New £100m property fund launched in Yorkshire

A FORMER director of Town Centre Securities has teamed up with two property entrepreneurs to launch a new Yorkshire-based property fund of up to £100m.

Yorvale Capital is the brainchild of James Crawford, ex-director of Leeds-based TCS and Jeremy Binnian and Matthew Cormack of city property firm Yorvale which has been responsible for schemes across the North including Network North in Normanton, 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.

Mr Crawford said: “This is a unique fund in Yorkshire. We will go and buy property taking advantage of a the fall in the UK property market which estimates show has fallen 45% since July 2007.”

The group will raise equity from institutions and high net worth individuals and is already in talks with several banks. They plan to launch 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,” added Mr Crawford.

Mr Binnian said: “We are creating a war chest bringing together a variety of investors who will put their faith in the three of us.”

“We are conscious of the fact that most property funds operate from London and we believe that a Northern based fund with equity from individuals, pension funds and institutions in our area will work well,” said Mr Cormack.

“The Northern economy has shown resilience over the years and we believe it is worth investing in at this point in the cycle. We know our markets and will be both accountable and accessible to our co-investors,” he added.

King Sturge Financial Services will promote and market the fund.

Dominic Reilly, director of King Sturge Financial Services, said: “The timing of the launch is at a point where the market makes this a very interesting opportunity.”

Mr Reilly said the experience of the team behind Yorvale Capital was a key factor.

“In terms of their track record and network of contacts – that is all important in terms of being able to buy property before it comes on the market.”