The recently launched private real estate investment vehicle Ashen Capital has made its first corporate investment, into Sibner Investment Management.
Ashen, which was established by seasoned investors Alex Price and Steven Wright (pictured) in September 2024, is acquiring up to 20% of Sibner IM and supporting a planned residential development debt fund by providing non-executive advice and governance.
Sibner IM is a subsidiary of Sibner Group, a South West London-based, privately-owned real estate business run by Wilfrid van Geest. The group, which has a long track record of residential property ownership and also provides senior, secured loans to SME housebuilders across the UK, has been entirely funded by its shareholders to date.
The new residential fund, which will focus on senior ranking development and bridging loans, is targeting high net worth investors, wealth managers and family offices and will seek to deliver a net return of more than 12% per annum. It is expected to launch in Q1 2025 and will benefit from a £20m initial seed commitment from Sibner Group and Ashen.
Alex Price, chief executive of Ashen, said: “Ashen’s mission is to help grow smaller property businesses by providing three separate strands of support: management expertise, co-investment and access to an institutional investor base. The investment into Sibner IM does this whilst also allowing us to partner with an exceptional team. This platform gives a superior risk adjusted way to access the UK residential sector whilst also helping to contribute to solving the UKs chronic housing shortage.”
Wilfrid van Geest, managing director of Sibner Group, added: “Ashen’s involvement into Sibner IM is an important step as we continue to grow and improve our offering to clients. They bring a wealth of investment management, real estate and lending experience, that will help us give third parties access to the outstanding performance we have achieved ourselves over the last five years.”
