Judges

Colin became a member of the RICS in 1975 and following a couple of years abroad working as a Quantity Surveyor, returned in 1979 to co found the residential developer Applecross Properties.  During that time Applecross delivered many award-winning developments and was the first, and perhaps the only, house builder to introduce Lean Thinking and 5D design processes into their business.

Colin was Chairman of Homes for Scotland in 2006 and in 2012 formed Eskgrove Homes to design and build sustainable homes incorporating the very latest building techniques and materials to deliver zero carbon housing.

He is currently developing a low carbon bungalow model for the retirement homes market and continues to believe that constant innovation is the only way forward for the housebuilding industry.  

Andrew originally joined Ross & Liddell, as a Graduate Commercial Surveyor in 1996, having obtained a BSc in Land Economics from the University of Paisley in May 1995.

Following his qualification as a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, in November 1997, his career led him to pastures new, where he gained extensive experience in all property sectors and disciplines, while working in various client side and private practice surveying roles, before setting up his own property consultancy business in 2003.

Having re-joined Ross & Liddell in June 2006, initially to expand the Commercial Management and Surveying Services offered by the firm, Andrew was appointed as a Director in 2008 and is now responsible for all of the company’s operational Residential and Commercial Management services,  provided through offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

John is a property economist and chartered surveyor. He leads the Rettie & Co Research Team, which provides research and consultancy advice that informs clients on sales, lettings, investment and development opportunities as well as analysing where property markets are at and likely to be going. Over the last 20 years, he has built-up a wealth of experience from involvement at all stages of property projects, from small-scale developments through to major masterplans of new towns and suburbs. He has worked for all of the major house builders in Scotland, the Scottish Government, many local authorities and investors. He sits on Homes for Scotland’s Policy Advisory Group and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Society of Property Researchers.

Faisal has been working for Savills since 2004 and is the head of residential research in Scotland.

He has a built a significant media profile and is often invited to speak at seminars and conferences. Housebuilders, developers and lenders regularly seek his advice due to his housing market knowledge and insight.

Faisal enjoys visiting towns and cities and studying local neighbourhoods and residential developments. His field-based research gives him an advantage when advising housebuilders on their future sites.

Mark Dawson is Director of Sustainable Design at Reiach and Hall Architects. He is a certified Passivhaus designer and holds an MSc in Advanced Sustainable Design. He is design orientated, fusing creative solutions with sustainable strategies to enhance our portfolio and address global as well as local issues. As part of this role Mark reviews our current projects and advises our teams on how to interrogate site, programme and context in relation to the production of sustainable construction, engineering and architectural strategies.

Mark has worked across our portfolio and has delivered a number of our award winning projects, including the new Stobhill Hospital project for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which went on to win the best small hospital in the world at the International Healthcare Awards; our housing at Waterfront Avenue for Places for People; and most recently the Falkirk Campus for Forth Valley College, which was a finalist in the 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize.

Fiona has been involved in the affordable housing sector since the late 1980’s and is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Housing.  She has been in her current role as Deputy Chief Executive since 2014 and is responsible for the management, direction and delivery of housing development, maintenance and housing management services.

Fiona is also the company secretary for all the Hillcrest companies.

She is a trustee on the Hillcrest Foundation and a non executive Director with Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce.

Graeme joined Bank of Scotland in 1987, and in a career spanning over 35 years he has been specialising in all areas of Real Estate & Housing finance and client relationships since 2005.

He is now the Lead Director for Bank of Scotland’s Corporate & Institutional Real Estate team, covering Private Group clients across Scotland in both large scale Commercial & Residential sectors, including Build to Sell, BTR & PBSA, overseeing a portfolio of clients and with responsibility for growing the Bank’s balance sheet. He also oversees client engagement across a number of core Bank affiliates, including Social Housing teams, the Housing Growth Partnership, Scottish Widows, Citra Living, Cazenove, Schroders Personal Wealth and Bank of Scotland Foundation.

Everything Bank of Scotland do is designed to allow us to help Britain prosper by being a safe, successful, sustainable business that is a key part of the UK economy. His & the Group vision for housing is to enable accessible, quality & sustainable housing that meets the UK’s long-term needs, whether homes are for sale or to rent, and enabling the UK to build, retrofit and regenerate at pace. In recent times, he has been involved in some of the most noteworthy developments with Private Developers across Scotland, delivering innovative funding structures to increase housing delivery.

Passionate about ESG and Purpose led financing, he is helping clients accelerate towards a more sustainable, net zero future, including leading delivery of NextGeneration Project initiative (an industry Sustainability benchmark in conjunction with the Bank, JLL and UKGBC) where he has overseen the accreditation of the first two Gold Standard level developments undertaken in Scotland.

He is an active Policy Committee member of the Scottish Property Federation, and has recently joined the UK Green Building Council, Scotland.

John Hamilton has led the delivery of Winchburgh Core Development Area in West Lothian, initially as Development Director for fund managers Sigma Capital, and since 2014 as Chief Executive Officer of Winchburgh Developments Ltd. In his early career, he practised as a surveyor on Glasgow’s urban renewal programme and in the initial phases of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. He also gained extensive experience on the delivery of estates property for the Ministry of Defence and the oil industry. He later spent ten years with project management specialists MPM Adams on major mixed use residential, healthcare and retail developments throughout the UK. He subsequently worked for Miller Homes Scotland as Technical Director, initially in Edinburgh and latterly in

the Glasgow region. He is a former chairman of the Scottish Property Federation and in 2015 was appointed by the Scottish Government as a member of the independent panel which was formed to report on recommendations to ministers for the reform of the Scottish planning system. In early 2023  he was appointed as a member of The Scottish Government’s advisory group PIPAG – Planning Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group.

Catriona is an architect and Director at CDA.  Founded in 1980, CDA has developed a reputation for innovative design solutions for buildings, places and spaces. CDA provide an integrated service in architecture, masterplanning, urban design and interior projects.

With over 14 years of experience in the industry Catriona has principally been involved with urban re-development projects across the UK.  As leader of  the residential team she is responsible for the design of multiple award-winning residential projects over the past decade.  Catriona remains closely involved with the projects from concept through to delivery, ensuring a high level of quality is maintained throughout.

Karen studied Architecture at the Glasgow School of Art and has worked in the construction industry for over 35 years. She is an architect and has been involved with the delivery of over 30 building projects.

She has a specialism in higher education design and conservation architecture. In 2022 she joined the University of Edinburgh, where she leads the City Centre Campus development team. They care for many listed buildings in Edinburgh’s Old Town and works involve careful refurbishment and a net zero approach to retro-fit. Karen is currently overseeing on site the refurbishment of the B Listed University Student Union and the A Listed Fire Station at Edinburgh College of Art.

Karen is part of the strategic team that plans the development pipeline projects for the University’s City Centre Campus and for the College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences.

Daryl founded Glencairn Properties in 2011 with a vision for developing design-led homes.

 Since 2020, under Daryl's leadership, the company has expanded to focus on the living sector market, delivering institutional-scale projects in the PBSA sector.

We treat all developments as individual and take a bespoke approach to each project. Our favourite projects to date have been the Bellevue colonies, Liberton barns and the regeneration of the Art Deco cinema on Great Junction Street.

With a keen eye for site acquisition, planning and design, Daryl has positioned Glencairn as a leader in design led living spaces.

Fiona is a Legal Director in Brodies LLP's residential development team advising on the whole life cycle of a development from site acquisition and assembly to ultimate plot sale disposal.   She leads Brodies' plot sales team, utilising bespoke technology solutions in the delivery in excess of 1200 plot sales a year for clients from large sites developed by plc housebuilders to small developments by SME companies.   Fiona has specialised in the living sector for in excess of 15 years and has previously spent time working inhouse at the Glasgow Housing Association where she led the legal team on the delivery of regeneration housing projects and the establishment of mid market rent structures.     

With over 25 years of experience in Sales and Marketing within the house building sector, including more than a decade at board level with Cala Homes (West), Liana brings first-hand experience of driving commercial growth and leading change at a senior level.

Now, through The Firefly Consultancy, Liana provides director-level, growth-focused support to house builders and affiliated businesses. This includes fractional part-time or full-time sales and marketing leadership, alongside targeted project-based work, such as land appraisal reports, development viability proposals, and commercially led insights to inform critical decision-making at key stages of the development process.

In 2024, Liana also co-founded Female Leaders in Construction (FLIC), a senior-level network focused on empowering women across the built environment sector. She is passionate about creating inclusive, high-performing organisations and believes that greater diversity at leadership level is essential for meaningful cultural change and a key driver of long-term commercial success across the industry. 

Jamie Tosh is a highly experienced and driven technical and construction professional with over 30 years’ experience in the industry. He is Managing Director of both Bancon Homes and Bancon Construction, where he provides operational leadership across the Group’s new Homes and Construction businesses. He also sits on the Bancon Group Operating Board, playing a key role in shaping the strategic direction of the Bancon Group, a business with over 50 years of heritage and employing more than 250 people.

With a strong technical background, Jamie has a comprehensive understanding of the full construction process and is recognised for driving innovation, quality, and performance, with a consistent focus on safety, design and delivery.

Jamie currently leads Bancon Homes, overseeing eight live private residential developments across Scotland. He also leads Bancon Construction, which operates across two key streams: Land-led Affordable Housing, delivering energy-efficient, sustainable new communities for councils and housing associations, and Retrofit, focused on refurbishing and improving the energy performance and living environments of existing council housing.

Ashley Millan is a Strategic Delivery Lead and Property & Housing Consultant with over 20 years’ experience across social housing, the public sector and private services. Her work ranges from operational effectiveness and service improvement to strategic transformation, governance, acquisition delivery, and performance optimisation.

Ashley has held a number of senior interim positions, providing stabilising leadership and driving delivery during periods of change, restructure, and organisational growth. She brings extensive experience , with a strong track record of improving performance, compliance, customer outcomes, and operational resilience.

Working at Executive and Board level across Scotland, Ashley is recognised for combining strategic insight with practical delivery, supporting organisations to implement change effectively and achieve measurable results. She is known for her ability to lead complex programmes, strengthen governance and accountability, and deliver meaningful operational improvement across housing and property services.

Gillian has dedicated 13 years to Persimmon Homes, progressing steadily through the business to recently become the first female Commercial Director in the Persimmon Group’s history.

With a strong commercial mindset and a proven track record of delivering results, she now leads all commercial operations for the North Scotland division. Gillian is known for her strategic focus, operational discipline, and commitment to driving sustainable growth across a rapidly expanding region.

Donna Henderson is Director of Strategic Finance at Hanover Housing Association, bringing over 30 years’ experience across the housing, health and charitable sectors, including more than 20 years in senior leadership roles.

She operates at Executive and Board level, with responsibility for finance, strategy, digital transformation and procurement. Donna has a strong track record of leading complex, regulated organisations through periods of change, strengthening financial resilience and supporting long-term sustainability.

Donna is a values-driven leader with a deep commitment to the social purpose of housing and the positive impact it has on individuals, families and communities. She is passionate about delivering high-quality, customer-focused services and building inclusive, high-performing teams.

Donna will take up the role of Chief Executive at Thenue Housing Association in May, where she looks forward to continuing to make a meaningful difference in the social housing sector.

Julie Cosgrove is a highly experienced housing sector leader with over 25 years’ senior management experience across local authority and housing association environments.  She has worked within a wide range of housing organisations, large scale providers and within a large English group structure, bringing extensive strategic and operational expertise to her role.

Julie has been Chief Executive of Caledonia Housing Association since 2011 and was instrumental in establishing the organisation and shaping its strategic direction.  During this period Julie has overseen significant organisational growth and change. 

Alongside her executive leadership, Julie has held governance roles on the boards of community organisations and volunteer roles.  She brings a strong focus on community impact and sustainable housing delivery, being recognised for value-led leadership.