James Thornton, co-founder of Mayfair Capital, is stepping down as chief executive of the real estate investment firm.
Executive director Giles King will become chief executive from January. Thornton will become non-executive chairman and sit on the company’s UK executive board, as well as its investment risk and remuneration committees. He will also continue to work on Mayfair Capital’s largest mandate, the Property Income Trust for Charities, which invests in real estate on behalf of charitable organisations.
Thornton helped to establish Mayfair Capital in 2002 and has been its chief executive since 2014. In 2016, he oversaw the company’s sale to Swiss Life.
“Some people are probably a bit surprised that I stayed for four years, but I genuinely have enjoyed managing the business through transition into the bigger parent,” he told EG. “They’ve been really supportive and culturally perfectly aligned.”
Thornton spent the first 15 years of his career at Jones Lang Wootton – now JLL – most of which time was in its investment management division. In 1996, he moved to Savills, where he was director of fund management, before setting up Mayfair Capital.
He’ll now work for three days a week at Mayfair Capital and is also looking for pro bono charity roles and non-executive posts. He should also have more downtime for travel and recreation.
Assets under management at Mayfair Capital have doubled to more than £1.8bn since the Swiss Life tie-up, with new UK and European strategies launched during the past four years. Asked for his fondest memories at Mayfair, he highlights the charity fund reaching £650m in AUM as well as his pride in building a “diverse, talented” team.
Clients that learned last week of his impending departure underlined that latter point. “The most pleasing feedback has come from those that have said ‘you built a great business with a great team’,” Thornton said. “That gives me great pleasure.”
Stefan Mächler, group chief investment officer at Swiss Life, said Thornton has “contributed immensely” to Mayfair Capital’s success. “I am very happy that James is taking over the chairmanship; under his continued stewardship we ensure a smooth transition and sharing of insights,” he added.
King joined the company in 2018 from Westmount Real Estate. Earlier in his career he was head of investor relations in EMEA for CBRE Global Investors.
“Giles is a really good all-rounder,” Thornton said. “We knew him as a friend in the industry for a number of years, and the characteristics that we recognised have been borne out. The chemistry with Tim [Munn, the company’s new chief investment officer] and Giles taking the business forward is really good.
“I’m feeling very confident about the future. If I can play a role in a different way and make a contribution, that will still be very satisfying.”
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