Braemar Group sold for £4m

REAL estate fund and management firm Braemar Group, which manages Manchester’s Beetham Tower, has been sold for £4m.

The Hale-based group has been bought by Mayfair-based Brooks Macdonald after making the board an offer of 2.25p per share.

Brooks Macdonald, which had £2.05bn under management as at the end of March, believes the acquisition will strengthen its scale and distribution in the UK retail market.

Braemar has seen its losses before tax fall to £130,000 in the year to the end of March 2010 – down from £210,000 last time.

The Hale-based group – which bought the freehold of Manchester’s Beetham Tower, through its Channel Islands listed Ground Rents Fund in April – has seen its turnover drop to £2.59m from £2.61m over the same period.

The group’s asset management arm Braemar Estates, which manages around 3,100 properties has more than £500m total assets under management.

Its divisional turnover for the year is made up of: £1,575,000 from corporate finance and fund management from its Braemar Securities division (2009: £1,513,000); and £967,000 from its property management division named Braemar Estates (2009: £1,097,000).

Commenting on the results chairman Martin Robinson said: “The directors are pleased that the above achievements, in particular the increase in recurring income, are providing a stable financial footing for the Group and a platform for solid profitable growth.

“Current trading is in line with directors’ expectations.

“Our strategy remains that of developing our fund management business, backed by the continued development of our support services in corporate finance and property management. 

“The medium-term aim of the group is to ensure that recurring income is sufficient to cover all administrative costs and to build profitability thereafter.”