The enduring resilience of London’s prime property market and its continuing appeal to investors were the themes of a presentation at the Villa Marina hosted by independent structured finance firm Captima and delivered by Martin Gilsenan of Fortwell Capital, the financial services arm of CPC Group.

The event opened with Captima director Mark Watson welcoming guests, who included Department of Economic Development Business Development Manager John Garland, before introducing Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK.

Mr Bell provided a brief overview of the Manx economy in the wake of the 2016-2017 budget which, he said, had sought to protect the most vulnerable and secure strong foundations for future economic growth. Expressing ‘cautious optimism’ Mr Bell said that achieving a re-balancing of the revenue budget was ‘close’ and that the economy was ‘moving in the right direction’. Against a background of geopolitical and financial uncertainty the Isle of Man had ‘weathered quite exceptional storms’ said Mr Bell who, in welcoming Mr Gilsenan, urged: ‘All we need now are investors’.

Mr Gilsenan explained that Fortwell Capital, launched in 2010 and formerly known as Omni Capital, specialised in funding residential residential and alternative property. With a current balance sheet of ?300m the company’s total lending as of February 2016 was just under ?1bn made up of 309 transactions.

He went on to outline the resilience of London’s high-end property market and its continuing appeal to overseas investors. The UK capital was, he said, ‘a world city of the front rank’ which, despite some ‘softening’ of prices in prime central London, remained buoyant.

‘Residential property as an asset class has come of age in the past seven or eight years’, he explained and went on to list London’s ‘five winning post codes’ - in Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Fitzrovia, Marylebone and Chelsea - that had enjoyed 10-year growth in average sales prices, prompting him to comment: ‘Good lending doesn’t depend on a rising market, however.’

With banks becoming increasingly risk averse Mr Gilsenan said there was an appetite among borrowers to seek out alternative funding mechanisms, such as those which Fortwell, with its access to CPC Group’s expertise, could provide. These included short-term funding; high-net worth buy-to-let, development funding and structured finance.

Fortwell’s ‘open-minded flexible approach can be adapted to unique transactions’ explained Mr Gilsenan who thanked Captima for its valued custom and, in closing, urged investors to consider Fortwell’s strategy: ‘Stay ahead of the game. Look for the next opportunity. Don’t hunt with the pack.’

www.captima.co.uk 
www.fortwellcapital.com

Photo- Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK with Captima director Mark Watson, right, and Fortwell Capital’s Matt Rogers and Martin Gilsenan. Picture Andrew Barton.