In 2022, the United Asia Group, the UAG, will reach an important milestone:  It will be 28 years since the company was founded. As with most successful companies, the beginnings were modest. For UAG’s Managing Director, Nicole Chow, who now works closely with her life and business partner, architect Tony Battersby, Chairman of UAG, the success can be partially attributed to wanting to always know more, whether it’s about the communities in which her developments are located, or the intricacies of the town planning process and the arbitration system that comes with this.

Chow’s career trajectory could have easily taken a different path had she completed her architectural studies in Singapore. Rather than completing a five- year architecture program, she switched to Business Administration at the Singapore Institute of Management (now SIM University). Even then, Chow could see the advantage of completing a two-and-a-half-year course and the value of time. “You could say that I’m an impatient person and I’m keen to get results sooner, rather than later.” Chow’s father, who attended her graduation ceremony, was taken aback that the certificate was for business administration rather than for architecture. “I was the slightly rebellious one in the family, but that doesn’t mean that I am not up to new challenges.”

Today, Chow oversees a diverse portfolio of projects, not only in Melbourne, but also on the east coast of America and in Southeast Asia. Chow is integral to all the design reviews and ‘massages’ some of the ideas. “There might be a story or an idea in my mind, but each project has to work commercially as well as aesthetically.” Nicole surrounds herself with loyal and talented consultants, many who have been working with Chow since the inception of UAG. And as with an efficient organisation, staff can vary between half a dozen during a hiatus period to in excess of 20, when projects such as ‘North’, 453 apartments in North Melbourne, were under construction. Understanding the property market at any point in time, and capitalising on opportunities as well as following her instincts, has enabled Chow to become a leader, rather than emulating other property developers. Slow periods or market troughs are spent planning for the ‘upturns’, a period of four years in many instances. “Everyone becomes a developer when prices are ‘heady’ (read ‘inflated’).”

UAG has made an indelible mark on many of what are now Melbourne’s most coveted suburbs: the bayside areas of Blackrock, Sandringham and Beaumaris through to blue ribbon areas such as Brighton, Armadale, South Yarra, Hawthorn and Toorak. However, Chow in more recent years has acquired sites in West Melbourne (2,000 square metres in Dudley Street) and 9,000 square metres in nearby Kensington, a suburb she was completely unfamiliar with until the time of acquisition. “Kensington just had a great village feel. I could also see the opportunity of providing affordable housing for young singles and couples entering the market for the first time.”