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Creating a different class of housing where renting a home becomes a choice and not a financial necessity.


To be Astir is ‘to be awake and out of bed’. The words encapsulate the energy and enthusiasm that we engender by our passion and vision for creating places for living, working and playing.

The Astir team are invested in our business. We are highly motivated, talented, multi-disciplined developers with more than 100 years of combined experience of operating in London.

We are focused on a single and simple vision that drives everything we do: ‘making living better’.

OUR VISION

imagine a place…

  • where living is fun and happy; in a home and community that is conveniently located, diverse and vibrant with a perfect balance of live, work and play
  • where you can be yourself, feel secure and at home; where you can connect and make friends, yet still enjoy your privacy when needed
  • that works for all stages of life; is flexible and designed around your lifestyle and enhances your wellbeing
  • that is sustainable, evolves with your lifestyle and is not harmful to our planet

We look at living and working from a different perspective from traditional developers and it is this inspiration which brings our vision to life. We are challenging the short-term model in which all developments are sold; to one in which we hold our properties for the long-term and make them available for rent.

This longer-term approach aligns interests, creating and curating special places for our residents that are designed and managed, to create thriving communities.

We aim to attract lower cost long-term capital seeking to participate in the stable long-term investments we create.

WHAT WE DO

We operate across the entire Living sector meaning we find the right product mix for the land, the scale of opportunity and the location. We are not constrained to a specific product type and have experience of developing build-to-rent, build-to-sell, purpose-built student accommodation, co-living, aged-living and co-working with a consistent approach that is aligned with our vision of ‘making living better’.

We understand the requirements of long-term investors and our model aims to align us with their aspirations and appetite for risk and return. We view the long-term property management, place making and place curation as fundamental to both the development design and the investment case. It is far too important to outsource this process, and our approach means we can create places that work from the concept stage through delivery and occupation.

OUR VALUES

We are creative, we embrace and encourage fresh ideas empowering our team to make decisions and do the right thing. We are honest and fair and always make time for each other, our team, our stakeholders and customers.

We are industrious and productive. We get the job done. We live and breathe what we do – because we care about it. We don’t quit, we fix. We make a difference. We continually strive to leave our customers and stakeholders feeling that engaging with Astir was a great decision.

We praise each other, recognise achievements and we celebrate team and individual successes. We are passionate and motivated.

WE ARE ASTIR

With more than 100 years of combined residential development experience, having been involved in the delivery of many of the iconic buildings and regeneration schemes across London.

Since 2010 the team has been at the forefront of the nascent build-to-rent sector, delivering and managing over 1,000 homes now in institutional ownership and used exclusively for rent.


MEET THE TEAM

Nic Simpkin

Position: Partner
Email: nic.simpkin@astir.co.uk

Previously CEO of Be:Living Ltd and prior to that, CFO of Berkeley Group Holdings Plc. Nic brings a wealth of finance and development experience including establishing the initial rental property portfolio for M&G, one of the UK’s first PRS investments in 2010, managing the 1740-unit BtR pipeline for Be:Here and executive responsibility for finance for the Berkeley Group during their expansion from 2009 to 2015. Nic was the architect of the Berkeley Group strategy to return £1.7bn of cash to shareholders while maintaining growth to in excess of 42,000 plots.

Nic Simpkin

Partner

Previously CEO of Be:Living Ltd and prior to that, CFO...

Alan Shad

Position: Partner
Email: alan.shad@astir.co.uk

Previously co-founder of Spring Residential and prior to that, Land Director at Berkeley Homes. With unparalleled access to the London land market built from over 30+ years experience, Alan has a broad-based land, planning and technical background. This, together with experience in concept-to-completion Development-Management including acquisition, planning and construction delivery, Alan has operated in all sectors including retirement, starter homes, student and high-end prime residential and has also acted in a DM role on behalf of Receivers and Financial Institutions. Prior to Spring and Berkeley, Alan held land positions at McCarthy & Stone and Laing Homes.

Alan Shad

Partner

Previously co-founder of Spring Residential and prior to that, Land...

Tim Simpkin

Position: Partner
Email: tim.simpkin@astir.co.uk

Previously a Partner at Greenstone Capital Tim brings a diverse finance and accountancy experience to the team with a background in Mining and Metals investment. Prior to Greenstone Tim held senior roles at Glencore and Xstrata Plc. With a Mechanical Engineering and Accountancy background Tim has worked in Switzerland, Chile, Russia and Australia. Tim managed the global integration of Xstrata and Glencore Plc with a combined market cap of £51 billion and held responsibility for originating, acquiring executing and asset managing 70% of Greenstone’s funds under management across 7 copper mines around the world. Tim brings consummate investment committee and investor-management expertise.

Tim Simpkin

Partner

Previously a Partner at Greenstone Capital Tim brings a diverse...

Chris McGovern

Position: Project Director
Email: chris.mcgovern@astir.co.uk

Previously Project Director at Spring Residential and prior to that, Project Manager for St James (part of the Berkeley Group). Chris has a wealth of project-management experience in residential development including roles at Burro 4 acting for The Dorchester Collection and King’s College London and mixed-use residential-led projects such as Riverlight at Nine Elms for St James together with one-off bespoke homes for high-net-worth individuals at Spring Residential. With a first-class honours degree in Construction Project Management, Chris’s experience across all residential sectors brings an invaluable resource to the team.

Chris McGovern

Project Director

Previously Project Director at Spring Residential and prior to that,...

Brandon Shad

Position: Land Manager
Email: brandon.shad@astir.co.uk

Brandon Shad

Land Manager

Percy Mullany

Position: Land Director
Email: Percy.Mullany@astir.co.uk

Percy Mullany

Land Director

John Lahiff

Position: Senior Land Manager
Email: John.Lahiff@astir.co.uk

John Lahiff

Senior Land Manager

Chris Chapman

Position: Senior Land Manager
Email: Chris.Chapman@astir.co.uk

Chris Chapman

Senior Land Manager

Daniel Smith

Position: Senior Financial Manager
Email: Daniel.Smith@astir.co.uk

Daniel Smith

Senior Financial Manager

WE ARE ASTIR

Astir was formed in 2017 by a team with more than 100 years of combined residential development experience having been involved in the delivery of many of the iconic buildings and regeneration schemes across London.

Since 2010 the team has been at the forefront of the nascent build to rent sector, delivering and managing over 1,000 homes now in institutional ownership and used exclusively for rent.

Nic Simpkin

Position: Partner
Email: nic.simpkin@astir.co.uk

Previously CEO of Be:Living Ltd and prior to that, CFO of Berkeley Group Holdings Plc. Nic brings a wealth of finance and development experience including establishing the initial rental property portfolio for M&G, one of the UK’s first PRS investments in 2010, managing the 1740-unit BtR pipeline for Be:Here and executive responsibility for finance for the Berkeley Group during their expansion from 2009 to 2015. Nic was the architect of the Berkeley Group strategy to return £1.7bn of cash to shareholders while maintaining growth to in excess of 42,000 plots.

Nic Simpkin

Previously CEO of Be:Living Ltd and prior to that, CFO...

Partner

OUR LATEST PROJECT

Located in the heart of West Hampstead, 180 new homes and 11,000 m2 of commercial space, delivery commenced in 2021 and due to complete in summer 2024.

Email us to
find out more
information


Astir Living Limited
156 West End Lane
London
NW6 1SD

enquiries@astir.co.uk

Astir would love to hear from you if you share our vision and values.  We are looking to recruit like minded people who share our passion and have experience in Land, Planning, Production and Place-making.

For an informal and confidential chat please contact: careers@astir.co.uk 

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