Six hundred fifty property professionals attended Norwood’s annual Property Lunch at the London Hilton on Park Lane on Friday, raising £510,000 in vital funds for the charity which supports and empowers neurodiverse children, their families and people with
Learning disabilities to live their best lives. Welcoming attendees, Property Lunch committee co-chair Ed Jackson invoked the event’s mission “to come together as a community: to strengthen existing relationships, build new ones and create fresh opportunities for collaboration”.
Referencing the event’s theme, shaping the industry’s perspective, he added that it “tells the story both of Norwood’s and this event’s history. The conversations we have here today will help set the agenda for our industry, in terms of innovation and collaboration, for years to come”.
Lead Event Sponsors, Derwent London, Savills, The Stay Club and Wholeheart Real Estate made the event possible, alongside Reception & Post Lunch Bar Sponsor Lockton Global Real Estate & Construction.
Introducing the event’s fundraising appeal speaker, Norwood’s Honorary Vice President and Property Lunch co-Chair Mark Pollack spoke of the profound impact of Norwood’s early intervention support to families of neurodivergent children, independent of diagnosis, which promotes “stronger family dynamics and prevent(s) them from spiralling into crisis”.
Speaking following the screening of the appeal film which featured their daughter Leah, Simone Barnett and Neil Taylor spoke movingly of the challenges they faced supporting Leah through infancy, with little supplementary support available to them. “Never far from our thoughts was the worry of what sort of life she’d live as she became an adult,” they said. “We always thought Norwood would be a part of her future and we wanted her to be in a Jewish environment – to have the same opportunities that every parent wishes for their child – to be a part of a community and to choose how she wanted to engage with it,” they added.
Speaking of Leah’s transition to her own Norwood home eighteen months ago, they said: “She’s part of her community as we’d always hoped she’d be…but none of that would be possible without your support,” as they called on supporters to donate generously to ensure Norwood could sustain their provision of support for other families in need.
Speaking of the lifelong support she and Eden have benefited from, she said: “They say it takes a village to raise a child, and in our case, it took Norwood. They’ve always been there for us throughout Eden’s childhood.”
Joining them on stage, Mark Pollack concluded: “You’ve seen and heard what Norwood’s support means to the people receiving it, and each of us has the ability to help ensure Norwood is in a position to support families like them. At a time of great need, I can think of no worthier cause.”
Elsewhere, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP was in conversation with returning speaker broadcaster Nick Ferarri, where she recalled purchasing her first home, a flat in Brixton, aged 27. “It was amazing, but I worked in banking and had been able to save towards a mortgage.” “It was so exciting when I got the keys – we should be able to give that to this generation,” she added.
Referencing her commitment to abolishing stamp duty – to applause from attendees – and reverse renters’ rights legislation, she said: “It’s no good for those who have things to stop those who don’t have things from being able to grow…we need to get the formula right so we can build homes that people want to liv in, where they want to live.”
The Leader of the Opposition spoke on a range of issues including the VAT increase on private school fees, which she vehemently opposed, insisting “you should never tax education, whoever is providing it..now private schools have closed (as a result of the VAT increase) the state sector is having to provide for more children than it had planned for”.
She also spoke of the fight against anti-Semitism as “a shared fight”, as she condemned “the endless marches (that) made me see things afresh” regarding the prevalence of anti-Semitism in the UK following 7th October. “The right to protest came from the universal suffrage movement..it’s not about terrorising this nation’s Jews,” she added.
Earlier, Jonathan Hewlett, Consultant, The Private Office at Savills drew applause as he received the committee’s Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of the immeasurable help he’d provided in securing sponsorship for the event over the years.
Auctioneer Charlie Thomas from Binghams presided over a hotly-contested auction, where prizes included a two night stay at Temple Guiting Manor, and a box for 12 people at the Royal Albert Hall.
