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● Set up in September 2003 by Clive Bush and Daniel Van Gelder ●Property portfolio of 1.3m sq ft withend-value on completion of around £350m ● Funding partners include Schroders, UBS, GE Real Estate ● Joint venture partner is Helical Bar ●Looking for development and investment opportunities with end-values in the orderof £15m-£100m Daniel Van Gelder, director Educated Harrow and University of West of England 1994-1998 Surveyor, Richard Ellis 1998-2003 Director, Development Securities Sept 2003-present Exemplar Properties Clive Bush, director Educated Shrewsbury and St John’s college, Cambridge 1991-1995 Surveyor, Hillier Parker 1995-1997 Development manager, MEPC 1997-1999 Development director,City & West End 1999-2003 Head of new business, DevSec Sept 2003-present Exemplar Properties Exemplar Properties is a small firm aiming high. From the outset, founders Daniel Van Gelder and Clive Bush decided on large-scale andhigh-quality projects. They had been directorsat Development Securities, working onhigh-profile projects such as the Royals Business Park in Docklands and Paddington Central. In just under three years, they have gone from a two-man band to a firm of eight, with a £350m, 1.2m sq ft property portfolio. Around 35% of their holdings are in the City, including Milton Gate, EC2, and 23-26 Austin Friars, EC3. The rest is located in the South East. The first year was quieter than expected, with no acquisitions. Gelder says they used the time to learn the market. The reality of their early days hit home when they were planning to visit MIPIM for the first time as directors of Exemplar. Instead of reservations in Cannes, they were offered rooms in Nice. “It was a bit like going from the top of the tree to the very bottom,” says Gelder. When they did buy, they chose something big, despite their nerves, and secured the 245,000 sq ft Leon House in Croydon. “The first purchase was a relief as it was a big lot – £35m – and we spent a further £5m refurbishing,” he says. Leon House, which has office space and 15,000 sq ft of retail, was 40% vacant and in need of the investment. The building now hasa vacancy rate of 8% and rents have risen from £14 per sq ft to £17.50 per sq ft. Gelder believes attention to detail – such as ensuring paint drips are cleaned up – is important. “If you pick the right product and do a good job then it will get the right rent,” he says. He admits that it has been a learning curve and says the future focus will be on buildings that are not on the open market. “We try and find lease expiries and opportunities where the owner’s loan term is coming to an end.” Gelder insists they do not want to be a big firm. “The portfolio we have is a lot. We don’t want to buy anything but we may well be doing some selling.” When they do buy, the targets will be Midtown, fringe areas and suburban centres. What Gelder really wants may be more difficult: “I want to be in a position where people approach us.” |
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● Set up in April 2002 ● Portfolio of 15 buildings valued at more than £71m, with lot values ranging from £500,000 to £25m ●Bankers include Lehman Brothers, Bank of Scotland, RBS ● Looking for mixed-use investment opportunities in fringe and suburban locations within the M25 ● Looking for out-of-town retail and office development opportunities of 18,000-25,000 sq ft in London and Thames Valley Stuart Loggie Born 16 December 1963 Educated University of the South Bank, London 1986-1988 Investment surveyor, Hillier Parker May 1988-August 1992 Partner, Blanchflower Morgan Sept 1992-March 2002 Founding partner, Morgan Loggie March 2002 Joint founder, Cube Real Estate Lifestyle Married, with three children. His interests include family, golf, rugby and football Chris Oliver Born 11 February 1963 Educated University of the South Bank, London Oct 1983-Dec 1987 Graduate entrant,King Sturge June 1987 Founding director, Salmon Properties Jan 1988-June 1989 Surveyor, Bride Hall Developments Dec 1989-Dec 2002 Chairman, Salmon Properties May 1994-Dec 2002 Director, Salmon Properties, Harvester Properties March 2002 Joint founder, Cube Real EstatePersonal: Married, two children Now entering its fourth year in business, Cube Real Estate is another fledgling property firm with ambitious plans. Founders Stuart Loggie and Chris Oliver have more than 40 years in the industry between them but the excitement of chasing the deal is still alive and well. Loggie admits he wanted to set up his own business to become more involved. “I got bored of being an agent as you are not in the middle of the decision-making, and fancied a change,” he explains. Cube was not his first venture, as he was a founding partner of Morgan Loggie. He has been friends with Oliver since university. Having had parallel career paths, they decided it was the right time to work together. “Chris and I talked about doing something together,” says Loggie. “The sector was gaining pace and development opportunities were quite tight. We had a clean sheet as far as the business plan was concerned, and some cash. The aim was to buy buildings, add value and sell.” They set up shop in 2002 with a couple of admin staff. Despite their experience, buying their first building was not easy. “It was scary to buy the first and also exciting to take the plunge. Chris was more relaxed,” he admits. The first acquisition was the multilet, 46,000 sq ft Bedford House in Camden, which they bought from Delancey. It had already been under offer twice. Loggie and Oliver secured it for £10m in February 2003. Losing one of the tenants within the first four months only spurred them on with their £360,000 refurbishment plans. Part of the ground floor was let to supermarket chain Somerfield, which was due a rent review. Taking what Loggie describes as a “bullish view” they secured an increase from £38,000 to £330,0000 pa. Having let office space as it became available, they got planning permission for some residential units at the back of the building. Rather than developing the homes themselves, they decided that, with investors fairly active, selling would be a better option. It was a decision that would pay off. “We received 15 bids and sold for £18.47m, a net gain of £7.7m with return on equity of 100% over three years. It felt fantastic, as we expected to get 22.5% over four years,” says Loggie. The strategy since then has been to target buildings to which value can be added. Three years on, Cube Real Estate owns 15 buildings worth a total of £71m. Most – 60% – are in London, with the rest mainly in the South East. Office space makes up nearly two thirds, with the remainder a mixture of retail and leisure. Cube will now work on building its portfolio, spending up to £200m in the next 24 months in areas such as Clerkenwell, Putney, Battersea and Southwark. “We think there will be growth in the suburban office market,” says Loggie. Despite the grand acquisition plans, he doesn’t want Cube to become a large company. When the company moves offices in a couple of months’ time there will be 12 members of staff. |
Dual controls It’s not just the big names that drive development and investment in London. Examplar Properties and Cube Real Estate are two small companies that wish to remain small while keeping their eyes on the big picture. By Stacey Meadwell
Daniel Van Gelder (left) & Clive Bush Exemplar Properties
● Set up in September 2003 by Clive Bush and Daniel Van Gelder
●Property portfolio of 1.3m sq ft withend-value on completion of around £350m
● Funding partners include Schroders, UBS, GE Real Estate
● Joint venture partner is Helical Bar
●Looking for development and investment opportunities with end-values in the orderof £15m-£100m
Daniel Van Gelder, director
Educated Harrow and University of West of England
1994-1998 Surveyor, Richard Ellis
1998-2003 Director, Development Securities
Sept 2003-present Exemplar Properties
Clive Bush, director
Educated Shrewsbury and St John’s college, Cambridge
1991-1995 Surveyor, Hillier Parker
1995-1997 Development manager, MEPC
1997-1999 Development director,City & West End
1999-2003 Head of new business, DevSec
Sept 2003-present Exemplar Properties
Exemplar Properties is a small firm aiming high. From the outset, founders Daniel Van Gelder and Clive Bush decided on large-scale andhigh-quality projects. They had been directorsat Development Securities, working onhigh-profile projects such as the Royals Business Park in Docklands and Paddington Central.
In just under three years, they have gone from a two-man band to a firm of eight, with a £350m, 1.2m sq ft property portfolio. Around 35% of their holdings are in the City, including Milton Gate, EC2, and 23-26 Austin Friars, EC3. The rest is located in the South East.
The first year was quieter than expected, with no acquisitions. Gelder says they used the time to learn the market. The reality of their early days hit home when they were planning to visit MIPIM for the first time as directors of Exemplar. Instead of reservations in Cannes, they were offered rooms in Nice. “It was a bit like going from the top of the tree to the very bottom,” says Gelder.
When they did buy, they chose something big, despite their nerves, and secured the 245,000 sq ft Leon House in Croydon. “The first purchase was a relief as it was a big lot – £35m – and we spent a further £5m refurbishing,” he says.
Leon House, which has office space and 15,000 sq ft of retail, was 40% vacant and in need of the investment. The building now hasa vacancy rate of 8% and rents have risen from £14 per sq ft to £17.50 per sq ft.
Gelder believes attention to detail – such as ensuring paint drips are cleaned up – is important. “If you pick the right product and do a good job then it will get the right rent,” he says.
He admits that it has been a learning curve and says the future focus will be on buildings that are not on the open market. “We try and find lease expiries and opportunities where the owner’s loan term is coming to an end.”
Gelder insists they do not want to be a big firm. “The portfolio we have is a lot. We don’t want to buy anything but we may well be doing some selling.”
When they do buy, the targets will be Midtown, fringe areas and suburban centres. What Gelder really wants may be more difficult: “I want to be in a position where people approach us.”
Stuart Loggie (left) and Chris OliverCube Real Estate
● Set up in April 2002
● Portfolio of 15 buildings valued at more than £71m, with lot values ranging from £500,000 to £25m
●Bankers include Lehman Brothers, Bank of Scotland, RBS
● Looking for mixed-use investment opportunities in fringe and suburban locations within the M25
● Looking for out-of-town retail and office development opportunities of 18,000-25,000 sq ft in London and Thames Valley
Stuart Loggie
Born 16 December 1963
Educated University of the South Bank, London
1986-1988 Investment surveyor, Hillier Parker
May 1988-August 1992 Partner, Blanchflower Morgan
Sept 1992-March 2002 Founding partner, Morgan Loggie
March 2002 Joint founder, Cube Real Estate
Lifestyle Married, with three children. His interests include family, golf, rugby and football
Chris Oliver
Born 11 February 1963
Educated University of the South Bank, London
Oct 1983-Dec 1987 Graduate entrant,King Sturge
June 1987 Founding director, Salmon Properties
Jan 1988-June 1989 Surveyor, Bride Hall Developments
Dec 1989-Dec 2002 Chairman, Salmon Properties
May 1994-Dec 2002 Director, Salmon Properties, Harvester Properties
March 2002 Joint founder, Cube Real EstatePersonal: Married, two children
Now entering its fourth year in business, Cube Real Estate is another fledgling property firm with ambitious plans. Founders Stuart Loggie and Chris Oliver have more than 40 years in the industry between them but the excitement of chasing the deal is still alive and well.
Loggie admits he wanted to set up his own business to become more involved.
“I got bored of being an agent as you are not in the middle of the decision-making, and fancied a change,” he explains.
Cube was not his first venture, as he was a founding partner of Morgan Loggie. He has been friends with Oliver since university. Having had parallel career paths, they decided it was the right time to work together.
“Chris and I talked about doing something together,” says Loggie. “The sector was gaining pace and development opportunities were quite tight. We had a clean sheet as far as the business plan was concerned, and some cash. The aim was to buy buildings, add value and sell.”
They set up shop in 2002 with a couple of admin staff. Despite their experience, buying their first building was not easy. “It was scary to buy the first and also exciting to take the plunge. Chris was more relaxed,” he admits.
The first acquisition was the multilet, 46,000 sq ft Bedford House in Camden, which they bought from Delancey. It had already been under offer twice. Loggie and Oliver secured it for £10m in February 2003.
Losing one of the tenants within the first four months only spurred them on with their £360,000 refurbishment plans. Part of the ground floor was let to supermarket chain Somerfield, which was due a rent review. Taking what Loggie describes as a “bullish view” they secured an increase from £38,000 to £330,0000 pa.
Having let office space as it became available, they got planning permission for some residential units at the back of the building. Rather than developing the homes themselves, they decided that, with investors fairly active, selling would be a better option. It was a decision that would pay off. “We received 15 bids and sold for £18.47m, a net gain of £7.7m with return on equity of 100% over three years. It felt fantastic, as we expected to get 22.5% over four years,” says Loggie.
The strategy since then has been to target buildings to which value can be added. Three years on, Cube Real Estate owns 15 buildings worth a total of £71m. Most – 60% – are in London, with the rest mainly in the South East. Office space makes up nearly two thirds, with the remainder a mixture of retail and leisure.
Cube will now work on building its portfolio, spending up to £200m in the next 24 months in areas such as Clerkenwell, Putney, Battersea and Southwark. “We think there will be growth in the suburban office market,” says Loggie.
Despite the grand acquisition plans, he doesn’t want Cube to become a large company. When the company moves offices in a couple of months’ time there will be 12 members of staff.
