GLASGOW-based private equity firm Maven Capital Partners has revealed plans to ramp up its property investment activities, and is close to signing an agreement to provide back-office client support services to a big Scottish financial outfit.
Meanwhile, the firm is roughly doubling its head office space in Glasgow from 2800 sq ft to 5500 sqft with a move from Sutherland House in St Vincent Street to Kintyre House in West George Street, which was occupied by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers before it moved to Bothwell Street.
Assets under management at Maven, which runs a clutch of venture capital trusts as well as the Scottish Government-backed, £94.2 million Scottish Loan Fund, have now passed £300m. The private equity house employs nearly 40 people, including around 20 in Glasgow.
Maven had about 25 staff and ran some £160m of funds when it was formed by the management buy-out of private equity operations from Aberdeen Asset Management three years ago.
Bill Nixon, who is managing partner of Maven and led the 2009 buy-out, told The Herald that the private equity house had established a new subsidiary registered in Jersey and was about to launch a "ground rent" fund of up to £60m.
Such ground rent arrangements are much more common in England, where many properties are subject to a long leasehold, than in Scotland, where owner-occupiers tend to have the freehold.
Maven plans that its new fund will buy up ground rents, with Glasgow-based company Greenbelt sourcing the transactions. Ground rents can be bought from the likes of housebuilders.
Mr Nixon said that the private equity firm has hired Marie Ross, a solicitor who is moving from Ogier Fiduciary Services (Guernsey) to lead its drive into providing back-office services for third parties.
Ms Ross worked previously for ScottishPower, Scottish Widows, Britannic Asset Management, Scottish Pride, and the Scottish Milk Marketing Board.
Mr Nixon said: "We are about to sign a back-office client support contract with a major Scottish financial services business."
He declined to name this Scottish financial firm ahead of the contract being signed.
Highlighting Maven's appetite to build such third-party administration business, he added: "We are looking for more. We see Glasgow as a centre of excellence for support services in fund management. We see it as a natural adjunct to the fund management business."
Meanwhile, Mr Nixon revealed that Maven had, at the end of last year, been in exclusive talks about buying a fund management business in England, specialising in property.
Ultimately, Maven decided against making this purchase.
However, Mr Nixon said that Maven was now at "heads of terms" on a joint venture with a "well-known London property manager".
He added that this would allow Maven to offer "property-related product" to its co-investors, who include wealthy individuals and families, and people with self-invested personal pensions.
Mr Nixon noted Maven's number of co-investors had grown significantly to nearly 200 since the buy-out. These co-investors can put money up on a deal-by-deal basis with Maven.
Referring to the impending property joint venture, Mr Nixon said this would allow co-investors to "invest in hotels and secure long lets and other income-producing capital assets".
Mr Nixon, who highlighted the low interest-rate environment, declared: "It (property) is another asset class that can provide attractive and secure levels of income."
He noted that recent Maven recruit Ramsay Duff would provide a "link" in this property joint venture relationship.
Maven late last year bought HM Corporate Solutions, a business which took advantage of a tax break to raise funding for the Hotel Indigo and easyHotel developments in Glasgow, from Mr Duff and law firm Harper Macleod.
Mr Nixon said of Maven's first three years: "It has gone really well. It is ahead of our personal business plan."
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