jones, said: “Hosting this event with Women in Property was a clear opportunity to demonstrate the role women are playing in developing schemes like Loftlines. That breadth of capability is critical to bring forward complex, large-scale schemes this event showcased - not just the strength of the development itself, but the strength of the teams behind it.”
Alexandra Brown, Build-to-Rent & PBSA at L&G, stated: “It was great to be part of this event and to celebrate the talented people and partnerships behind a scheme like Loftlines. Developments of this scale rely on bringing together long-term institutional capital with strong development and operational expertise, and it is that collaboration which ultimately drives successful delivery. Belfast presents an attractive opportunity for build-to-rent investment, and Loftlines is a strong example of how confidence in both place and people translates into provision.”
Jessica Way, Development Manager at Titanic Quarter Limited, said: “One of the most rewarding aspects of delivering projects such as Loftlines is seeing the breadth of talent and expertise that women bring to every stage of the development process. From planning and design through to construction, engineering, legal, marketing and operations, women are helping to shape the future of Titanic Quarter. Events like this provide an important opportunity to celebrate their contribution, showcase the wide range of careers available across the built environment, and inspire more women to consider a future in the sector.”
For Watkin Jones, the event provided a platform to clearly demonstrate its role in structuring and delivering complex, partner-led developments, aligning capital, development capability and operational expertise to bring forward large-scale regeneration schemes in key regional markets alongside key partners.
Women in Property hosts a programme of events across the UK, many of which are open to non - members, ranging from workshops and seminars to site visits, networking events, collectively, these provide access to professional development, industry insight and to support and showcase female talent across the built environment sector.