_Abdul Jambo: “Getting into property, it’s not something I knew was available to me…”
Abdul joined Knight Frank in 2021 as a Fixed Charge Receiver in the Restructuring and Recovery department on the Commercial side of the business.
Early life
Abdul was brought up in Kano, in Northern Nigeria, growing up alongside five sisters and two brothers, and has fond memories of a “really happy childhood”.
Together with his siblings, Abdul arrived in England when he was 11. After finishing their university studies, his siblings decided to return to Nigeria, but Abdul stayed. Initially heading towards a career in law but quickly realising that it wasn’t for him, Abdul turned his attention elsewhere.
From law to property
He decided to try his luck as a surveyor. Around 2007, Abdul’s line manager started noticing a pickup in cases of borrowers defaulting on their bank loans and handpicked Abdul to help him with this specific type of work – Fixed Charge Receiverships. The market crashed in 2008, but as things picked back up and banks started appointing Receivers, Abdul became a very busy man, and 17 years later, he is still busy.
After Aitchison Rafferty, Abdul went to work at Eddisons/Begbies Traynor before being headhunted by Knight Frank in 2020.
Abdul and the recoveries team are tasked with recovering defaulted loans secured against real estate. They diagnose the issues, develop a strategy, and implement it to help recover a lender’s indebtedness (usually by releasing the asset). But Abdul never forgets about the recipient of the loan or other stakeholders that may be impacted. It’s a high stakes and high-pressure role as something has gone wrong for Abdul to get involved. He is dealing with challenging real-life situations, and he is very passionate about getting the best outcome for everyone. “You work with the owner of the property as best you can,” he explains. “You’re trying to get the best outcome for everybody.”
ARK schools
While Abdul is proud of his achievements in his role and the outcomes he has been able to get for his clients, the work he does as part of the ARK schools programme stands above the rest. The ARK schools programme is an initiative whereby Knight Frank colleagues (or volunteers) go into schools to speak to young people from diverse and often disadvantaged backgrounds, enlightening them about roles within the property industry, something that Abdul acknowledges that he didn’t have and wants to change for future generations.
“The thing I’m most proud of is championing the next generation to come into the industry and make a positive impact.”
World Cultural Day
Reflecting on the importance of World Cultural Day and celebrating difference, Abdul points out that the clients that Knight Frank serves worldwide are from so many different backgrounds, and the business needs to be able to reflect that. Making people feel comfortable being their whole self in the workplace is essential in harnessing the diverse experiences and knowledge that difference brings to fully provide for our clients.
“If you’re from a different background,” he says, “take inspiration from that and use it to fuel your creativity because you can look at things differently to someone who doesn’t have your life experience.”