On this week's Tech Talk Radio, co-hosts Emily Wright and Samantha McClary speak to Tripty Arya about her property and project management start up Travtus. Arya delves into how data eliminates the alpha, a trait often associated with the real estate sector and opens up about why she chose to name the AI bot at the heart of her product Adam despite being a female entrepreneur.

Alfie Best was born in a caravan in Leicester and has since made a fortune selling mobile homes. He joins EG to reflect on overcoming poverty and entering the property industry while grappling with his identity as a Romany gypsy.

Alfie Best was born in a caravan in Leicester and has since made a fortune selling mobile homes. He joins EG to reflect on overcoming poverty and entering the property industry while grappling with his identity as a Romany gypsy.

Speaking just after the Estates Gazette's first ever City Talks event in Bristol, where the panel debated having a more flexible approach to building tall – guests Phil Morton of CBRE and James Prowse from Hyperoptic shared their  views.

EG spoke to GL Hearn planning director Ben Wrighton about the results of the 2016 survey, produced in collaboration with the British Property Federation.

The key, according to the city's chief city planner, Jennifer Keesmaat is immigration, neighbourliness and an ever-improving transport system.

And as for Brexit, if any place in the world can empathise it's Canada. In a 1995 referendum voters in Quebec rejected a separation from Canada to form a sovereign state.

"The notion that we are better apart than we are together has been part of our national dialogue," says Keesmaat.

Does she feel Brexit gives Toronto a global economic advantage?

Travelling on the first leg of the North American investment mission with the Department of International Trade, Estates Gazette caught up with Keesmaat in Toronto to find out.

By Rebecca Kent

Overseas investment into Norway hit record levels last year making up around half of all deals as the country continues to open up to international capital.

Stig Bech, partner at Oslo based law firm BA-HR, which was responsible for advising on NOK112bn of a total NOK125bn of deals in Norway in 2015, said that the country was more open to foreign capital than ever before.

He said: "We understand we are part of an international world. It is important to have a lot of players in the market. Otherwise it would get quite boring."

He added that foreign investors were attracted by Norway's safe, stable economy, standardised contracts and best practice and said that Norwegian companies were now even prepared to slow down their famously rapid deal periods to give overseas investors a chance to make their plays.

"Things do happen very fast here. But local companies have been more willing to slow things down and wait a little longer to give international buyers a chance to keep up. And prospectuses have now started to be printed in English.

"Ten years ago the Norwegian market was very local. But things are changing and I have been really impressed by the foreign investors. They have come to the market very prepared."

emily.wright@eatatesgazette.com

"It is one thing being the weirdos on the outside but it is another to be the weirdos who leave," an Oslo city councillor has said on the recent Brexit vote.

Victoria Marie Evensen added that, while Norway operates successfully as a European country outside of the EU, there are different circumstances to be considered around the UK's active decision to leave.

"Your economy is tied up with Europe," she said. "It's quite different. We wish you the best of luck."

Evensen also discussed the future masterplanning of Oslo. A city she believes must grow up rather than out in order to curb of urban sprawl in the face of rapid population growth.

She said that there is space to build 147,000 new homes within the current city boundaries if buildings become higher and the urban fabric becomes more dense.

"The population here is expected to grow by 200,000 over the next 20 years. That's from a current figure of 650,000 so it's a lot," she said.

"That means we need to embrace change. People need to go from being NIMBYS to IMBYS. I am not sure there is an alternative.

Gone are the giant slides, hammocks and primary colours that have become synonymous with Google offices around the world. Instead they have given way to a more sophisticated and sustainable fit-out at its new home, 6 St Pancras Square - a 365,000 sq ft office designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM).

Estates Gazette toured the building, and spoke to Joe Borret, the search engine giant's head of real estate and construction EMEA.

Practice director Patrik Schumacher told Estates Gazette said that misconceptions of the Iraqi architect among developers in the UK capital blighted her practice's attempts to win work in the city for years.

"There was a scare factor. Though I don't think there should have been."

Hadid's closest confidant for thirty years, Schumacher has now stepped up to run the practice following the sudden death of the world-renowned designer at the age of 65 in March this year.

With a fresh focus on winning work in London he said that his "perceived more mellow and withdrawn personality" could be attractive to developers in the UK capital.

"I think Zaha's perceived public persona and the way people saw her did prevent us from getting commercial work in London," he added.

Patron Capital has raised €949m (£791m) for its fifth fund targeting opportunistic assets in Western Europe. Keith Breslauer, founder and managing director of Patron Capital, discussed post-Brexit opportunities.

Ascot Racecourse played host to hundreds of industry professionals on Friday in a charity networking event, which has raised more than £1.5m since it started 10 years ago.

They were speaking at Cardiff Question Time on 30 June at Cardiff City Hall.

The panellists were:

Michael Plaut, Chairman, CBI Wales 

Chris Potts, Director in Planning, Savills

Stephen Widnall, Development Director, Rightacres Property

David Roberts, Consultant, Hugh James

Jo Hunt, Senior Fellow, UK in a Changing Europe, and Cardiff School of Law and Politics

Perloff said that he there was "inevitably going to be considerable volatility because so many people had assumed a remain win was likely" following the FTSE 250 opening more than 11% down and the pound at record lows against the dollar.

Dr Pippa Malmgren, former economic advisor to George W Bush said that the vote for Britain to leave the EU would be a good thing for the UK and UK property and added that the City of London has been suffering Stockholm syndrome in relation to the EU. "It has fallen in love with its captor."

She said: "This is not just a UK issue. There are exit talks across Europe. Denmark, Sweden, Italy. So what have we actually left? Will there be anything to even exit before too long?

"And it goes further than that. It is global. The people across the world are saying 'this is not working'."

Mike Sales, global co-head of TH Real Estate, the $26bn property manager, said that he was "slightly shocked" but that the company had been preparing for the eventuality and it had "identified work streams or areas such as valuation, product regulation, tax and operations among other areas to work through the various issues and consequences".

Speaking exclusively to Estates Gazette, Rapley's senior partner Robert Clarke and the firm's new Birmingham office head Alfred Bartlett, discussed Rapley's acquisition of Bartlett Property in April and plans for future growth.