Fortwell Capital, the alternative and specialist development lender owned by CPC Group, has been acquired by its current Management, executive director Dan Smith and head of Real Estate Finance Arthur Jennings.
Fortwell has been operating since 2011 and since then has lent over £1.2 bn (€1.4 mln). In January 2018 alone, Fortwell lent £60 mln to finance three separate development projects.
The management buyout has involved the acquisition of the entire Fortwell platform and brand. As part of the deal the Fortwell Capital team will continue to manage CPC Group’s existing loan book of circa £120 mln.
Dan Smith joined the board of the company in 2013 and oversaw Fortwell’s transition from a small ticket bridge lender into a development and structured finance specialist, focusing on medium sized loans of £10 mln to £50 mln.
The restructure of the business also saw Fortwell expand its capability across multiple sectors, in addition to further establishing itself as the ‘go-to’ lender for residential developers and extended its reach across geographic locations outside of London.
The management buy-out will enable Fortwell Capital to seek new sources of equity to further grow the business and expand the loan book, the company said in a statement.
Dan Smith said: '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. That demand, coupled with Fortwell’s proven track record means we see incredible potential to continue to grow the business and the loan book, especially by partnering with new sources of capital. 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.'
