Mike Toone, the co-founder of Tudor Toone, has joined forces with build-to-rent operator LIV to establish a new investment advisory division.
Alongside LIV chief executive Graham Bates, Toone is setting up LIV Capital, which will look to harness LIV’s specialist experience in the sector as well as Toone’s capital markets background and client base.
Last month LIV advised Liverpool-based developer Brickland on sourcing £100m of capital from Heitman, which was making its UK PRS debut, to fund two schemes in Manchester and Liverpool totalling 563 flats.
Toone and Bates are targeting similar large-scale funding deals through the formation of LIV Capital. LIV Capital will work alongside LIV Consult, LIV’s division led by managing director Iain Murray which advises on strategy, facilities management, design, lifecycle modelling as well as providing research and data.
Toone left niche investment firm Tudor Toone last month, having co-founded the company 23 years ago alongside Rob Tudor.
LIV Capital will be a major focus for Toone who is also running his own specialist advisory firm, MTRE, which focuses on alternatives and, in particular, student accommodation, retirement living and mixed-use developments as well as build-to-rent.
Bates said: “This is the first specialist advisory business focused purely on BTR at a time when there is a wall of capital looking to come in.
“There are competitors working in the space but they are playing around the edge opportunistically.”
Toone added: “We are providing solutions for people where, with LIV’s management offer, we are able to give a cradle-to-grave service.
“With people who understand the workings of the property, that a lot of people don’t, we are better able to determine what works and what doesn’t work.
“We will almost always be intrinsically involved from a very early stage looking at specification, viability and affordability to give a boutique service.”
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