Location
Accessibility & access
Nearest tube
12:00 Registration and networking, a light lunch will be served
13:00 Conference begins
Opening remarks
Dan Westley, co-Chair Freehold
Frankie Downes, Partner and co-Chair of the Spectrum network at Ashurst
Founders and Futures
Chair: Sarah Rock – Freehold Board Member
Panellists:
David Mann MBE, co-Founder of Freehold
Kelly Canterford co-Chair of Freehold and early member
Simon Prichard, Managing Partner and Head of UK at Newmark
Brie Stevens-Hoare KC, original board member of Freehold
Deian Jones, Freehold Board member and co-Chair of Pride in Property
Estates Gazette LGBTQ+ in Real Estate, attitudes and actions survey results
Presented by: Misa von Tunzelman, Freehold Board member
Keynote speech: Antonia Belcher OBE
Table breakout sessions
Facilitated by: Mariano Galindez, Freehold Member
15:00 – 15:20 coffee break
Interactive workshop sessions
Facilitated by: Matt Wilcox, Senior Learning and Organisational Development Manager and co-Chair of Ashurst’s Spectrum network.
Closing remarks
Speaker: Kelly Canterford, co Chair of Freehold
17:15 drinks
Thanyia Moore is a British stand‑up comedian, actress, writer and presenter from London. She began performing stand‑upin 2012 and has since established herself as a regular presence on the UK comedy circuit and television.
Early in her career, Moore gained industry recognition when she was named Best Female Newcomer at the UK Black Comedy Awards (2013). She went on to achieve wider acclaim by winning the Funny Women Award in 2018, one of the UK’s most prominent comedy competitions.
Alongside her stand‑up work, Moore has built a profile on television. She has appeared on shows such as Mock the Week and has acted in series including The Duchess, Pure, and the CBBC drama Jamie Johnson.
Moore grew up in South London to Jamaican parents, and she often draws on her personal experiences and background in her comedy.
In addition to performing, she delivers workshops—particularly focused on confidence and personal development—reflecting a broader role in mentoring and creative education.
Dan Westley is Head of Portfolio (UK) at Vastint, a pan‑European developer, investor and asset manager. In this role, he leads the company’s nationwide commercial strategy, leasing and asset management, overseeing a portfolio of major regeneration projects across cities including London, Leeds and Cardiff.
Westley has over 16 years of experience in the commercial property sector. Prior to joining Vastint in late 2025, he spent more than eight years at the Battersea Power Station Development Company, where he served as Commercial Leasing Director and was closely involved in shaping one of the UK’s most high‑profile mixed‑use regeneration schemes.
He began his career at CBRE, where he trained as a chartered surveyor and worked in Central London leasing.
In addition to his executive role, Westley is Co‑Chair of Freehold LGBT+ CIC, the UK real estate industry’s networking and advocacy organisation for LGBTQ+ professionals. He has been involved with Freehold for around a decade and has previously served on its board.
Francesca (“Frankie”) Downes is a Partner at Ashurst and a member of the firm’s corporate transactions practice. She specialises in domestic and cross‑border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and private capital transactions, with a particular focus on private equity and real estate investment deals.
Downes advises institutional investors, global sponsors and management teams on complex transactions across the UK and international markets, including high‑value real estate and infrastructure‑related deals.
She trained at Ashurst and has built her career at the firm, becoming a partner in 2022 after progressing through associate and senior associate roles.
In addition to her client work, she is involved in firm leadership and is co-Chair of the Firm’s Spectrum network. She has been recognised externally, including being named among Law.com International’s “Female Rising Stars 2026.”
Kelly Canterford MRICS is a chartered surveyor and Founder of coaching, EDI and training business Tigrou Consulting,with over 20 years’ experience in the property and built environment sector.
She is co-Chair of Freehold, the LGBTQ+ real estate network, having taken on the role in 2022 after being involved with the organisation since its early years following its founding in 2011.
Canterford has been an active advocate for diversity and inclusion in real estate, including chairing the Urban Land Institute’s Real Estate Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) committee, being a Board member for AbilityRE, writing the RICS inclusive culture guide and contributing to industry‑wide initiatives.
Her work has been recognised through multiple accolades, including being named among top LGBT leaders and industry inclusion awards.
Deian Jones is Corporate Affairs & Marketing Manager at Lendlease. Deian is active in promoting diversity and inclusion within the built environment, he leads on LGBTQ+ inclusion for Lendlease’s ERG networks and is a co‑founder and Co‑Chair of Pride in Property, an annual industry‑wide event that brings together leading real estate companies to celebrate LGBTQ+ inclusion and raise funds for community charities.
Earlier this year he joined the Freehold Board, further extending his involvement in advancing LGBTQ+ representation across the real estate sector.
David Mann MRICS MBE is a Chartered Building Surveyor and former Partner at Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (TFT), where he had a long career advising investors and occupiers on technical due diligence and development monitoring across major real estate assets.
He is well known in the industry as the co‑founder of Freehold, the UK’s networking and advocacy organisation for LGBTQ+ professionals in the real estate sector, which he established in 2011 alongside Saleem Fazal.
Mann has played a prominent role in promoting diversity and inclusion in the built environment, working with organisations such as RICS and the British Property Federation.
In recognition of his contributions to inclusion in the property industry, he was awarded an MBE in the 2023 New Year Honours.
Simon Prichard is Managing Partner and Head of the UK at Newmark, a global real estate advisory firm. He is based in London and leads the firm’s UK business, overseeing strategy, client relationships, and operations.
Prichard has spent most of his professional career with Gerald Eve LLP. He joined the firm in 2008 as a partner and was appointed Senior Partner in 2015, a role in which he led the firm prior to its integration into Newmark’s European platform.
He has broad experience across the UK commercial property sector, developed over several decades, and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
In addition to his executive role, Prichard has also been involved in industry and educational bodies, including serving on the academic board of the University of the Built Environment (previously University College of Estate Management)
Sarah Rock is a Partner at Boodle Hatfield, where she heads the firm’s construction practice. She specialises in both contentious and non‑contentious construction and development matters, advising on complex projects across the real estate, infrastructure and sports sectors. Sarah has particular expertise in the Building Safety Act, digital construction and Building Information Modelling (BIM), and is recognised as a leading adviser in these evolving areas.
She has worked on high-profile developments, including advising on the construction elements of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and major sports infrastructure projects. Alongside her client work, Sarah sits on the board of Freehold LGBT+ CIC, a professional network for LGBT+ individuals in the property sector, and leads Boodle Hatfield’s equity, diversity and inclusion agenda.
In recognition of her leadership in this space, Sarah was named LGBTQIA Corporate Champion of the Year at the 2024 DIVA Awards.
Misa von Tunzelman is Executive Director, Corporate Affairs and Marketing, Development at Lendlease responsible for driving corporate and development brands, stakeholder engagement and strategic positioning.
Prior to joining Lendlease, Misa held senior leadership roles at BNP Paribas Real Estate and JLL, where she was responsible forlocal, regional and global marketing and communications functions. Earlier in her career, she also worked at Ernst & Young and the Imperial War Museums.
Alongside her executive career, Misa is a member of the Freehold Board and has held several trustee and board positions across education, the arts and inclusion-focused organisations, and is a strong advocate for diversity and LGBT+ representation within the built environment sector.
Antonia Belcher OBE is a chartered building surveyor, business leader and LGBTQ+ advocate, with more than 40 years’ experience in the construction and real estate sectors.
She was a founding partner of MHBC, a London‑based building consultancy established in 2007, where she led the business for over a decade before its sale and subsequent integration into the global firm Cumming.
Belcher has held a number of board and advisory roles across the industry and non‑profit sector, and in 2024 she was appointed Non-Executive Director at GIA, contributing to governance, strategy and risk oversight.
Alongside her professional career, she is a prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion—particularly trans representation—in business and the built environment. She has spoken widely on diversity and mentored individuals across the sector, as well as establishing the Antonia & Andrea Belcher Trans Fund, which supports trans-led organisations globally.
In recognition of her contributions to equality in business, she was awarded an OBE in 2022.
Mariano Galíndez is an architect at Axiom Architects, with experience across residential, hospitality and mixed-use developments.
He trained in architecture at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, before completing his RIBA Part III professional qualification at the University of Westminster and registering as an ARB architect.
Mariano has worked for award-winning architectural practices, including Allies and Morrison and Pascall + Watson, as well as client-side for a hotel developer. This has given him experience across the design, coordination and delivery of complex projects.
Mariano is currently leading the architectural design for the conversion of a 1935 office building into a 430-key budget hotel in Southwark.
Matt Wilcox is Senior Learning & Organisational Development Manager at Ashurst. In this role, he is responsible fordesigning and delivering training programmes and supporting talent development initiatives across the firm.
Wilcox has a background in learning and development within the legal sector, having previously worked at law firm RPC, where he led on initiatives including early‑talent development programmes, digital learning strategy and ESG‑related training priorities.
His work focuses on building career development frameworks, leadership capability and organisational learning strategies, with experience delivering both in‑person and digital training at multiple levels of seniority.
In addition to his core role, Wilcox has been actively involved in LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives in the workplace, including chairing and co‑chairing internal LGBTQ+ networks and contributing to diversity and inclusion efforts recognised by external benchmarks such as the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.
Brie Stevens Hoare KC has been a self-employed barrister since 1986 and took silk in 2013. She is recommended as a leading silk in the latest editions of The Legal 500 and Chambers UK . In recent years she won Barrister of the Year at the Modern Law Awards and Chambers UK’s Real Estate Silk of the Year Award. She is a client focused property barrister experienced at dealing with all aspects of property litigation, property related probate and professional negligence as well as franchising.
Brie supports the Judicial Appointments Commission’s Targeted Outreach programme in her capacity as a former JAC Commissioner (2018-24). She was Freehold’s first female Board member joining in 2012 and today is involved with FreeBar, the LGBTQIA group for the Bar community, and the Inns of Court Women’s Alliance. Brie is also the first Chair of ELLA – the European LGBTQ+ Lawyers’ Association whose inaugural conference takes place in London this September. She is co-author of Beyond Bias (2nd edition, Globe Law and Business: October 2025).
