Roles & Responsibilities

As the executive director of the Hallmark Real Estate Group, Mark’s innate talents together with more than 20 years’ experience have produced a highly principled leadership. Under Mark’s charge, the group has undertaken in excess of £350M of acquisitions, and maintained an average IRR of 15.43%. Mark is responsible for overseeing and directing implementation of Hallmark’s strategies, as well as orchestrating smooth coordination between Hallmark’s various departments. He leads business development in forging new relationships with clients and other stakeholders, and ensures that those bonds are nurtured into long term, mutually beneficial arrangements. Mark achieved a Merit grade in his Executive MBA from Manchester Metropolitan University and is an Associate Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Background

Mark Halpern began his career over 20 years ago working in a multi-generational family office and managing a portfolio of real-estate based businesses, partnerships, and trusts. Over the years, Mark has developed The Hallmark Real Estate Group into a highly efficient team with a reputation for outstanding results, and a portfolio that includes virtually every region of the UK.

Astute Leadership

Mark is not satisfied by merely hiring top talent, he skillfully inspires their top performance.

The Hallmark team thrives on the company culture Mark has developed: a combination of performance-based incentivisation, an accommodating work environment, and a pervasive drive toward optimal results. Hallmark’s staff hold great confidence in Mark’s leadership and readily look to him for strategic direction when necessary.

Innovative Solutions

Where everyone else sees challenge, Mark sees opportunity.

His rare creativity for pivoting pitfalls into profits not only gives stakeholders confidence in his leadership, but also leads external colleagues to seek Mark’s guidance in resolving obstacles for their own companies. Mark’s solution-centered philosophy sets the tone for the entire team who work closely with clients and tenants to discover and satisfy their needs, helping all parties maximise their objectives.

Defining Success

“A successful deal for us is not good enough — it must be rewarding for the other party too.”

Mark values long term relationships founded on trust and mutually beneficial arrangements. His natural talent for deal structuring has been further honed over his many years experience. Hallmark’s extraordinary results often trace back to Mark’s ability to recognise a strong property investment deal and how to best structure that deal.

Satisfaction

The sense of having found a solution that was not initially obvious is a very rewarding experience for Mark. He derives even greater satisfaction in implementing his solutions into successful results for Hallmark’s clients.

Roles & Responsibilities

Howard Frankel has 18 years’ experience in commercial real estate. As Director of Asset Management, Howard’s primary objective is to advance clients’ best interests. He often finds, however, that clients gain most once other stakeholders interests are met as well. To that end, Howard regularly liaises with lenders, tenants, property agents, contractors, local councils, and external advisors. Internally, Howard uses his collected experience and knowledge to lead Hallmark’s property sourcing procedures. He is currently enrolled in the RICS Senior Professional Assessment program where senior managers and industry experts apply their accumulated experience towards full RICS membership.

Background

Howard began his career in commercial real estate in 2002, sourcing acquisitions for private clients. When Howard joined Hallmark’s asset management team in 2004, his natural talent for asset management proved highly valuable with every new project placed under his charge. In just three years, Howard was promoted to the senior role of Asset Manager at Hallmark. Howard is scheduled to complete the RICS Senior Professional Assessment program in 2020.

Seek and Seize Opportunities

According to Howard, one must not merely react to opportunities, one must actively seek out and seize them.

With this is mind, Howard leads the way in building strong relationships with lenders and tenants, staying cognisant of their needs and ensuring Hallmark efficiently fulfills its duties. Howard’s diligence in asset managing properties builds the trust and goodwill from which great opportunities have sprouted for Hallmark’s clients time and again.

Optimal process, Maximal results

If it can be accomplished more effectively, Howard will find a way.

Howard is not one to unquestioningly mimic common management practices. Whether he is formulating more effective fee structures for letting agents, rephrasing contract clauses, or enhancing a car park’s net profitability, Howard consistently optimises both human and real assets under his charge. At the same time, Howard recognises that innovation is not an end unto itself; it is but one of the means for achieving maximum results.

Skillful Negotiation

The most successful arrangements come not from confrontation but from negotiation.

Whilst Howard dutifully works with tenants to meet their requirements, he also applies a range of asset management skills that have resulted in optimal lease terms on behalf of Hallmark’s clients. Navigating negotiations like this is a balancing act; it demands a healthy mix of accumulated industry knowledge, property-specific information, and a strong ability to make clearly defined situation appraisals. With these personal resources at his disposal, Howard skillfully executes successful negotiations whilst also cultivating strong business relationships for the long term.

Satisfaction

Howard takes great pleasure in seeing his personal resourcefulness translate into maximised results for clients, especially while building positive relationships with other stakeholders along the way.

Roles & Responsibilities

Andrew is a Chartered Surveyor who has over 30 years experience in commercial real estate where he has been both an Adviser and a Principal. He has worked at CBRE, Columbia Threadneedle and is the Head of the Regions at Colliers International. Andrew has set up, built, run and successfully exited from a number of joint venture property investment businesses that have in aggregate owned over £350m of industrial, office and retail property across the UK.

Andrew has also acted as a trusted adviser to a number of clients including Aviva, Bank of Scotland, db symmetry, Faurecia, ICON, Ikea, Itochu, Liverpool City Council, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, St Modwen and Tyndaris.

He is an experienced operator in the regional property markets covering Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol as well as being an advocate for the Regions, the Northern Powerhouse, Devolution and Rebalancing of the Economy.

Roles & Responsibilities

David is a commercial property solicitor with over 30 years’ experience and a recommended lawyer in The Legal 500. A partner at Lopian Wagner for 12 years, David then joined Kuit Steinart Levy where he was an equity partner acting on commercial property transactions for over 17 years. Within that time David has gained vast experience in the breadth of commercial property as well as establishing himself as a leading property lawyer.

David has advised substantial property investors lenders and developers, as well as occupiers on all aspects of UK commercial property throughout the country, including acquisition and disposal, associated landlord and tenant work, environmental issues and financing. David also has particular expertise in investment structures, including advising on joint ventures and wholesale portfolio restructuring.

Whilst retaining a consultancy role at Kuits, David is now in-house legal counsel at Hallmark and also has an integral role in our business development strategy.

Roles & Responsibilities

David Halpern is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ experience. He offers pragmatic solutions and understands the tax implications relating to property investments. As Finance Director, David supports the senior team’s strategic decision-making regarding the group’s property portfolio. David also oversees and manages the finance function within Hallmark. He is responsible for forecasting and modelling the financial performance of client property investments, as well as Hallmark’s own investments. David holds ICAEW membership and a First Class Bachelor of Science with Honours.

Background

David began his accountancy career in 1996 with international firm KPMG, where he qualified and worked for seven years in their corporate tax department, before moving into industry. In 2009 David joined the Hallmark Real Estate Group. His initial work at Hallmark drastically improved the speed and accuracy with which the group collated, analysed and delivered critical accounting information. David has since grown to the position of Finance Director. Much of Hallmark’s sophisticated financial systems and workflows have been developed and refined through David’s thoughtful orchestration over more than 7 years.

Expert Knowledge

The best defence against financial inefficiencies is a thorough knowledge of the business and legal issues at play.

David’s more than 20 years’ experience, his continuing professional development in tax and accounting law, his ability to be pragmatic and his methodical nature blend together as he ensures that financial operations and strategies at Hallmark receive indispensable holistic oversight. This includes David’s ability to identify potential business and legal issues that require expert input from external advisors, pre-emptively reducing potential risks for Hallmark’s clients.

Pragmatic Solutions

Robust returns deserve robust financial care.

As Finance Director, David is a seasoned veteran capable of ensuring that investors do not suffer any unnecessary tax burdens and that use of available tax reliefs is maximised, bearing in mind the latest developments in accounting and tax law. This knowledge is constantly supplemented through continued professional development. Whether maximising Hallmark’s tax efficiency for clients, or streamlining reporting procedures, David says that his top priority is achieving the best solutions for Hallmark’s clients.

Precision Modelling

The beginning of every successful venture is a vision—David ensures that it is an accurate one.

David’s in-depth financial knowledge and experience play a critical role in the senior team’s strategic decision-making. Through an iterative process, the asset management and finance departments collaborate to create well-defined models for each project. According to David, a strong model provides accurate outputs in an easy to understand fashion, while also allowing for variability so the team can test multiple scenarios per project. These precise models directly support asset management’s tactical abilities, such as dictating figures for negotiations and defining profitable time horizons.

Satisfaction

David feels a strong sense of achievement when complex tasks are successfully completed, especially in the face of challenges. He also enjoys improving existing processes to achieve greater efficiency.

Roles & Responsibilities

Alison Yeung has in excess of 10 years’ experience in accounting, spanning corporate accounting in Hong Kong to team management and financial analysis in the UK. She holds many responsibilities, including cash management, quarterly distributions, debt payments, bank reconciliations, quarterly reporting and year-end reporting. Alison also leads in-house accounting for Hallmark’s clients. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours.

Background

Alison began her career working with corporate accountancy in Hong Kong. After several years in Asia, she returned to the UK where she applied her accountancy expertise to various industries including residential development, telecommunications, and high-tech. She is adept at learning and developing new accounting technologies and leveraging them towards greater financial efficiency. Having been raised in a family of successful entrepreneurs, Alison brings an extraordinary work ethic and innate organisational talent to the Hallmark team.

Drive for Quality

At the core of Alison’s high quality work is her ability to see how accounting relates to the overall success of Hallmark and its clients.

This holistic view inspires her to delve into complex tasks in pursuit of greater efficiency and sustainability for Hallmark’s workflows. Beyond managing the ever-growing trail of numbers, Alison actively promotes a high-level of transparency and communication in Hallmark’s operations. Internally, this enables the team to achieve smoother, more precise financial management. Externally, clients benefit from timely reports that are notably clear and easy to understand.

Remarkably Organised

Well organised accounting enables speed and accuracy in financial operations.

Whether she is unraveling a money trail, setting a more efficient payment processing schedule, or evolving the layout for reports, Alison’s organisational abilities strengthen Hallmark’s underlying financial capabilities. In addition, her experience handling complex corporate accounts benefits Hallmark’s culture for teamwork as Alison regularly delivers vital financial data to the asset management team. Most importantly, Alison’s reliability for speed and organisation means she dependably meets and beats accounting deadlines.

Time Management

Alison thrives on deadlines and an ongoing sense of time pressure.

In her first year with Hallmark, Alison completed the group’s year-end accounting procedures an entire fiscal quarter ahead of schedule. She is driven to innovate smarter prioritisation schemes and workflows that ensure reliability for Hallmark and its clients. Alison’s ability to keep Hallmark ahead of the game aligns perfectly with the company’s philosophy of combining enterprise-grade professionalism with the advantage of a focused boutique operation.

Satisfaction

Alison finds that her role at Hallmark is ideal for her skill set and personality. In facing complex, fast-paced projects while multi-tasking dozens of accounts, Alison feels a sense of growth and value, developing and improving processes and systems.

Roles & Responsibilities

Gabriel is Hallmark’s designated property surveyor and analyst. He is responsible for sourcing and vetting acquisition opportunities for Hallmark. His tasks include property appraisal, growth forecast, and risk assessment. Gabriel also actively contributes to asset management alongside Hallmark’s Director of Asset Management. Gabriel achieved a merit grade for his Postgraduate Diploma in Real Estate Surveying from the University College of Estate Management and was nominated for the Alumnus of the Year Award in 2017. He is a member of RICS.

Background

Gabriel has a drive for excellence that has propelled his academic and professional career. He earned a Bachelors of Science with Honours, achieved a merit grade for his Postgraduate Diploma in Real Estate Surveying, and attained leadership ordination from the highest court of law in Israel. Gabriel is a professional Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Investment Appraisal

What sets Gabriel apart is his ability to research, analyse, and present complex information with utmost clarity.

Gabriel uses his thorough knowledge of finance, property markets, and investment strategy to carefully research new acquisition opportunities. His eye for detail and diligent analysis is Hallmark’s first line of defense in evaluating properties for minimal risk and maximal opportunity for gain. Gabriel is fluent in English, Italian, Arabic, and Hebrew; his immersion in foreign cultures has trained him to perceive multiple perspectives in both interpersonal and technical scenarios.

Communication with Clarity

In commercial real estate, human relationships are as valuable as the financial arrangements that surround them.

In this regard, Gabriel’s ability to verbalise complex information in a direct and unambiguous manner is an indispensable advantage for Hallmark’s asset management. “When we talk about asset management for clients,” explains Gabriel, “clear communication with tenants, subcontractors, and advisors is as critical to our overall success as the initial vetting procedures and ongoing management activities.”

Systematic Nature

Gabriel’s methodical property appraisals and clear communication stem from his organisational capability.

In his previous career, Gabriel served as a leader for a community of several hundred people in Milan. Among his responsibilities were managing a hierarchy of workers, handling legal disputes, and coordinating a wide range of events for the community. In a similar vein, Gabriel ensures that all aspects of complex commercial real estate scenarios are accounted for, and that the information he collects fits seamlessly into Hallmark’s existing systems and processes downstream. Gabriel’s strict organisation is critical to maintaining Hallmark’s performance and high ethical standards.

Satisfaction

Gabriel thoroughly enjoys the dynamic nature of the property world, and derives a strong sense of reward from returning high yields to clients. “People work very hard for their money,” explains Gabriel, “I receive great satisfaction from returning them their money with significant growth added to it.”

Roles & Responsibilities

Evayne brings over 40 years’ experience in administration to The Hallmark Real Estate Group. She is responsible for organising and managing receipts, letters, email, records, and the overall administrative organisation at Hallmark. Clients who visit the office find it neat and orderly because Evayne diligently tends to the office environment, including compliance with the health and safety file. She also acts as the director's PA attending to all his business and personal dealings. As a result of her tenacious personality and dedication to client’s needs, Evayne received the Citizens Advice Award for her outstanding service at the Citizens Advice Bureaux. Evayne is a team player; she has a clear sense of how her role supports other team members in particular, and Hallmark’s success in general. "Working for this energetic and dynamic company, gives me a feeling of satisfaction, team involvement and a great sense of joy at coming to work daily".

Roles & Responsibilities

Solomon works in the Asset Management department. He assists with managing the portfolio of properties as well as sourcing and vetting acquisition opportunities. His tasks include service charge management, property management and maintenance. Solomon also looks to develop new business, engaging with new clients and investors. Solomon is currently studying BSc (Hons) Property and Real Estate surveying part-time, at the University of Salford. The programme which is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), develops skills and knowledge in valuation, asset management and development of commercial property, covering technical, legal and economic areas. Solomon commented “I have set up and run my own business and enjoyed a variety of different work experiences. I consider myself a young, motivated and ambitious individual. I am always looking for opportunities to network and meet with likeminded professionals.”