Farebrother targets UK expansion with ex-GVA heavyweights

Two former GVA senior directors have formed a new national joint venture with London niche firms Farebrother and Tuckerman. John Jones and Lisa Riva, who both spent more than two decades at GVA, which merged with Avison Young this year, join as senior partners of the new jv, Tandem Property Asset Management. Jones, GVA’s former chairman of property management consultancy, was put on gardening leave by GVA last year for stating his intention to undertake a management buyout of the division. A subsequent employment tribunal was scheduled, although a settlement was made “on the steps”. Riva used to head up the firm’s property management team. They will be supported by Philip Martin, finance director at Tuckerman, and Alistair Subba Row, Farebrother senior partner, who will represent their firms’ respective shareholdings in Tandem. Come together Farebrother and Tuckerman have merged their property asset management operations to create the new business. Tandem manages more than 300 properties with an annual rent roll of around £35m. Subba Row said: “As property consultancies, Farebrother specialises in London’s Midtown while Tuckerman’s business focuses on Victoria. However, our joint venture businesses enable us to participate in other related areas of the market – in terms of both location and service types – without diluting our respective brands. “Bringing John and Lisa in to take Tandem forward onto a national platform is a perfect example of this.” Tandem will share a London base alongside Farebrother at 27 Bream’s Buildings, EC4. Tandem is the fourth new business created by Farebrother and Tuckerman in the past five years. The others include South Bank-focused Union Street Partners, Flexible Office Space and residential specialist Sq. One Real Estate. Expansion plans The new business plans to rapidly expand across the UK. It is about to open a new office in Birmingham at Oval Estates’ Custard Factory building. Jones said: “We will be opening in Birmingham, then Leeds and Manchester. We’ll also consider Newcastle, Cardiff and Scotland, depending on business need. There are no limits; we will go where the client needs are. “We will be advising clients on a national basis about their regional assets. We think that the portfolio business is a growth area, and clients are expecting a new level of service. “We see opportunities to advise private equity investors, smaller real estate funds and new local authority investors who need more governance and have less internal resources.” Riva added: “We don’t want to be just another big corporate in the city centre. We want to make our own mark and be active participants. It is about creating an agile business.” Client demand The founders explain that the business came about in response to more demand for operational property advice, as lease terms become shorter and building regulations increase. Tandem will target smaller fund managers and private equity firms, as well as local authorities. Jones said: “Councils are the new entrants, and they need a lot more support because resources are quite thin and stretched internally – we will look carefully at that.” The firm will offer a range of services such as placemaking advice and financial management, including full profit-and-loss accounting for special purpose vehicles. However, the move is not part of a plan to scale up and sell the business, affirmed Subba Row. “What this isn’t is a scale-up to sell. Farebrother has been approached four times in the last five years, and we have no interest whatsoever in selling our business. We have made it clear that we have no intention of selling.” Click here to read Alistair Subba Row’s comment piece on how property consultancies must implement expansion strategies that nurture talent for them to pay off. To send feedback, e-mail anna.ward@egi.co.uk or tweet @annaroxelana or @estatesgazette