Remit Consulting's Tenth Anniversary

Remit Consulting celebrated its tenth anniversary with a birthday party at the King's Fund HQ in Cavendish Square, London attended by over 170 guests.

Guest speaker at the event was the London Evening Standard's commercial property columnist and former Estates Gazette editor, Peter Bill, who entertained the audience with stories of how the property industry’s attitudes to information have changed over the last decade.

Large, helium filled green and purple balloons, a feature of the celebrations, were a reference to our logo and two were strategically tied to the railings outside the venue to highlight the party’s entrance to the guests.  Sadly, the inclement May weather on the day meant that the two four-foot diameter decorations were ripped from their moorings away and were last seen travelling at speed towards the BBC’s Broadcasting House.  Any news on the missing decorations will be gladly received.

Property Week featured more photographs of the party in their 'Morning After' series.

Katie England - show jumping update 2

What has been happening in the last two months?  Well, after much soul searching we have finally decided that Merlin is going to have a few months running in the country in horsey heaven. He needs to have a bit of a rest at the moment. Such a lucky boy! Hopefully he will come back better than ever!

Danny and I have been going really well in our competitions, recently winning a showjumping competiton sponsored by Horseland Saddlery. It took place at Tamworth and is known as the Tamworth Indoor Showjumping Competition. It was a 6 hour drive from Sydney but worth it as I won the 75cm Open Showjumping.   My  prize was  a new saddle cloth, ear bonnet for Danny and a gorgeous rosette! It was a three day competion in which we competed in two rounds - the 90cm and the 75cm competition on two of the three days.  We got two rails down in our first two rounds. Danny wasn't very happy and tried to run away while I was getting on! This proved to me that he cannot be lazy and that he can go a lot faster than he normally goes!

The second day we had two clear rounds other than missing a turn for going too fast! That meant a 4 fault penalty so I was not placed.  On a good note, the whole Gostelow team had an awesome weekend with nearly everyone placing in their classes.

The following weekend, we also had a great day at a closer show, only 45 minutes instead of 6 hours! The show was at Sydney Jump Club in Clarendon, near the Hawkesbury River.  Danny and I did the 80 cm and 85 cm placing in both. We started off not going too well and me losing a stirrup! We managed to still get over all the jumps with no rails down and ended up being placed 4th.  The second round went much better and we were a lot calmer and neater, and we placed 5th.

The next exciting event is the trip to Germany in April but we have one last show the day before I leave!  I'm hoping it will go as well as these two went! Danny and I are starting to "click" and I feel like he has more trust in me which is a great feeling.  Germany is only a few days away and I'm definitely counting down the days! I am so excited to ride the big German warmbloods and go to the World Cup in Sweden and hopefully meet some professional riders. I also can't wait to shop over there and bring lots of presents back for my boys! I have started looking for new horses over here and will hopefully try some before going over there to look. Merlin will be coming back after the trip to Germany and I am planning to ride him enough to be able to lease him to someone so he can teach them as much as he has taught me!  

Katie England

 

Katie England - show jumping update 1

With the 2012 Olympics being a resounding success, and sporting optimism still in the air, Remit has decided to sponsor a budding 2016 Olympian - Katie England. Katie is a talented show jumper with big plans for the international stage. We'll be posing regular updates from Katie about her show jumping progress throughout 2013 - her first update is below:

"Hi, I'm Katie England, I am 16 and aspiring to be a international show jumper. I have been riding since I was around 5 or 6 and have had weekly lessons since then.

I have leased (paid someone else to ride their horse) horses since I was ten and bought my first horse last March. My aim is to be picked for the Australian Show Jumping Team and try and get as far as the Olympics. At the moment, I have a little black pony called Merlin (official name Moondancer) who is extremely naughty! He has been jumping about 90cm and has made some good progress but has now got too small for me so I am also leasing a horse called Danny who is young so I'm helping train him up. He is 6 years old and very green. I will be entering him in all the local shows to help him improve and to gain more experience.

We went to our first competition at the beginning of February and entered the 85 cm. We had a great clear round and he really showed his jumping ability! I cant wait to go to the NSW indoor championships with him in the next few weeks!

In April 2013 I am going on a equestrian tour with my team and coach, Gosteslows Equestrian Team, to Germany to visit the German warmblood stables and to see the World Cup! I am also hoping to find a new horse over there that I can take to Young Riders which is show jumping over 1.30m. I want a horse that is over 16 hands and younger so that he hasn't reached his full potential yet and we can unlock it and go higher. The horses in Germany are amazing and I cant wait to ride them and maybe own one!

I am so excited to share my progress with you all and hope you will follow me!

Katie."

Melita's Coast of Britain walk

Melita set off on her walk around the coast of Britain this weekend. On Saturday morning Melita and Bridget met up at the Monument in London to start the walk, while Andrew and his family came along to document the start of the first leg in photographs. Both Melita and Bridget got off to a strong start, following the course of the Thames to Belvedere on the Saturday, before making it to Gravesend on Sunday – a total of 33 miles over the weekend.

To read more about Melita’s walk and find out how she is getting on, you can visit her website here.

A very Dutch Christmas

Our Dutch Remit colleagues celebrated Christmas with a workshop at cooking studio Verbijsterend, located in the heart of Amsterdam. They prepared  a number of delicious French dishes and after two hours of hard work they could finally enjoy the food and relax with a nice glass or two of wine!

Merry Christmas!

Remit's Christmas party at the Gherkin was a riotous success this year! Good food and champagne was enjoyed by all. The annual quiz went down a treat and it was clear some had been practising their dance moves! We hope you enjoy the photos below.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Remit Consulting and a happy New Year.

Cat Bull - Olympic torch bearer

Cat Bull, the daughter of Rod Bull, one of our associates, was chosen to carry the Olympic torch recently through Keighley, West Yorkshire.

Cat was nominated to carry the torch by Arthritis Research UK. Arthritis Research UK is a charity very close to Cat's heart as she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 14 and had a hip replacement by the time she was 20. Despite her illness she has spent a large amount of her time raising awareness of the disease and raising money through sponsorship for the charity, including completing an impressive four London marathons and climbing mount Kilimanjaro. For more information, you can read Cat's profile on the Olympic website.

JLL Property Triathlon - The Aftermath

On 25th May 2012 a group of 15 Remitters descended on Dorney Lake, determined to rock the Triathlon world with our outstanding technique and superior performances.

Ahem, well, maybe it didn't quite pan out like that, but we did have a fantastic day. Highlights included:

- How lucky we were  with the weather - it was too hot for running and we got through quite a lot of sun cream (quite a lot of which got into Andrew Waller's eye just before he was due to cycle), but the recent rain and storms would have been horrible;

- Both mixed relay teams crossing the finish line together after numerous overtakes by both teams (The Ferrari F1 team would have been proud);

- The quiet and efficient support of all Remitters, both competing and supporting. Competitors were running around on errands and getting things sorted for each other moments before their star turns while our fantastic support team provided t-shirts, food, drink, sun cream and plenty of pats on the back.

Our 3 teams put in the following times:

- Trimit (Karl, Richard and Philip): 1 hour, 33 minutes

- Remit Racers (Andrew Ward, Bridget and Fred): 1 hour, 41 minutes

- Resuscitation (Steph, Andrew Waller and Ho Yei): 1 hour, 41 minutes

Some competitors hobbled away from the day with the desire to compete again next year, so we hope to see you there in 2013!

 

JLL Property Triathlon - Training Update 3

With just 2 days to go until the big event, last minute nerves are starting to set in. Bad ankles, awkward wetsuits and badly placed handle bars have chosen this week to make themselves apparent.

Unfortunately Neil has had to step down from the Triathlon this week - we were very much looking forward to having him on our team. However we have found a replacement in the form of Richard Mountain, an experienced cyclist who will be cycling with Team Trimit.

Andrew Waller

I’ve just got back from probably my last ride out before the event - aaah.

While out, I discovered I am invisible, at least to the two idiots in black German sports cars! To put this in perspective, I am 6'4" tall on top of a large-framed bike in a bright yellow jersey travelling pretty slowly.

Bridget

The cycling is really boring... Mustn't forget to download a good selection of music, or better still an audiobook on my iPod for the big day.

Strangely it's not my legs or the breathing that give me trouble, it’s my hands and wrists that really start to hurt around 10km. Pity I never mastered 'look no hands' when I was a child.

Ho Yei

I did the run yesterday outside. It was really cold, but went ok. I still have an aching ankle from a minor injury last week. I thought it was getting better as I did not have any pain whilst I was walking, but running is still a problem.

Andrew Ward

Tried on my wet suit and took to the water at High Gate at the weekend. I can swim fine in the pool without the suit but I’m having problems keeping to front crawl with the restriction of a tight fitting suit.

I did think of doing a dip in The Solent at the weekend but decided that was just too much!

Fred

Statistics from my recent cycling tour of Italy (it’s a shame I am running not cycling in the triathlon):

- Total distance cycled: 514.69km (Over 1/3rd of the Land's End to John O'Groats and 2.7 times the length of the M25)

- Total time cycling: 28 hours 10 minutes 22 seconds (99 hours less than it took someone to get lost in a Utah Canyon and saw his arm off with a penknife)

- Total elevation gain: 10,188m (1.2 x the height of Everest or cycling up Snowdon 9.4 times)

- Average speed: 18.3km/hr (half the speed of a giraffe)

- Average Heart Rate: 124 bpm (same as the resting heart rate for a cat)

- Max Heart Rate: 188 bpm (11 less than Lance Armstrong's max HR)

- Total Calories burnt: 14,594 kCal (over 58 McDonald's hamburgers)

Steph

I’m struggling with last minute nerves, particularly about getting into the water and going into thermal shock. In an effort to stave this off I’ve been collecting neoprene mitts, and managed to pinch a rash vest (in XL!) from a neighbour. I have 2 days left to hunt down some neoprene booties to keep my toes in working order.

JLL Property Triathlon - Training Update 2

The weather has not been prime training weather (unless you’re a swimmer!) and I think it’s clear we have all been slightly preoccupied with on-going thoughts of cake. Andrew’s even threatened to go and stay with Neil unless someone at home bakes him a cake.

Steph

Last week I took delivery of my first ever wetsuit. I was concerned about the fitting as it bunched up around the back of my knees (maybe I have odd shaped knees?), and I couldn’t do the zip all the way up to my neck (has my neck always been in an awkward place?).

But all was revealed this weekend once I was informed I had been wearing it back-to-front for a week! Suddenly it fits much better… Doh!

Reality of parading around in a wetsuit has hit me hard - no more cakes until after I’ve completed the race. Oh, just one you say? Well, it can’t hurt can it…

Andrew Waller

The bike is now fixed securely on the turbo trainer and, boy, is it hard work! It must get easier than this and even the road circuit seemed a breeze compared with 35 minutes of interval training.

Maybe I need some more cake.

Neil

My observations from this morning's cycle are:

- How come the wind was against me in both directions?

- Thank goodness there will be no cars heading towards me at Dorney!

- Fellow cyclists you have nothing to worry about

- 600 miles in 6 days is no way to prepare for 20k in under 40 minutes

- My excuse is that I was going to peak in July which is when the event is normally held.

Ho hum, lunch beckons, best keep off the cupcakes. Who is the best baker? We could have special Remit Tri cupcakes on the day as we finish?

Bridget

My training schedule is shot to pieces. Yesterday was going to be another ride-out - but what can you do in weather like this?
What can you do? Well - I'm buying a rowing machine :) If this rain carries on we'll probably all be in boats.

Keep at it! The cakes will be all the sweeter if we're not worrying about the calories.

Andrew Ward

Might venture back to the pool tonight, but fear it is getting a habit and don't want to overdue this fitness lark!

Fred

Tough tri-athletes like us shouldn't be put off by the rain.

[15 minutes later...]

It is a bit miserable out there I must admit. Will have another cup of tea.

JLL Property Triathlon - Training Update 1

Here's how some of us are getting on with training, with less than 5 weeks to go:

Bridget

Great! I cycled the full distance for the first time this morning. It’s been a few years since I last cycled 14 miles. It’s my hands and arms that ache! We don't have hills round here :) only the wind. I rode along the 3mile guided bus route - 4 times. And had to go out for cheesecake after. Maybe I'll be spared by the rain tomorrow.

Andrew

Bridget inspired me and I plucked my road bike from the wall and got on for my first road ride for over 12 years. By pure chance the route I chose was just under 12 miles – flat and downhill are fine – the uphills are not nice. Can you get a granny cog for a road bike?

Neil

My training this week has been:

16th April - cycle in to London, attend meeting, get ready to cycle home but find bike has been stolen so take train home!
18th -  20 lengths of swimming, then realise I am doing the cycle!
19th - devour two homemade cupcakes
20th - 20k cycle in between showers, another cupcake Not a regime I suggest following so next week more cycling, fewer cup cakes

Steph

My swimming training so far has consisted of long baths (acclimatisation), trying to source a wetsuit for a short adult and looking up my local pool timetable. I have scheduled Mondays and weekends for training and will start in earnest this week… promise!

JLL Property Triathlon - 9 weeks to go

Remit are entering the JLL Property Triathlon for the first time. We managed to get together three relay teams (no-one seemed willing to commit themselves to the whole race) as follows:

REsuscitation:

Steph Yates – swimming

Andrew Waller – cycling

Ho Yei Chow – running

Remit Racers:

Andrew Ward – swimming

Bridget Hardy – cycling

Fred Pilkington – running

Trimit:

Karl Hughes – swimming

Neil Webster – cycling

Philip Walker – running

Neil has some particularly good training under his belt as he successfully completed the 600km Cycle to Cannes earlier this month, raising more than £5,000 for Coram.

Some of us are more enthusiastic and positive than others, but we could all really use some support! If you are going to be there, get in touch as we’d love to meet up (once we’ve caught our breath and found the bar), and if you want to come down to cheer us on you are more than welcome.

Contact us.

Neil Webster Cycles to Cannes!

Neil Webster, one of our Associates, is participating in ‘Cycle to Cannes’ in aid of Coram. The good news is that he made it to Calais yesterday! To help Neil and his cycling partner Andrew Ludiman reach their £6,000 target please visit their donations website and to keep up to date with progress please visit their blog here.

Remit Consulting NL and Ladies Hockey

We have sponsored the after-match skirts of the Ladies 1 (in Dutch DAMES 1) team of Union Hockey, which plays in the Dutch national hockey league.

Our Connection? Hans Gerritsen's daughter Lisa plays for the team.

Remit sponsors the Watford Ladies FC Tournament 2010

Estates Today and Remit lent a hand to the WLFC by organising the photography for their summer tournament. After learning a lot last year, this year's photography was better organised and websites were populated quickly with thousands of photographs of the 108 teams that took part from all over the country. Sales of the photos contributed several hundred pounds to the club which is run by a resourceful group of volunteers and covers all age ranges from U9 to Senior teams.

Here are some of the lighter moments during the day.

Philip Walker runs 10k for Working Families

Philip Walker completed the Asics British 10K London Run 2010 on Sunday 11th July in a time of 51 minutes - one minute faster than last year. There are some before and after photos below

Apparently there were about 30,000 runners. The sun came out strongly for the last half of my run which made for an even redder face than normal but it was a great run - Philip's co-runners came in all shapes and sizes and ages!

Philip raised money for Working Families. Well done from all of us!

 

 

IPF Dinner - June 2010

We were pleased to join the IPF dinner on 23^rd June - the England World Cup match failed to deter an audience of 1000 who were entertained by the topical and very funny Rory Bremner.

 

 

Christmas in Amsterdam

This year we were the guests of our Dutch colleagues who laid on not only a splendid agenda of sightseeing, coffee and the occassional beer, but also a visit by Sintaklaas in the full Dutch tradition.

Sinterklaas appeared to be rather too well briefed about each of us but nevertheless presented us each with a chocolate letter as a gift and went on his way across the roof tops of Holland.

Thanks to Hans, Hans and Antoine for arranging fine weather in addition to the day's activities and to Alex for taking the photos of the day.

Christmas 2009 party in Dusseldorf

Thanks to Rudi from our Munich office, we all met in Dusseldorf for a trip to the Christmas markets and plenty of Gluhwein.

Here are a few snaps from our trip - see if you can recognise the faces.

 

Hans made a jolly Father Christmas, and we were all charmed with the traditional wooden toys and Christmas decorations in the markets. The weather was a bit nippy, but nothing a traditional German feast of pork, potatoes and sauerkraut couldn't handle. We can also heartily recommend the hot chocolate with lashings of cream and a tot of rum that the market traders were providing.