Birmingham property company Nurton Developments has created a new investment platform, Nurton Capital, to target opportunities in a subdued real estate market.
The arm will be headed by Ashley Hudson, former partner and head of Knight Frank’s Birmingham office.
Backed with seed funding from Nurton Developments, Nurton Capital aims to assemble a £100m rolling portfolio by acquiring underperforming but well-located properties with strong asset management potential.
Hudson brings three decades of experience in commercial real estate, including 20 years at Knight Frank, where he grew the Birmingham office to 50 staff and advised a wide client base spanning private investors, institutions, developers and overseas funds.
Notable transactions under his leadership included the £55m purchase of Mitchells & Butlers’ HQ by US investor Blue Owl, the £10m acquisition of the Chatwin Building on Colmore Row for Kinrise, and the structuring and funding of 103 Colmore Row for Sterling and Tristan Capital Partners.
Hudson said: “This is a hugely exciting opportunity to combine Nurton’s enviable track record as a Midlands family business, with over 20 years of experience in value-add and development, alongside my own industry expertise, market knowledge and strategic direction. The current investment market is subdued and somewhat dysfunctional and we believe Nurton can capitalise on this and appeal to partners who want to invest in underperforming but well-located assets — the kind of ‘core plus’ opportunities where value can be added.
“Our focus will be on mature markets such as the Midlands, Manchester and Bristol, with the aim of growing assets over the next one to five years. Together we are well placed to build a high-quality portfolio.”
Hudson joins a senior team at Nurton following recent hires including Guy Bowden from Bridges Fund Management, Ian Harris to lead joint venture Nurton Retail, and Peter Leaver, former JLL head of Midlands planning and development.
David Bradshaw, managing director at Nurton Developments, said: “The market is offering real opportunities for well-funded, experienced investors. With Ashley’s widely recognised expertise and network, Nurton Capital is well placed to find and deliver them. We welcome Ashley to our growing team which offers a wealth of industry experience to enable us to invest in a number of exciting opportunities to grow our business and significant existing asset base across a variety of core sectors that are currently under management’.
Nurton Developments specialises in value-add investments and strategic land promotion, enhancing assets through management, refurbishment and repositioning, often in partnership with third parties.