Ms Sullivan starts her tenure as the real estate industry comes to grips with a second wave of coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses and the wider economy, with significant impacts on investors, landlords and tenant businesses, and development activity. 

Outlining key themes for her upcoming term in office, Ms Sullivan said: “As I take over as chair, the SPF will continue to press for sustainable economic growth, with renewed urgency, and we must do so in the knowledge that the pre-existing challenge to deliver a net-zero carbon built environment, to repurpose our town centres and to deliver better places for people has not gone away, it has been accelerated.

“Going forward we will need to work together to bring about further change, in the materials with which we build and how we heat our spaces, the infrastructure we need to support economic growth, how our retail portfolios will work with changing habits and as we progress towards demanding targets to achieve net zero carbon.

“The real estate industry influences how and where people work and is instrumental in many evolving sectors such as office development, built-to-rent homes and student accommodation. This means we are well placed to play a very important role in Scotland’s recovery from this pandemic.

“It’s crucial in these challenging times that we come together and provide a strong voice to represent the view of our industry and ourselves in a way that highlights the important work that we do – giving voice to the aim to Redefine Real Estate.”

Ms Sullivan takes over the role from Robin Blacklock, who has notably steered the organisation during the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining focus on his agenda of sustainable, inclusive growth.

The next vice-chair of the SPF will be Kevin Robertson FRICS, managing director for KR Developments.

Mr Robertson said: “I’m delighted to be supporting Michaela in my capacity as vice-chair of SPF for 2021, to represent the real estate industry in Scotland. 

“This has been a year like no other in my experience. As we recover, and then look to work with a new Scottish Parliament in May,  I see this role as an opportunity to take our industry forward in the eyes of Scotland’s wider public, its investors and decision-makers.”