Former BNP Paribas Real Estate residential capital markets head Andrew Screen has launched a specialist residential transactions and capital advisory business.
Screen has established Parkmore Capital to advise landowners, developers, investors and operators on acquisitions, disposals and development financing across the UK’s living sectors.
The firm will provide sales and purchase brokerage, development advice, forward-funding and forward-purchase services, as well as sourcing debt for development and acquisitions. It will operate across the private rented sector, build-to-rent, single-family housing, co-living, purpose-built student accommodation and affordable housing.
Screen said the business would focus on large-scale residential transactions across the full lifecycle of an asset, from securing development finance and institutional capital for forward-funding/purchasing of schemes through to the acquisition or disposal of stabilised, income-producing investments.
Parkmore will position itself as a specialist rather than generalist adviser, combining residential sector expertise with Screen’s existing relationships across developers, banks, debt and equity funds, private equity, pension funds and insurers.
Screen has more than 35 years’ experience in property development and residential real estate finance. He joined BNP Paribas Real Estate in May 2022 as head of residential capital markets, having previously spent almost four years at Cortland, where he was chief investment officer for the UK. Earlier in his career, he held roles at CBRE and GVA.
Speaking to Estates Gazette when he joined BNP in 2022, Screen predicted that the next stage of the then rapidly expanding BTR market would see investors increasingly seek to assemble portfolios and a growing number of pension and sovereign wealth funds deploy capital into the sector.
At the time, he said: “Everyone is looking to build portfolios and attract more investment. Opportunistic investors will be looking for a five-to-seven-year hold period.”
He also argued that demand for BTR would remain resilient despite rising construction costs, inflation and interest rates.
On Parkmore’s launch, Screen said: “While the development of residential real estate is somewhat constrained due to higher development and finance costs, the sector is gaining momentum in the delivery of single family rental and affordable housing, supported by lower development risk and large government capital allocations for affordable housing.
“Essentially, there is a huge demand for housing in the UK however residential development is recalibrating, with developers shifting from hi-rise urban developments or higher-risk projects, to those with lower risk, increased viability or a guaranteed exit. Parkmore Capital was established to primarily provide services to property developers seeking forward-funding and forward-purchase transactions, to fund their developments or provide an exit at completion. As the development market improves over the next two years, Parkmore Capital will be well positioned to take advantage of the increase in residential development.”
Image: ©Parkmore Capital
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