Two of the industry’s leading bankers have come together to set up a £500m UK-based property opportunity fund.
David Marks, 35, has resigned from his role as head of UK acquisitions at Blackstone to team up with Jason Blank, 33, who worked in Hong Kong and Tokyo for Merrill Lynch’s global principal investments team.
The pair, who met in 2000 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) near Boston, where they were both studying for master’s degrees, will base their venture – Brockton Capital – on Wardour Street in Soho.
It will start trading in late summer with Tony Edgeley, head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s corporate finance team, as non-executive chairman. Marks worked for Edgeley before he left JLL in 2000.
Marks said JLL corporate finance would be helping Brockton raise £50m-£100m of equity, which with debt would give the fund up to £500m over the next two years to spend on asset management-intensive property. “The intention is to double the equity over a five-year period,” said Marks.
Hedge funds are expected to be key investors. “They’ve been straying into the world of private equity and will stray into property now as investors are willing to leave their money in for longer,” added Blank.
Brockton will also target institutions and private families.
Paul White, managing director of Frogmore, said: “It’s an excellent move for David and the right time. The market will be very receptive to him.”
“I have no doubt that David will be successful with this fund – he’s still a young man and is someone that people enjoy working with. Putting himself into a principal position with a decent partner by his side means he will become one of the most successful players in the market within the next few years.”
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David Marks has headed US private equity firm Blackstone’s UK acquisitions since 2001. During that time, its deals have included: ● Selling 21 nursing homes to Tom Hunter and Nick Leslau for £100m this month, having acquired the Southern Cross nursing home group for £162m in September ● In January, purchasing 780,000 sq ft of West End offices at Grosvenor Crescent, SW1, from Grosvenor for £30m ● Buying the UK and Irish cinemas of French chain UGC for £200m in December ● Buying out Cine-UK in September for around £120m. It now owns over 800 UK and Irish screens in just under 80 cinemas ● Selling the Savoy Group to Quinlan for £750m last May ● Becoming a major shareholder in the Spirit Group, the UK’s largest pub owner ● Speculatively contructing the 465,000 sq ft Mammoth distribution scheme in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, in a joint venture with Astral |
