Each week Bristol Business News gives a prominent member of the city’s business community the last word on its weekly e-bulletin.
This week Jonathan Brecknell, director of Bristol property developer Urban Creation, answers our 10 questions.
What was the LAST: 
Film you watched? The Intern on TV… which was really not very good! I’m looking forward to the new cinema opening on Whiteladies Road – my wife and I used to go on dates to an Everyman cinema in Hampstead, London, so it will be a bit of a trip down memory lane for us.
Book you read? The Snail and the Whale. A great book that is loved by the children and equally loved by my wife and I! It’s the tale of a snail that gets on the tail of a whale and travels around the world. What’s not to like?
Music you bought or downloaded? I don’t tend to buy new music to be honest, but I do sometimes inflict Duran Duran on my children!
Concert or play you went to? Dead Dog in a Suitcase at Bristol Old Vic. Wow – what a production. Such an uplifting, amazing performance.
Sporting event you attended? Bristol Rovers vs Exeter. They won 3:1 – a very exciting game.
Holiday you went on? I went on a family skiing holiday to Serre Chevalier in France and spent four days in Spain with some mates cycling 110 km per day – both great fun.
Restaurant you ate in? Last one I ate in was CAU in Whiteladies Road, which was great, but my absolute favourite foodie spots in Bristol have to be The Lido and Bosco Pizza.
Thing that annoyed you? A car jumping the lights at the Tyndalls Park Road junction with Whiteladies Road when I was cycling to work – so dangerous.
Thing that made you laugh out loud? My two and seven-year-old daughters make me laugh all the time. My youngest is going through a phase of copying everything her elder sister does – so that’s always source of amusement!
Piece of good advice you were given? When we were on the verge of our first major property deal and were in danger of getting carried away with the excitement of it all, our solicitor gave us a warning shot, telling us that we needed to get serious and understand we were entering a whole new level of risk than we’d been used to. I’ve never forgotten that – development is about taking calculated risks; if the fundamentals don’t stack up, leave it for someone else!
Jonathan Brecknell has been at the helm at Urban Creation for over a decade, during which the company has created more than 500 apartments across Bristol and the South of England. Having studied at Bristol University, he returned to live in the city in 2002 after a period of working in London and abroad. Ever since, he has focused on breathing new life into period and historic properties, as well as creating well-designed new buildings. Jonathan is passionate about Bristol and loves to get involved in everything it has to offer. Urban Creation has just funded Requiem for 114 Radios, a new arts installation at the heart of Bristol New Music in May.
