Ashen Capital makes first corporate investment

Ashen Capital, a real estate investment vehicle set up last year by former Fiera Real Estate executives Alex Price and Steven Wright, has made its first corporate investment. The company is buying a 20% stake in London-based Sibner Investment Management, a subsidiary of Sibner Group, which will invest in residential property and lend to small housebuilders. Sibner IM will manage third-party capital in a fund structure and is expected to launch in the coming weeks with a £20m initial seed commitment from Sibner Group and Ashen. Price said: “Ashen’s mission is to help grow smaller property businesses by providing three separate strands of support: management expertise, co-investment and access to an institutional investor base. The investment into Sibner IM does this while also allowing us to partner with an exceptional team. This platform gives a superior risk-adjusted way to access the UK residential sector while also helping to contribute to solving the UK’s chronic housing shortage.” Wilfrid van Geest, managing director of Sibner Group, added: “Ashen’s involvement in Sibner IM is an important step as we continue to grow and improve our offering to clients. They bring a wealth of investment management, real estate and lending experience, which will help us give third parties access to the outstanding performance we have achieved ourselves over the past five years.”