IPSX, the world’s first real estate stock exchange, has hired Rupert Snuggs as head of origination, as issuer interest in the alternative capital markets venue continues to grow.
The company said that in response to rising demand for the platform, Snuggs will support real estate owners and investors looking for investment and liquidity opportunities on IPSX. He will work closely with issuers exploring public market admissions for their assets or portfolios who seek to raise capital from new funding sources and realise supportive valuations.
IPSX said the appointment came as real estate equity markets underwent a ‘substantial reset’ and issuers looked for fresh sources of flexible financing while investors redirect allocations towards liquid and income producing assets to protect portfolios against rising rates and the recessionary environment.
Snuggs joins from HSBC, where he was a director in global banking, advising financial institutions and real estate corporates across the UK and Europe. He began his career at NM Rothschild & Sons’ equity capital markets team, before moving to Royal Bank of Scotland to advise corporate and real estate institutions on equity and debt capital market transactions across Europe and the Middle East.
IPSX said asset owner interest in the exchange had seen a noticeable uptick fuelled by the access to liquidity, the speed of admission, access to investors, streamlined valuation processes and flexible public ownership options around individual assets.
The platform hosted two out of the three IPOs in the UK real estate sector last year: Birmingham’s iconic Mailbox REIT and M7 Regional E-Warehouse REIT plc. M7 Real Estate has also announced plans to admit Bridgewater Place, a landmark office development in Leeds, on IPSX soon.
Roger Clarke, CEO, said: ‘Rupert’s institutional experience will be valuable to asset owners and investors as trading volumes increase on our platform. We are growing our team to ensure that IPSX is the capital markets venue of choice for owners looking to fractionalise or investors wanting to trade income-producing institutional grade real estate.’
Snuggs explained: ‘IPSX is shaping the future of real estate investment by providing issuers with flexible financing options and enabling investors of all types to own a share of liquid, income producing assets. As a stock exchange dedicated to real estate, the securities admitted to trading on IPSX are not correlated with the volatility impacting the broader equity market. There continues to be appetite for real estate backed income as well as an alternative capital markets venue offering real estate owners the opportunity to release equity from their assets to a wide pool of investors.’
