Fortwell Capital management completes buy out

Executive director Dan Smith (pictured) and head of real estate finance Arthur Jennings completed the acquisition of the entire Fortwell platform and brand.

The management buy-out will enable the business to seek new sources of equity to further grow and expand its loan book, the lender said.

As part of the deal it will continue to manage CPC Group’s existing loan book of around £120m.

In January Fortwell lent £60m to finance three separate development projects and since it began operating in 2011 it has lent in excess of £1.2bn.

New sources of capital

Smith joined the board in 2013 and the firm has since transitioned into a development and structured finance specialist, focusing on medium sized loans of £10m to £50m.

Smith said he saw potential to continue to grow the business and the loan book, especially by partnering with new sources of capital.

“It continues to be a difficult market for developers to finance their projects – and as such there is significant demand for development and structured finance,” he said.

“We are in discussions with a number of potential investors at the moment and are excited by this opportunity to further establish Fortwell as the real estate lender of choice in the UK.”

Following the management buy-out, CPC Group’s primary focus will remain with their joint venture equity platform Orlandis Capital.

CPC owner Christian Candy said: “Dan and Arthur’s aspirations for Fortwell are significant and I believe they are extremely well placed to drive it forward.”