Meet the team: 5 Minutes with Nick Vincent

At SRVO Property, delivering surveying projects across large and varied portfolios requires technical knowledge, effective communication and strong coordination.

We caught up with Nick Vincent, Senior Building Surveyor, part of our fast-growing Sheffield team, to learn more about his journey into property, the experience he has gained across complex surveying projects and the importance he places on integrity, knowledge and professional relationships.

With experience spanning portfolio surveys and a wide range of buildings and site conditions, Nick brings a practical and experienced approach to his role at SRVO.

Which recent project are you most proud of, and what did it teach you?

I’m particularly proud of delivering surveys across a railway portfolio for end-of-lease purposes. The brief covered 167 stations, so communication and resource management were key!

Which of our values resonates most with you, and how do you live it day-to-day?

While each has its merit, I would say Integrity is the most important.

You can do thousands of great jobs, but one bad one can tarnish your reputation and undo all that hard work. What a shame!

Describe your journey into property. What first drew you to the industry?

My brothers! One is a general practice surveyor and the other is an architectural technician. At school, my careers adviser asked what I was interested in, and we concluded that people will always need housing and buildings, so it would be a safe career to go into!

If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting in our sector, what would it be?

Read, read, read. The instruction is one thing, but well-rounded advice comes from a breadth of knowledge.

Equally important is networking, whether this is for new opportunities or to help out a contact. It also helps build your reputation.

What’s the most memorable or interesting thing you’ve seen on site or during a project?

It’s surprising what you find on site, from newspapers dating back to the 1960s to some far less glamorous discoveries.

I once surveyed a hoarded house and found that it had no running water, with thousands of bags being used in lieu of a toilet.

Another, perhaps more conventional, example was the Art Deco pumphouse of a now-demolished power station. It had huge inlets metres below the River Seven, and it was very eerie hearing the river running past!

What’s your favourite building?

Tough one, as there are so many examples across all different types, but in everyday life I would probably plump for the Philharmonic Pub in Liverpool. I love the history of it and imagining the deals that must have gone on there.

Worldwide, I would say the Empire State Building, as it’s the OG.