MSc Real Estate: Up North

The MSc Real Estate students on tour in Liverpool

During the first week of November, the students on the MSc Real Estate went on a field trip to Liverpool and Manchester. The field trip was designed to introduce the issues of sustainable use and development in the context of commercial and residential property markets in Liverpool and Manchester and to:

• develop an understanding of sustainable use and development
• examine the use, investment and development of commercial and residential property
• set commercial  and residential property in a wider economic, social and legal context

The field trip also integrates a range of core real estate skills and disciplines (covered in the first semester) as they relate to the regeneration of the urban environment. During the field trip, the students attended presentations from a number of local experts, had an opportunity to question those experts, and collected local information through visits to key locations.

On the way to Liverpool the students stopped off for a tour of Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet
(located 30 minutes drive from Liverpool). The outlet village had a £40 million makeover
in 2018 to celebrate its 21st birthday.

On the first evening the students joined Andrew Scott and Jamie Moffat from Mason Owen for a presentation and drinks reception. The next day they were taken on a walking tour of central Liverpool including Albert Dock and Liverpool One by Callum McDougall also of Mason Owen. For more information on the regeneration taking place in Liverpool visit the Regenerating Liverpool website.

Lush is at the forefront of providing a great retail experience. The Liverpool store is the largest in the world and the manager gave the students an impromptu full tour of the store, including the in-house spa. Brilliant customer service.

Mason Owen showed the students how active management had transformed a failed Debenhams department store into a large and successful H&M. Find out how the development of Liverpool One has transformed the city centre. 

On the final day the students left Liverpool to travel to Manchester where they attended an informative and entertaining presentation from Andrew Gardiner of Lambert Smith Hampton about the Manchester office markets. After lunch the students explored Manchester city centre and the developments taking place, before returning to Oxford.