Property players look to take fund over £100m

THE team behind a property investment fund that has raised almost £15m during the past nine months believe it can rise to more than £100m.

The Longcross Property Investment Fund is an open-ended investment company, which specialises in the acquisition of commercial and residential property.

It is managed by Ripley Asset Management, run by Michael Hardman, a former partner in Yorkshire Bank’s structured property finance team, and Julian D’Arcy, former chairman of the northern region of property consultancy Knight Frank.

Mr Hardman said: “The fund is performing very well indeed and is now close to £15m in size. Our target is to take it to £25m in our first year, before pushing on towards £50m and ultimately £100m plus.

“We are delighted to have made so much progress already during a challenging time both for the British economy and the property market”.

He added: “Having said that, the collapse in values in the property market over the last three years, coupled with the lack of finance in the market, means that there are opportunities to acquire commercial property at competitive prices”.

The first series of acquisitions by Longcross, including a raft of office units in the Home Counties, are providing an investment return of more than 12%.

Mr D’Arcy said: “Ripley Asset Management, Longcross’s retained asset manager, is a unique asset management house because we source the equity, agree the senior debt and run all management operations in house on behalf of our retained clients.

“Our vision as asset managers is to select stock that will perform through active asset management. We will only borrow at around 50% and believe that in the current climate growth can be delivered by consistent income streams and utilising a full cash sweep to pay off the debt.

“Generally property (both commercial and residential) has offered a consistent performance over the last 25 years but timing and conservative gearing have been key parameters in driving a return for clients.

“So, overall, the future is very bright. During the next six to 12 months we will be aiming to increase our strong client base and grow the Longcross Property Investment Fund.”