Richard Croft is stepping down from his role as executive chairman of M7 Real Estate. David Ebbrell, CEO of M7 and one of the co-founders of the business along with Croft, will take over management of the company following a three month handover period.
Croft, who is starting a new business focused on opportunities outside the warehouse sector, will stay on as a senior advisor to the company and remain on the general partner boards of all of the M7 discretionary funds.
M7 was acquired in January 2021 by Oxford Properties and the change at the top is the result of ‘long-term planning and the success of the working relationship between the two businesses’.
Croft said: “Having dedicated 14 years of my life to working with a fantastic team of people and helping M7 grow to what it is today, I feel it is time for me to step back from day-to-day executive responsibility and hand the reins over to David. From what started as a group of friends with an idea, we have built a market leading investment and asset management business and become part of a world-class global real estate investment group and I would like to thank everyone who I have worked with who has made that possible.
“The sale to Oxford Properties was a game changer for M7, giving us the support and resources of one of the world’s most respected real estate investors, enabling us to grow our assets to almost €7bn today, and I would like to thank Jo and her entire team for their continued support.
“As well as being a friend, David is a consummate professional who has led the day-to-day management of the business since becoming CEO at the time of our merger. As I move into an advisory capacity, he is the natural choice to take over the full running of the business and I take great comfort in knowing that the next phase of M7’s growth is in very safe hands. I am very excited about the next chapter of my career, but I intend to always be on hand to continue to support M7, where appropriate.”
Ebbrell added: “Having worked with Richard for almost 20 years and having started M7 together, I am obviously very sorry to see him step down from the management and full-time involvement with the business. He has been a remarkable friend, business partner and leader of the business, whose vision, ambition and innovative thinking have been a critical part of the success of M7.
“M7 is in the best shape it has ever been, with a strong, talented team located in 15 countries across Europe, Dubai and Hong Kong, and part of a well-funded and highly respected global real estate investor in Oxford Properties. I am enormously grateful to be trusted with picking up the reins from him and am excited to help lead M7 through the next stage of its evolution and growth, while maintaining our overriding goal of delivering the best possible outcome and service for our clients.”
Jo McNamara, executive vice president, Europe at Oxford Properties, said: “Firstly, we want to place on record our thanks and gratitude to Richard for what he has achieved at M7. He is one of the finest entrepreneurs we have come across and has built not only a market-leading business, but also a market-leading team around him at M7.
“The relationship between the Oxford and M7 teams has grown from strength to strength over the past two years. Having seen David Ebbrell lead the business as CEO since the acquisition, we know the qualities he brings as a leader. We are confident he will continue M7’s upwards trajectory as a partner of choice for institutional investors.”
