Eric Curran

Name: Eric H Curran FRICS

Position:  Managing Partner

How did you get started in the industry? Luck or destiny! I left school and applied for two apprentice jobs, one happened to be to train as a Chartered Surveyor. Actually I knew nothing about the role at the time but the position was offered first!

Biggest professional achievement: It has to be achieving the trust of my Partners to be their Managing Partner.

Best advice you received: Stay positive, always recognise achievements of others, listen to others, show empathy, be yourself, have an opinion, communicate well, have faith in yourself and be decisive. Apologies but difficult to separate these.

What do you like most about your job? The people and solving problems.

And the least? The blame culture and lack of transparency in the property market.

What are the biggest challenges your firm has faced because of the COVID-19 pandemic? Like many others, earning income to support the firm and its employees. Government grants have managed to miss out a lot of professional practices in their support packages.

What measures have you brought in to address these challenges? Reduce all costs to the firm wherever possible, ask suppliers and landlords for delays in payment, delay payments of PAYE and NI and furloughed 90% of the firm. Constantly review guidance and detail of support packages.

Will they stay in place after this is all over? We will plan for a phased return to work but do not know what that might look like at present. Some costs are unlikely to return to the firm if they are not essential. COVID-19 has focussed the mind.

Which newsletters/ bulletins do you receive? A wide variety received from financial institutions, accountants, solicitors, HR consultants, panel managers, lenders, Chamber of Commerce and the RICS.

How would you change Scottish Financial News? The financial news tends to be dominated by a London centric market and by larger business trends but the country is made up of SME’s. More regional information and trends would be good.

Do you read a daily newspaper? No, I became disillusioned by editor spin rather than reporting facts and story lines were becoming very weak and often confrontational rather than constructive. Often it is easy to criticise but harder to find solutions. I prefer to make up my own mind without someone trying to lead me to accept their view.

Which social media sites do you use and which do you find the most useful? Lots. LinkedIn for business and articles, Twitter for business, hobbies and being nosey, WhatsApp and Facebook for friends and family, Instagram for friends and hobbies. All have different uses and functions but for business it has to be LinkedIn. However, everyone is a Google expert!

Hobbies and interests: Nothing unusual family, friends, socialising, food, wine, theatre, golf and watching sport. My biggest kick is seeing people happy.

Favourite holiday destination: Oh that is split between two for different reasons, Portugal and the USA.

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