Craig White is a Chartered Surveyor, with over 25 years of hands-on regeneration and agency experience focused on place-making. A specialist in forming the connection between visionary place-making and the machinations of real estate.

In 1998, Craig cut his teeth at Workspace Group PLC, the original industry ‘disruptors’ pioneering repurposing of historic but obsolete former-use buildings in ‘no-go’ neighbourhoods of London such as Shoreditch, Hackney and Bermondsey. Trailblazing with easy access, short term, flexible leases for hot-desking, co-working, collaborative & creative spaces for the independents and SME’s of London.

At The Crown Estate, Craig’s stewardship of Regent Street was career defining. In 2007, the strategic vision was to propel Regent Street into the hearts and minds of the next generation of global digital nomads. A relentless pursuit to create a world-class destination, the needs of the consumer were understood through analytical research. Widely acknowledged as thought-leaders in retail place-making by morphing shopping into a leisure and entertainment lifestyle choice, creating the largest flagship exposition spaces in the world, layering uses, programming events, improving building efficiencies, illuminating, and enhancing architecture, and reclaiming spaces for the public, changing the cadence through public realm interventions, and reigniting hard to access streets. During Craig’s tenure, the Regent Street portfolio increased in value from £750m to £2.5bn

In 2013, Craig was invited to join Argent to originate and deliver a mixed-use retail strategy covering over 500,000 sq. ft. for London’s King’s Cross, including Coal Drops Yard, and seamlessly thread this into the well-established ‘Principles for a Human Place’ vision. New principles of ‘enrich, delight & unite’ permeated through the team and place. Rethinking the 67-acre site as 7 neighbourhoods, each with a distinct character, not only to influence the end users, but tactically guide the delivery team from initial designs and architectural user specification, through to marketing, leasing, and asset management, and its onwards lifecycle and future-proofing stewardship. Craig successfully delivered the first of the international brands (Nike concept store) to King’s Cross, and followed up delivery on time in each neighbourhood, including the standout, beating heart of King’s Cross around Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard.

In 2016, based on in-depth economic and demographic research, collaboration and feasibility testing with 50 potential occupiers, scenario sensitivity projecting, a business case for over £100m was approved, enabling construction to commence. Craig pioneered a close working relationship with Thomas Heatherwick & Heatherwick Studio, advising on aspects of mixed-use commercial design and user specification. Turning vision into narrative, a counterculture approach engaged over 1,200 targeted brands and operators. On the 26th of October 2018, Coal Drops Yard was launched to the world, with 98% of the 60 spaces leased and open, a huge success in the context of the changing retail landscape that followed.