COFFEE BREAK WITH… Jon Patrick, Director and Head of Leisure & Development

When did you join Christie & Co?
I joined the company in 1984 straight from university in Leeds.

Where were you when you accepted your role at Christie & Co? 
We didn’t have mobile phones in those days, so I remember receiving an offer letter through the post. It was a toss-up between Reckitt & Colman and Christie & Co, and selling pubs sounded a lot more interesting!

What was your first job? 
Playing in a band on Friday and Saturday nights – it paid more than stacking shelves.

In a couple of sentences, can you tell us a bit about your job at Christie & Co? 
I head up our Leisure & Development business around the UK, advising mainly corporate and private equity-owned businesses as well as larger, family-owned assets. If there’s a quirky asset, it generally lands in my inbox!

What’s your favourite thing about Christie & Co? 
The people, the teamwork, and the always ‘can-do’ attitude.

What's a favourite project that you’ve worked on at Christie & Co so far? 
The sale of Whitbread’s Chiswell Street Brewery in London. We ran a four-way, non-exclusive contract race which was, shall we say, ‘interesting’.

What’s been the biggest challenge of your career so far? 
Dealing with downturns and having to let colleagues go, but the pandemic was truly scary on so many levels.

What’s been a highlight of your career so far? 
The sale of Wyevale Garden Centres was a phenomenal achievement – 146 centres, 57 separate transactions, and accurate pricing advice/outcome results.

How has the industry changed since you started at Christie & Co? 
Technology, technology, technology. No mobile phones, computers, or digital cameras back then. Today, everyone expects everything to be done in 30 seconds. It’s still a people business after all, so it’s always ‘good to talk’.

Who in your industry do you feel most inspired by? 
I like to think of one of my mentors as First Leisure’s Property Director, Jonathan Wheeler – what a character. He always had a cigar in his hand and only ever referred to me as “Mr Patrick”, but I learned a lot.

Tell us a bit about your life outside work – what are your hobbies? 
It was rugby (back in my prime) and music. Now it’s more about the music, and I’m currently working on building a home studio.

What’s your hometown? Where do you live now? 
I grew up in the UK’s most inland port in East Yorkshire, Goole. Home these days is York.

Where’s the best place you’ve been on holiday? 
Mauritius.

What’s your biggest pet peeve? 
People who take you for granted and don’t value your experience.

If you could live and work in any city, where would you go? 
Having worked in cities all my life, I much prefer the countryside. You can work wherever you have Wi-Fi these days, so the city is fine for meetings, but I’m a country boy at heart.

What would be your desert island meal? 
Definitely something Italian, they just have a way with food.

What’s your favourite film? 
Bond or Top Gun are good on a big screen.

What is one thing on your bucket list? 
Teaching my granddaughter how to play the piano when she’s old enough.

What is your biggest fear? 
Heights. The backs of my legs even go when I’m watching TV in that respect!

What news source do you read every day? 
The BBC.

What’s your social media platform of choice? 
YouTube for the music.

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