Following a launch event in the City last week, we are delighted to announce that Growthdeck Property, our new commercial real estate arm, is now officially live – and it’s caught the attention of industry-leading publication Property Week (Growthdeck launches commercial property investment platform for private investors).
Growthdeck Property allows private investors to invest directly in UK commercial property opportunities, with a focus on value-add opportunities across all sectors and located throughout the UK, and with a target geared return of 10-15% pa. We will initially concentrate on properties in the £2m-£5m price range, and our investors will provide around half the capital, with external debt finance making up the balance.
The Growthdeck Property team is headed by experienced property investment manager Andrew White – who held senior investment roles at a property company based in Edinburgh and managed major property assets for institutions including AXA SunLife, which has £400m AUM, and TSB Life – and Michael Ross, who spent a decade as CFO of a multinational architectural practice.
Andrew, who has acquired over £500m in assets across various funds and joint ventures, has also headed large property businesses in the UK as well as the Gulf. Michael, who qualified as a chartered accountant in 1986, is the founder of Buckingham Homes through which he has partnered in substantial mixed-use developments over the past five years.
Andrew and Michael are joined by high-profile chairman Xavier Pullen, whose appointment has been covered by City AM – City Moves for 6 June – Who’s switching jobs?.
Xavier was co-founder and Managing Director at Capital & Regional, the London Stock Exchange listed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), for over 30 years and helped drive growth in net assets from £7m in 1986 to over £700m when he left in 2013, and he jointly led its initial IPO. Xavier has invested in, and managed, major property assets across industrial, office and retail and leisure sectors. He is Director of Commercial Property at Property Partner, the UK’s leading crowdfunding property investment platform, and is also a Partner at Ruffena Capital, which raises capital for companies in commercial property and other sectors.
Gary Robins, our Head of Business Development, comments: “We’re delighted to be able to respond to demand from our investor network and launch Growthdeck Property.”
“Xavier, Andrew and Michael have decades of experience in the UK real estate market, and will be providing investors with hand-picked direct investments in commercial property. That is a rare opportunity for private investors.”
“Growthdeck Property’s strategy of adding value to existing properties is particularly appropriate in the current market. The time of being able to rely on automatic growth in capital values appears to have passed – active management of the investment following a deal is critical.”
Growthdeck Property will give investors in our real estate opportunities the chance to reinvest their gains into investments that qualify for the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), and reduce their Capital Gains Tax, Income Tax and Inheritance Tax bills.
Michael Ross comments: “We are delighted to be joining Growthdeck. The business is growing strongly and the addition of this new property investment service is likely to be of real appeal to our investors. We believe the scope to mitigate tax liabilities derived from property gains by investing in the Growthdeck tax-efficient private company opportunities is a really attractive angle.”