Q&A: Five minutes with Catherine Williams, real estate partner at Addleshaw Goddard

How did you join the property industry?

I am a lawyer, but when I started my career journey it was not necessarily on the cards that I would end up as a property lawyer. My parents owned a property development business and I grew up in the industry, doing site visits as a child, then working in the office answering the phone, directing materials and equipment to the sites and doing the invoicing and purchase orders. I felt at home in my property seat as a trainee and that was it.

What does your job entail?

I head up Addleshaw Goddard’s living sector team. The clients we work for include residential developers, investors, funders and operators across student, affordable housing, build to rent (BTR), build to sell, later living and care.

What do you like most about the industry?

I love the people, the enthusiasm for deal-making and that what we do results in change you can touch and see.

And what do you dislike most about it?

Not much. I am frustrated on behalf of my clients by the current regulatory and policy landscape. No deals are easy – developers have a lot of obstacles and it is my job to protect clients from or mitigate the myriad of risks. There are very few easy deals.

What are your favourite buildings?

There are some absolutely stunning new buildings in London, but my favourites are always where old and new are brought together. So, Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard [in King’s Cross] and the Battersea Power Station project really speak to me.

Who in property has inspired you?

I have a girl crush on Honor Barratt, chief executive of Birchgrove, the BTR operator for older people. I find her hugely engaging and funny, authentically herself and an inspirational female role model.

If you had not gone into property, what would you be doing?

I am obsessed with politics and would have probably been a political journalist, which would have used some of the same skills as lawyering. I would also like to have been a surveyor as the commercial elements of the transactions I do are just as interesting to me as the law. In my head – but admittedly maybe not in reality – both of these alternative careers would have enabled me to have a lot more lunches and drink more champagne, two of my favourite pastimes.

What would you change about the industry?

Property is still quite a male-dominated world. Although great progress has been made, it is not uncommon for me to be the only female on a call or in a meeting. I still cringe at how many ‘manels’ (male-only panels) I see at events and the plane out of Luton to Nice for Mipim had more female cabin crew than female passengers – in 2025. Mind-blowing.

What are you most proud of in your career?

I am incredibly proud of leading our team on the Thameside West deal for Arada and Arada London last year. It is a vast site and we had to do our site visit by cable car, which was a first. The deal was fast paced, we had lovely people on all sides and it was hugely rewarding to be part of the regeneration of a huge chunk of the Thames waterfront. Those deals do not come along every day.

What advice would you give someone starting a career in the property industry?

To succeed in any career you do have to put a lot of hard graft in – the old 10,000-hours adage is true. There are some absolute basics: be willing, enthusiastic and committed to your role. Be reliable and diligent. Do extra stuff to stand out. Have good market chat as this industry likes to chat. Listen and learn from some of us oldies by embracing real-life interactions. Get into the office whenever you can.