Living In The Moment

Real estate veteran Andrew Hay chats with Hong Xinyi about Brexit, and the right time to make adventurous investments

- Hong Xinyi

WHEN WE MET UP WITH real estate expert Andrew Hay in April, it had been a brutal quarter for then-UK prime minister, Theresa May. The Brexit withdrawal agreement she had negotiated with the European Union (EU) had been rejected by a majority of the British members of parliament (MP) for a third time, the latest instance of the country’s escalating political dysfunction since it voted to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum.

So imagine our surprise when Hay delivered a bracingly optimistic view of the UK’s future. The fundamentals of the economy, from the Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100 Index to employment figures, are holding their own, he pointed out. “Basically, corporate Britain is fit. This is a political crisis, and it will sort itself out.”

At that, with thoughts of three years’ worth of political gridlock on our minds, we couldn’t help but ask: “Er, how will it sort itself out exactly?” Which was the moment we were introduced to Hay’s deliciously dry sense of humor? “Do you want to know the secret?” he asked. “I’m going to get into politics and I’m going to knock their heads together and sort it out.”