The first programme of this, our 30th anniversary year, is open for booking  The confirmed lecture titles, dates and speakers for September are now available in the 'Current Events' section of the website. (Scroll down to see the list)

You can view the topics, lecture outlines and speaker biographies in the programme document here.  Alternatively, download it as a .pdf document.

If you are a corporate member and have received a 2010/11 passport, you will need to register it on the site before you can book your place(s) at the lectures. This is straightforward, please see the previous news item on how it works.

Individual members who have received their passport can log in as usual and book their places.

We look forward to seeing you in September.

If you've received your new 2010/11 passport as part of a corporate membership, you need to register it. If you are an individual member, there is no need to register your passport and you can log in as usual.

If you already have a username from a previous year:

• Log in as normal.
• You will be prompted to enter and validate your passport number

• If you are not sure if you already have a username, click here and enter your email address

If you are new to the CPD Foundation, you need to create a profile

Follow this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page

• Enter the Company Code. If you don't know this, ask your CPD Foundation administrator
• Fill in the Personal Details below and click 'Register'
• You will be emailed a Username and Password. (You can change the password to something more memorable after you have logged in)
• Once you log in for the first time, you will be asked to enter your passport number.
• With the Registration process complete, you will be able to access the full resources of the site and we will email you regular programme updates.

We are now accepting subscription renewals ahead of our 2010/11 programme.  Our lectures will start in September, but by renewing early you will be able to access our lecture notes and webcasts service with all the information from the 2009/10 programme, as well your CPD records.

The CPD Foundation is now in its 30th year and we shall continue our commitment to
raising standards within the property and related industries, through our comprehensive evening lecture programme.

To renew, if you are an individual member, simply log in as normal and follow the steps of the renewal process.

If you are part of a corporate membership, we will need to have a renewal request from the person in the company who is able to raise invoices on the company's behalf. Please contact us on 020 3177 1662 or info@cpdfoundaton.com if you are not sure who that person is.

We look forward to receiving your renewal and to providing a stimulating and educational programme in 2010/11. Please see the Events section of the site to view our provisional titles.

Your membership will soon be up for renewal.  We have published a list of the proposed lecture titles for the 2010/11 programme (View Current Events - under the events menu), and members will be able to start booking the lectures scheduled in September in the next few weeks.

If you have any questions about renewing your membership, or anything else about the forthcoming programme, please get in touch - info@cpdfoundation.com - 020 3177 1662.

We are into the last week of CPD Foundation lectures for this our 2009/10 session. Tonight's title is Where is the Money Coming From Now? and will be given by Tony Edgely, the managing Director of Corporate Finance at JLL.

On Wednesday, Julie Gattegno of Nabarro LLP will provide an update on Lease Renewals and on Thursday we welcome Matt Fulford, Head of Sustainability at EC Harris LLP to talk on Addressing Sustainability Within Existing Built Assets.

We hope that you can make these lectures and we look forward to receiving renewals over the summer and coming back for the next programme in September.

CPD Foundation

We have a few places left on our workshop next Wednesday - Getting to Grips with MS Access Database.

If you are an occasional user of Access but don't understand how it works, or if you would like to find out how it can help you manage your data more effectively, then book your place on this afternoon session.

By the end of the workshop you should be able to -
 
• Understand relational databases
• Find your way around Access
• Data tables -
   o Create
   o Save
   o Edit
• Queries to extract information
   o Create
   o Save
   o Edit
• Create Reports and forms

Book Now on our website

Places are limited so book your place soon to ensure you can attend. The price is just £50(+VAT) and it will provide you with 2.5 hours of CPD. The session takes place from 2:30 to 5:00pm at the University of Westminster near Baker St Tube. If you would like to book more than one place, email us at info@cpdfoundation.com, or call us on 020 3177 1662.

Please visit our Current Events page to see what lectures we have happening in June.  These are the final lectures of our 2009/10 session and we encourage you to let us know what you think of the programme and what you would like to see next year.

Pleae email us on info@cpdfoundation.com , phone us on 020 3177 1662 or comment via the website.

We have also added our latest filmed lecture to the webcasts site: Introduction to the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme. Remember, you can use your usual log in to revisit lectures that have happened over the last two years.

If you are not sure if you have a login for our site, or if you have forgotten the details, please enter your email address here.

David Watt, a chartered building surveyor, formerly conservation officer with Norfolk County Council, is currently employed as Senior Research Fellow within the Department of Building Surveying at De Montfort University, Leicester.

David will be speaking for the Foundation on the 22nd April about "Building Pathology for the Heritage Sector".  He has written a number of books which will be of interest to our members: Surveying Historic Buildings and Building Pathology: Principles and Practice.

We have confirmed lecture titles and dates for May - please see the Current Events section to book your places.

Please tell us what you think of our webcasts service via this survey.

Our webcast service has now been operating for almost 3 years, and we'd like to know how and if you use it.

The notes from our lecture on 22nd February - Sales & Leaseback Arrangements are now available for download from the 'Lecture Notes' section of the website.

The lecture 'Where is the Money Coming From Now' that was originally due to take place on the 24th March has been postponed to 8th June, due to the speaker's other commitments. If you have booked a place already, your booking remains valid for the new date and you will be contacted nearer the date in the normal way.

CPD Foundation

Please feel free to view the current events and make your bookings for April.

If you've forgotten your log in details (or if you aren't sure if you have a profile), please visit the forgotten password page

Trevor Watson BSc MBA FRICS is Director of Valuation Services at Davis Coffer Lyons and will be speaking to Foundation Members on the 8th March about the Licenced Leisur Industry:

Underlying influences on the market

• Consumer behaviour
• Legislation
• Funding environment
• The Economy

The pub market

• High Street
• Community
• The Tie

The restaurant market

• Casual dining
• Emerging brands
• High Class

Nightclubs

• What future?

The London scene

Of interest to Generalists seeking to secure a more in depth understanding of what drives the leisure market. Licensed property specialists, General Practice Surveyors, Valuers, Property Investors, Property Agents, Portfolio Managers, Property Solicitors and Professional Advisers

Test & Answers on Dilapidations, the rules and requirements.  An opportunity to test your ability and learn from the experience!

An update on changes that have taken place within this discipline over the past 12 months

• Status of the Guidance and proposed pre-action protocol
• Recent decisions that may affect your practical decisions
• Loss, diminution and section 18.1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927
• Valuing loss in a recession

Book online to attend. If you have forgotten your log in details, go to www.cpdfoundation.com/forgottenpassword.asp

Andrew Holmes will speak to Foundation members this evening about organisational culture.  Different organisations have distinctive cultures and an understanding of these cultures, in relation to your own company, and that of your competitors and your clients, is an essential tool in delivering good service.  The presentation will:

• Describe how culture impacts us at the national, organisational and functional levels
• Outline how apparently subtle differences in culture can lead to major issues
• Introduce a highly effective model of organisational culture and how it can be applied
• Describe the implications of organizational culture on business practices.

Andrew Holmes is Managing Partner of Paricint LLP

Book now to attend

We regret that we have had to postpone this evening's lecture 'Delay & Disruption in Construction Contracts' due to unforseen circumstances.

Please do not travel to UCL this evening.

We hope to reschedule the lecture and we will be in contact once a new day has been arranged.

We hope to make the notes on the Sale & Leaseback lecture available as soon as possible.

Apologies for the delay.

Lecture notes will be available on the night (17/02/2010) - to support these notes some examples can be downloaded here:

http://www.cpdfoundation.org/cpd-downloads/17-feb-2010-lecture-notes/

Click here to get involved in the APC Live chat on the propertyweek.com website.

This evening Kevin Mofid of BNP Paribas Real Estate will provide CPD Foundation members with overview of demand and supply in the UK logistics market, future occupier trends and how this will affect developers and landlords

• An analysis of take-up and supply of industrial and logistics property across the UK
• A detailed analysis of the sector by grade, size band and location
• What logistics trends are affecting the market?
• What are occupiers in the industrial and logistics market thinking?
• New uses for warehouses, the property implications of the waste management and recycling sector

This is an interesting sector and there are still some places available if you haven't already booked to attend.

Remember, if you are an individual or corporate members all our lectures are free to attend. Book on the events section of our website and if you have forgotten your log in details, go here to have them emailed to you.

If you are not a member but are interested in the subject, Join Now for as little as £165.

Get up to date with two upcoming Computer Workshops:

27th January - Computer Based Investment Valuations 

This workshop will deal with the principles and nuances of investment valuations and how these are incorporated into industry-standard software, BOE Valuer.

• Cash flow analysis
• Growth rates
• Exit values
• Over-rented properties
• Discount rates
• Debt

17th February - Getting to Grips with MS Excel Spreadsheets

Designed for those people who make occasional use of a spreadsheet package and who wish to take advantage of some of the many facilities which live in this industry-standard package.

• Undertake simple calculations
• Sort a simple list
• Copy figures and formulae
• Create and carry forward totals
• Manipulate 'what if?' statements
• Calculate balances
• Freeze areas of the screen
• Produce simple charts and graphs
• Create a set of home accounts for yourself
• Save your work and take it home

Both Workshops will take place from 2:30 to 5:00pm at the University of Westminster near Baker St. station. Attendance is £50+VAT and can be booked or paid online. Alternatively, call us now on 020 3177 1662 to secure your places.

The lecture on Understanding Company Accounts (Part 2) which was postponed from 13th January has been rescheduled and will now take place on the 11th February. If you had already booked for the 13th January, you do not need to book this event again and you will be automatically reminded of it by email in the normal way.

This evening's lecture (Property Taxation Update - VAT) is postponed. This is because of ongoing train disruption which is affecting the speaker and several delegates.

We will reschedule, but please don't travel to UCL this evening if you are booked to attend this event.

This evening's lecture - Understanding Company Accounts Part 2 has been postponed because of the weather. We will contact those who had booked to attend when a new date is confirmed.

CPD Foundation

We have decided that the lecture programme should continue as normal, in spite of the recent cold weather. The lecture venue itself is accessible and public transport in London is running more or less as normal.

 Should the weather get worse during the week, we may decide to postpone other lectures, but we shall let those who have booked aware of any changes.

If you are booked to attend a lecture, but decide not to on account of the weather, the lecture notes will be available for download as normal in the morning following the event.

The CPD Foundation would like to wish all of our members a Happy New Year as we move into 2010.

If one of your resolutions is to 'do more CPD', then make sure you make the most of your CPD Foundation membership. Our lectures re-start on the 11th January and we have four lectures a week from then until the end of the month.  You can see the listing of confirmed lectures on our current events page.

We have a Computer Workshop on the 27th January - Computer Based Investment Valuations. At just £50+VAT this afternoon session will deal with the principles and nuances of investment valuations and how these are incorporated into industry-standard software. Book and pay now online.

It's easy to book, but if you've forgotten your login details, enter your email address on our 'forgotten password' page to have them resent to you.

Don't forget to bring your passport to the events. If you don't have a passport, contact us to find out how you can get one.

Our programme for 2010 is taking shape and January is open for booking. The first lecture is on the 11th January.  Please see the 'events' section of the website for an updated list of confirmed lectures.

Remember, if you are a corporate or individual member, all the evening lectures of our core programme are available to you for no additional cost. Not sure if your company is a member? call us on 020 3177 1662 and we can tell you.

Wishing all our members a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CPD Foundation

Dean of the University’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment (SABE), Professor Jeremy Till (pictured), has become the first person to win a prestigious international award twice from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for his university-based research.

Professor Till’s book Architecture Depends has been awarded the 2009 RIBA Presidents’ Award for Outstanding University-located Research - just two years after he won the award for a previous work.

And it follows last year’s success in the same award category by the University’s Professor Murray Fraser to complete a hat-trick of success for Westminster.

The 2009 judges commented: “This is a timely book that questions many assumptions about the practice of architecture and the position of the architect in contemporary society. The book is a delight to read, gliding effortlessly through social, ethical, political and philosophical arguments to prove the contingent nature of architecture’s varied and restless practices.”

Professor Till said: “With Professor Murray Fraser from our Department of Architecture also winning the award in 2008 for his book Architecture and the Special Relationship, this makes an unprecedented hat-trick of wins for Westminster staff, consolidating our position as one of the world’s leading centres for the study of architecture.”

ReOrb is the professional networking website dedicated to commercial real estate.

Make contacts, view events, network with like-minded professionals.

As of the 23rd November our administration address has changed, as have our phone numbers. These changes will be updated on the website in due course, but if you would like to get hold of us, please contact us on 020 3177 1662.

CPD Foundation

If you are attending the lecture this evening you will need to bring along a copy of the M&S 2009 Annual Accounts.  These are also needed for the follow up lecture scheduled for 13th January 2010. Download them here (126 pages, 3.3MB)

We have one of our popular Computer Workshops on the 25th November. Held at University of Westminster (Marylebone Campus) from 2:30 to 5pm, this session will introduce the following:

• YP Formulae in Excel
• Valuation templates
• Hardcore, term & reversion and equivalent yield calculations
• Goal seek
• Naming and fixing cells
• Presentation tips including custom formatting

Please note that there is a discounted fee for members of £50(+VAT) per delegate for this Workshop. BOOK NOW AS PLACES ARE LIMITED

Bookings can be made online or by cheque (made payable to CPD Ltd).  We also accept bookings by telephone on 020 7828 2099.

Just a reminder - we have a networking event on Wednesday 25th November, after Vivien King's lecture on Without Prejudice & Subject to Contract - click here to tell us that you intend to come along (make sure that you have booked on the event too!).

Jeremy Till's lecture tonight on the 2nd November - should be a really interesting take on Architecture and its interdependencies with other Built Environment professions, have a read of the reviews of his book here.

The term commodity is used by economists to indicate an undifferentiated good or service; commoditization is what happens when a market moves from a differentiated good or service to a commodity.   

With little to distinguish one company's products and services from another's, or one person's skills and capabilities from the next, organizations and employees alike may find themselves battling against survival of the cheapest, as price becomes the principal basis for decision making.

• Have you spotted any of the following signs in your market?
• Increasing competition
• A decreasing desire on the customer's part to look at new options or features
• An increasing preference for customers to select on the basis of price only
• Increasing pressures on margins

Reacting to the process of commoditization is one of the most difficult marketing challenges an organization and its employees might face.   

Andrew Holmes will be speaking for the Foundation on 10th November 2009.  His lecture will describe the increasingly pervasive influence of commoditization on business and the professions; discuss how it is likely to evolve over the next decade; and, identify strategies for dealing with its impact.

Learn how to deal with Neighbour Disputes from an expert in the field.  David is one of the prime movers in RICS Neighbour Dispute Service and author of “Anstey’s Boundary Disputes” (RICS Books).  He will be speaking for the Foundation on Wednesday on this subject and cover areas such as dealing with clients, tips on measurement, report writing and giving evidence in court.

The Credit Management Research Centre advised that 40,000 companies will be declared insolvent in 2009, an increase of 35% compared to 2008.  We are delighted to have Professor Barry Gilbertson - partner at PwC and an acknowleged expert in property insolvency - speaking for us on this very hot topic on the 26th October.

Is the high-street doomed?

Broadband is now more affordable, more accessible and faster than ever thought possible. There were about 300,000 broadband connections in 2001 and, according to the Office of National Statistics, there are now 16.5 million.  64% of recent Internet users have purchased goods or services online.

Does this foretell doom to the high-street?

What is the likely impact on retail property?

What needs to be done to maintain footfall?

All this and more at the CPD Foundation lecture on the 8th October.

The speaker, Neil Saunders, is experienced at working with retail and consumer related companies to help develop, evolve and implement business strategies.

Learn the art of the wily painspotter - find out how to spot a "pain" at 20 paces and gain guidance on the plethora of pain-types - such as "The Gravy Train Politician", "The Savvy Squatter" or the "Enthusiastic (Desperate) Estate Agent" in Andrew Holmes new book published today. 

Andrew has also launched a website devoted to the art of Painspotting - www.painspotting.co.uk.

Andrew will be talking on Risk Management on 29th September - see the events listings for more details.

Make sure that you are ready for the coming programme!

• Do you have an up-to-date 2009/10 CPD Foundation passport

• Are you registered on the website?

If you have any questions about how to book lectures, or become a member - please do not hesitate to call us on 020 7828 2099.

Continuing Professional Development need not only be about keeping up to date with industry specific topics.  It is also equally important to develop your personal, business related skills.

On the 16th September, Carolyn Gray talks on “Leveraging Performance”, giving you ideas on how to maximise the potential of your time, energy and talent.  And on the 29th September, Andrew Holmes talks on the nature of risk management and how to develop tools and strategies to successfully manage it.  We will have a limited number of copies of Andrew’s book on “Risk Management” to give to attendees (on a first come, first served basis) who respond to an email sent the day following his lecture.

We also have a full programme coming up in October, which is now ready to book online.  For any further information on membership, registration or booking lectures – please do not hesitate to contact us on 020 7828 2099 or email info@cpdfoundation.com.

Members of the Foundation can now book events from the September 2009 lecture programme.  Details can be found under the Events menu, or by using the Events calendar.

If you have any queries please contact us on 020 7828 2099, info@cpdfoundation.com.

You can now renew and join as a new member of the CPD Foundation through our website.

The CPD Foundation works on the academic year, with the new programme starting in September 2009.  Full details of the first few lectures will be shown on the website at the beginning of August.

If you are the billing contact for your firm or if you are an individual member, you can renew by logging in and going to the 'my account' section then clicking on 'Renew Membership'.

If you can't remember your log in details, click here to have them sent to you

To join as a new member - simply go to join/register and follow the steps.

Please call the office on 020 7828 2099 if you have any questions about membership.