Profile: Johnny Caddick

ANYBODY brave enough to mutter the words “green shoots” runs the risk of being pilloried.

There have been plenty of false dawns since the financial crisis of 2008.

As we stand, apparently, on the brink of a triple dip recession, with swathes of Europe covered in a smog of economic gloom, it would seem that the pessimists ought to be having a field day.

But Johnny Caddick’s intray is groaning under the weight of joint venture projects with a total value of £230m.

Caddick Developments – the company established by his father Paul – will be far from idle this year.

Later this month, the £350m Trinity Leeds scheme will welcome its first visitors and provide a “once in a generation” boost for Yorkshire’s retail scene.

The scheme, a joint venture between Caddick Developments and Land Securities, will provide a whopping one million square feet of retail space.

It will attract visitors from a vast catchment area, who will expect to be fed, watered and entertained as part of the retail experience. When the site for Trinity Leeds was acquired in 2006, the UK economy was in a very different place.

Trinity Leeds’ backers have held their nerve and pressed ahead with the scheme, at a time when many rival projects were being mothballed.

“We’ve been weathering the storm over the last few years,’’ said Johnny Caddick, when we met close to the towering Trinity Leeds scheme.

“We’re a family-based business so we don’t have obligations to shareholders. We’ve been keeping our team together, managing our investment portfolio, but also getting our development pipeline ready for the next few years.

“We’ve been concentrating on certain sectors that are viable in the regions and working on new projects.”

And what of the £230m worth of joint venture projects, which should start this year?

Although, it’s too early to publish details about the schemes, Mr Caddick can’t wait to start work.

He said: “We’ve got a couple of quite large projects in London which have come around through strategic partnerships, and a couple in the regions through long-established partnerships. It’s really working with occupiers, and joint venture partners who are landowners as well.”

Under his father’s leadership, Caddick Developments has been involved in some of the most high profile Yorkshire developments of recent times, such as the York Designer Outlet Village.

Paul Caddick worked for West Yorkshire Council and John Laing, before branching out to form his own company in 1979.

Paul has deep-rooted ties with Yorkshire sport. He was instrumental in creating the world’s first dual code rugby partnership, when Leeds RUFC joined forces with Leeds Rhinos to create Leeds Rugby in July 1998, and he is also the former owner of Headingley Cricket ground.

His son joined Caddick Developments from CBRE in 2006. At CBRE, Johnny worked in the development and shopping centre leasing teams, so the Trinity Leeds project played to his strengths.

“Even during the boom times, we had a conservative approach,’’ Johnny Caddick recalled. “We worked with partners who trusted us to deliver. We weren’t a one-trick pony, we worked in different sectors of the market, picking the right projects in each of those sectors, which we think has kept us in good stead for the turnaround.

“We’ve been involved in well-known retail schemes. We’ve got a few more we’re going to be announcing over the next few months as well.

“We’re really proud of Trinity Leeds. Leeds needs this as a catalyst for the rest of the city centre.

“The fact that Trinity is delivering the restaurants as well, will add to the vibrancy of Leeds as a 24-hour city.

“Leeds has got to have the provision of brands that aren’t represented elsewhere in the region.”

As a privately run family firm, Caddick Developments can make decisions quickly. It isn’t burdened with a lumbering bureaucracy, so it’s primed to respond to a fast-changing market.

Outside Yorkshire, Caddick Developments is working with Colchester Borough Council on the £200m Vineyard Gate Development, which is due to open in 2015.

The construction side of the business has continued to prosper. Caddicks’ team is building the world’s biggest dairy in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

But, in the longer term, where will the cash come from to support developments in Yorkshire’s cities?

“Most of the money is coming from London and the funds that are being created down there,” said Mr Caddick.

“The foreign investment that comes in there trickles out to the regions. They really want to focus on cities that have got the best growth prospects.

“We’re looking at the likes of York, Leeds and Sheffield – cities with a story to tell. Some of the other towns are continuing to struggle for employment and economic reasons. They will, unfortunately, lack the investment. It’s also about trying to find the ‘use classes’ that will want to work there... Hopefully, the housebuilders will be a catalyst around the regions and we’ll see a lot more activity from them.

“There is a good story in Leeds – we are competitively priced from an occupiers’ point of view, as opposed to London.

“We need to do more to promote it. There are cities where they are doing a better job of shouting about it (business opportunities), such as Birmingham and Manchester. We need to make ourselves a bit more open for business. There’s got to be a reason for people to come to Leeds, I think we’ve got fantastic universities and there’s a skilled workforce. Unfortunately, we’re losing a lot of them to London and we need to try and keep them.”

Over the last decade, city living has grown in popularity, but concerns have been expressed about the relatively small number of families who are choosing to live in the heart of the city.

“Leeds city centre has struggled from a lack of infrastructure,” said Mr Caddick.

“And socially, if you come to Leeds on a weekend, you realise the residential developments can be quite barren and sparse, with a bit of a transient population that’s living in between, say, university and family life.

“Leeds has got to try and address that with more townhouse living and schools. That type of infrastructure will create a vibrant community.

“The work that the council is doing in terms of the master planning means it will happen eventually, subject to everything being viable.

“We want to keep our reputation as a company that behaves honestly, and delivers quality projects.”

Johnny Caddick Factfile

Name: Johnny Caddick

Title: Director, Caddick Developments, where he has worked on major projects including the £350m Trinity Leeds scheme.

Date of birth: June 17, 1981

Education: Sedbergh School (1992-1999), Oxford Brookes (1999-2002)

First job: Dalgleish & Co. He joined as a graduate in London, working in the high street leasing team.

Last book read: Bradley Wiggins, My Time

Favourite holiday destination: Italian Lakes

Car driven: Range Rover

Favourite song: Nora Jones, Deceptively Yours

What is the thing you are most proud of? My family