Mr. Conal Newland

As Head of Living for APAC at Cushman & Wakefield, I lead our strategic growth across one of the most dynamic segments in real estate - purpose-built rental housing. With over two decades of specialist experience in the student accommodation and broader Living sectors, I’ve had the privilege of advising both universities and private sector clients across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. My journey began in the UK, where I spent nearly 10 years providing valuation and advisory services to major developers and funding institutions, including Unite Group Plc and Universities Partnerships Programme (UPP). Since relocating to Australia in 2013, I’ve worked with leading operators such as Urbanest, Iglu, UniLodge, Frasers, CLV, Scape, and Valparaiso, as well as top-tier universities including the University of Sydney, UNSW, UTS, Macquarie University, The University of Melbourne, RMIT, Deakin University, the University of Queensland, and QUT. I’m a Registered Valuer in both the UK and New Zealand, and a Certified Practicing Valuer in Australia. My transactional experience spans over 10,000 bedrooms and £550 million in UK student accommodation project finance, along with landmark deals in Australia such as the $60 million sale of RMIT Village in Melbourne, UniLodge at Metro in Adelaide, and UniLodge at UNSW in Sydney.