£100m Northern property fund launched

A TRIO of experienced property entrepreneurs have joined up to launch a new Northern-based property fund to raise up to £100m.

Yorvale Capital is the brainchild of James Crawford, ex-director of quoted property group Town Centre Securities and Jeremy Binnian and Matthew Cormack of property firm Yorvale which has been responsible for schemes across the North including Calver Quay in Warrington, Windmill Retail Park in Widnes and Orion Business Park in North Shields.

The fund is looking to raise up to £50m of equity and a similar amount in debt to be able to buy up commercial properties across the North of England.

The team behind Yorvale Capital believes that the collapse in values in the property market over the last two years coupled with the lack of finance in the market means that there are opportunities to acquire commercial property at competitive prices.

Mr Crawford, left TCS after 14 years last year. Appointed to the board in 1996, he was responsible for the group’s property investment portfolio.

Mr Binnian, a qualified chartered surveyor, worked for Gerald Eve, Sun Life Properties and Heron Property Corporation in London before setting up Dunedin’s Leeds office and then launching Yorvale in 1992.

Mr Cormack joined Yorvale in 2003 from retail developer Oakgate Group and prior to that worked for eight years with St Quintin in Leeds specialising in investment agency advising institutional clients such as Morley, Hermes and Legal & General.

The group will raise equity from institutions and high net worth individuals and is already in talks with several banks. They will look at further funds once the first has been established.

“The idea is to have income producing assets. We see it being predominantly retail-based with some offices and some industrial,” said Mr Crawford.