by Nick Mathiason
Robert and Vincent Tchen-guiz, the Iraqi-born brothers who own Rotch Group, are assembling a £1bn portfolio, which they plan to securitise within a year. Rotch last week acquired Hill House at 1 Little New Street, EC4, for £70m from German fund Despa.
The company is close to buying another £200m of properties, thought to include Quadrant House in Sutton, Surrey, owned by quoted company Minerva.
Rotch plans to sell the income generated by the portfolio to investors via a bond issue when the value of assets reaches £1bn.
Chairman Robert Tchen-guiz said: “We are looking at every building on the market with a view to building upthe portfolio. Ultimately, we aim to securitise £1bn of property within 12 months.”
Both Hill House and Quadrant House have strong covenants, essential to provide security to back a bond issue.
Accountant Deloitte & Touche has a 35-year unexpired lease at Hill House, and Quadrant House is let to multi-national publishing group Reed Elsevier.
A £1bn securitisation would be Rotch’s second venture into the bond market. The com-pany has already packaged up £600m of property and securitised the income stream.
The Rotch deal signifies another example of German money leaving the capital. Despa, the open-ended fund with London assets worth £420m, now has only four central London investments.
