As an award-winning and well-known thought leader in the real estate recruitment space, Madison Berkeley has always done things differently. Their team’s expertise comes from years of real estate recruitment experience. However, what sets them apart is their genuine interest in building relationships and supporting other organisations that are also on a journey to change the face of real estate. For our latest Catching Up With feature, we sat down with Adrian Sayer, a long-standing leader in property management at Metrus. From first discovering surveying through a school lecture to helping shape one of the sector’s most respected specialist firms, Adrian shares his perspective on trust, long-term thinking, team culture, and why property management has become one of the most dynamic areas in real estate today.
Finding his route into real estate:
Adrian’s path into the industry began with a family connection. His uncle was a quantity surveyor, and although Adrian did not initially know much about the profession, a lecture on surveying opened his eyes to the wider opportunities within real estate. “I went along to a lecture about surveying generally, and I just thought the valuation, management and maintenance side looked quite interesting.” That interest led Adrian to study surveying at Nottingham Trent University. Once there, things quickly clicked into place. “That’s when I felt this was something I was really going to enjoy,” he says.
Learning by doing:
A sandwich year at Jones Lang Wootton, now JLL, proved to be a defining experience. Working in investment, Adrian learned the formal aspects of the role and also immersed himself in everything the job involved. “We didn’t care what we did in terms of specialisation at that point,” he says. “That’s one of the things I’ve always tried to impart to younger people coming through. Don’t be too precious about what you do at the beginning, because you can always take something from it.” Adrian says he approached those early opportunities with curiosity. “We were like sponges,” he says. “We took everything in.”
Trusting instinct and building a career:
After starting out at what became DTZ, Adrian moved client-side to work on the Langham Estate, where he gained invaluable insight into how property companies think, operate and make decisions. That experience broadened his view of the profession and helped shape the management philosophy he still carries today. Later, when he was approached to join Ross Jay, one of the businesses that would eventually become Metrus, Adrian followed his instincts. “In my gut, they just felt like the right sort of thing to do,” he says. “If you go with people that you trust in the business, then you hope that’s going to work out.” Nearly 30 years later, it clearly has.
Why property management matters:
Over the course of his career, Adrian realised property management was where he could make the greatest impact. Having worked both agency-side and client-side, he developed a clear understanding of what clients really want from a managing agent. “For us here at Metrus, property management is our core focus,” he says. “And we do it very well.” That focus has helped define Metrus. While some firms see management as secondary to agency or investment work, Adrian has spent years building a business where it sits at the centre. The aim, he says, is simple: “We try to treat the properties as our own.”
Culture as the foundation:
For Adrian, one of the biggest strengths of the business is its culture. Metrus has grown carefully, with an emphasis on loyalty, trust and making people feel valued. Many members of the team have been with the firm for decades, something Adrian sees as a real point of difference. “People feel comfortable here in the widest sense,” he says. “Yes, we all work hard, but it’s that philosophy that you’re a valued individual, and that you’re part of an important team trying to grow something together.” In a sector where businesses are frequently absorbed into larger groups, that continuity has become a major advantage.
Proudest achievements:
Adrian says that a standout early example of something he is really proud of during his career came when he found an innovative way to handle contracted-out tenancies on an industrial estate, directly working with a City of London Court to handle the paperwork without solicitors, creating a more efficient legal process at a time when few others were doing so. “It was outside the box,” he says. “No one else was doing it.” More broadly, he takes real pride in what Metrus has become. Today, the business manages more than £5 billion of property, including landmark assets such as Burlington Arcade and the Royal Exchange. Just as importantly, it has retained instructions through multiple ownership changes, something Adrian sees as a sign that the firm’s approach continues to resonate.
Advice for the next generation:
Adrian’s advice to younger people entering the industry is straightforward: be patient, stay open-minded and keep learning. “You go through university, you graduate, but that’s the time you actually start learning when you start your first job.” He says too many graduates expect to progress too quickly, without first building the practical judgement that the industry demands. Experience, instinct and a feel for buildings and people can only come with time. “You have to be a sponge,” he says. “Be receptive to doing pretty much anything and look at it positively.” He is also passionate about changing perceptions of property management. Once seen as less glamorous than other parts of the profession, he believes it has become one of the most important and dynamic areas in real estate, shaped by compliance, sustainability, flexible space and the increasing complexity of how buildings are operated. “Property management is a much more dynamic thing than it ever has been,” he says, “both at a practical level and also at a strategic level.”
