Mountgrange Investment Management LLP ("MIM"), the UK property fund and asset manager, announces that it has closed its first fund, the Mountgrange Real Estate Opportunity Fund ("The Fund"), with a total of £300 million of committed equity, one of the largest successful fund raisings for a UK dedicated fund in recent times, despite the poor economic backdrop. With debt, the Fund will have £850 million of acquisition capacity.
The Fund has attracted over 30 investors from around the world including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, the Middle East and Australia, with capital coming from endowment and pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, fund of funds, high net worth individuals and family offices.
MIM has found significant support from investors who have been drawn to the combination of the strength and experience of the fund management team and who share the view that the UK property market is an increasingly favourable place to invest in a global context. This is a combination MIM believes will generate strong investment returns.
The Fund is focused on the United Kingdom and MIM expects it to take advantage of current depressed valuations in order to make opportunistic investments across a number of market segments. These include identification of and investment in underperforming assets or portfolios and acquisitions; strategic land opportunities, where MIM can add value either through the planning process or via build-out; through to the creation of new platform businesses. MIM is also attracted to collaboration in joint ventures, where MIM will offer partners both its asset management skills and equity co-investment.
Commenting on the Fund closure, Manish Chande, a Senior Partner of MIM said: "We have been hugely encouraged by the investor interest we have attracted for the Fund. Despite the extremely challenging conditions which markets around the world have recently experienced, the Fund's investors have demonstrated support for the management team which MIM has assembled and in the opportunistic approach we have developed. We believe there are opportunities in the UK which can provide substantial returns for our investors. Our task now is to bring these identified opportunities to fruition and maximise their underlying potential."
MIM, led by Senior Partners Martin Myers and Manish Chande, assembled in 2007 an experienced investment and asset management team to source, fund and manage investment opportunities. Amongst the senior professionals who make up MIM are:
- Nick Berry (Partner) brings over 17 years experience in the delivery and management of complex property projects and asset management. A Chartered Surveyor, he qualified during his seven years at Knight Frank.
- Sally Doyle-Linden (Partner- Chief Financial Officer) has over 20 years' experience of the real estate sector. Previously she worked as Group Projects Director at Grosvenor Group, an international property and fund management group, and was head of finance at Wates City of London Properties plc, a publicly-listed UK property company. Responsible for all aspects of financial control, reporting and structuring plus investor relations, she qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte Haskins and Sells.
- Rob Mills (Partner) previously worked as an investment professional at JER Partners where he executed over £1.3 billion of UK-focused real estate and asset management transactions during his five years with the firm. With over 10 years experience in real estate, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG.
- Rob West (Partner) has worked as both an asset manager and investment broker throughout his 19 year career. During this time, he advised clients such as Legal & General, Threadneedle Investments and UBS Securities on the purchase, reconfiguration and leasing of diverse property portfolios. He qualified as a Chartered Surveyor before joining Nelson Bakewell.
Source: The HeadLand Consultancy
