The last few years have seen declining congregations become a catalyst for the repurposing of churches as community buildings, from event spaces and recreational facilities to accommodation. Now the tables are turning. While many of these town centre facilities now lie empty and crumbling, church attendance, particularly among Gen Z, is up 50% since 2018, creating a demand for places of communal worship. And it is music to the ears of property entrepreneur Alex Dawson.
Congegrational homes wanted
Religious community leaders of all denominations seeking new premises for their congregations in the U.K. have an unexpected contact on speed dial. Having accrued a database of 6,000 ‘applicants’ seeking a home for places of worship, Dawson is the property expert they are are turning to.
His business, Alex Martin, is bringing defunct community-use buildings, from derelict bingo halls to out-of-use cinemas, back into multiple varieties of use. The challenge with finding sites suitable for religious worship is that long before a for-sale sign even appears, developers have already caught wind of an off-market deal and, in their quest to develop lucrative housing stock, started the process of acquiring these valuable central spaces.
“If a member of the public wants to buy a house, there is a proper structure in place. You register with agents, see listings online, go on viewings, get finance organized,” says Dawson. “On the other hand, the faith groups we advise haven’t got a clue who to ask and are always behind the curve when it comes to securing premises, which is where we step in.”
Pathway to property
Dawson, 53, founded the business in 2010, using his middle name, Martin, to establish his agency’s name. He describes his family as having had a strange relationship with religion. His grandparents were Christian missionaries in Jamaica, which led to his mother rebelling against religion when she was sent to boarding school.
His early years were difficult, and at one point he fell in with the wrong crowd. However, he eventually found his way, working through various sales and marketing jobs, learning vital people skills before entering the world of property.
Initially, Dawson juggled roles between commercial, residential and developer-side, attaining a well-rounded understanding of the property landscape, armed with a degree in land management.
It was around the time of the global financial crisis that he felt ready to launch his agency, with a focus on the church world, which he grew to appreciate and love. For him, it was simple; there was an untapped market, and he knew what to do.
His first success came when Gala Bingo wanted to sell their halls, and he was able to structure the perfect deal to repurpose the building as a church. Since then, a string of former community halls, theatres, religious buildings, bingo halls, old cinemas, working men’s clubs, doctors’ surgeries and dental practices have been rescued and put back into use.
Specialist property expertise
Religious leaders often lack the commercial understanding and know-how when it comes to negotiating property leases, which is where Dawson’s expertise makes the difference.
He says: “Finding an off-market deal is near-impossible as developers usually know of every potential opportunity first. Buildings of this nature rarely have the opportunity to get appraised and marketed as developers come armed with huge buying power, and in property, cash is king because it guarantees a sale.
“The casualty of this dynamic would be a brilliant community-oriented tenant, like a church, nursery or arts cinema, being hamstrung by not having finance perfectly in place when faced with an opportunity.”
Many faith groups, while having huge aspirations for their new buildings, often lack the financial resources to make it happen. “A ministry, for example, might want a building that can accommodate 300 people, but doesn’t have the £1 million or so required to secure the correct site,” says Dawson. “In these situations, we have advised clients to purchase a building able to seat 100, build up the congregation, and sell on once the building’s value has appreciated, and the faith group has a track record of operation.”
A complex planning system
As an agency Alex Martin specializes in two categories of commercial property, ‘F1’ and ‘F2’, which in recent years were reclassified in a bid to simplify the planning process. F1 (Learning and Non-residential Institutions) includes properties such as schools, libraries, museums, and places of worship. F2 (Local Community) encompasses uses such as small shops selling essential goods, community halls, and outdoor sports areas.
“Planning is a big problem right now,” says Dawson. “Getting ‘F1’ planning status approval, needed for faith groups, is a challenge as you have to demonstrate that the existing building use is obsolete. The challenge is that councils are more partial to grant planning to residential developments as there is always pressure to deliver housing.”
Hillsong Church has been in the U.K. since the early 1990s and has since expanded globally. U.K. operations director Dave Havers says: “Estate agents generally don’t offer the opportunities we need, with F1 use or the potential for class-use to be changed to F1. This is where Alex Martin steps in. They have been critical in helping us secure two of our largest buildings to date. The key benefit of working with a party who completely understands our needs is finding the relevant opportunities in a market that requires a high degree of specialist knowledge.”
National expansion
The business reached a significant turning point during the pandemic when religious leaders for whom he was acting in the acquisition of new spaces, began to entrust Dawson with selling their properties as well.
But it’s not just religious-use buildings that the firm acquires for clients. The fastest growing area of the agency is providing spaces for nurseries and special-needs schools and helping borough councils find new tenants or buyers for their crumbling old buildings.
With last year’s turnover reaching £50 million, Alex Martin is now rolling out its services to regional cities across England. Dawson has a weekly podcast interviewing property professionals and lively clients, including some of the most charismatic religious leaders in this country. He describes it all as part of his quest to shake up the image of an otherwise staid property market. Crucially, he is helping many organizations overcome the challenges of playing a vital role within their community.
Bishop John Francis, founder and Senior Pastor of Ruach City Church, says: “Finding a church is a complex business requiring you to go beyond ‘making a sale,’ as the interests of so many parties have to be considered. It also comes with the weight of responsibility of being part of building a local community. As a property entrepreneur, Alex Dawson has grown with the church world, understands our needs and, more importantly, our challenges.”
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