Ambassador LB Holdings LLP, a joint venture between Glasgow-based property investor Ambassador Group and specialist investment manager ICG-Longbow, has just completed the acquisition of its 5th investment, taking total capital committed by the JV to the Scottish commercial property market over the past year to £100 million. ICG-Longbow has provided both debt and equity funding, with Ambassador Group taking on the role of asset manager in addition to committing equity.
The JV’s most recent acquisition was Hanover House, a vacant office building in Glasgow city centre. Following the £5 million purchase of Hanover House and the 2017 purchases of RWF House and Granite House, Ambassador LB has now committed over £60 million to value add office opportunities in Glasgow, underlining its confidence in the occupational market.
The joint venture is now stepping up its investment drive and is targeting off-market, value-add assets across all sectors in Scotland.
Chris Richardson, Investment Director at Ambassador Group, said: “We are proud to announce the acquisition of Hanover House in Glasgow city centre which, together with four other transactions over the past year, takes our portfolio to £100m – this figure includes significant capex on RWF House and Granite House.”
“Looking forward to 2018, we are excited to continue to work with ICG-Longbow on growing the JV portfolio across Scotland and the UK.”
Kevin Crowley from ICG-Longbow commented: “The acquisition of Hanover House continues our strategy of investing in value add opportunities across the UK. Ambassador has a proven track record in Scotland and we are pleased to be working in joint venture with them on this and the wider portfolio. We see further value in the Scottish market and continue to seek new opportunities for both direct investment and lending.”
Last year, Ambassador LB purchased Granite House in Glasgow, representing one of the largest office acquisitions in the city this year by a UK-based investor.
The five-strong portfolio also includes: Prudential’s largest UK office campus, located near Stirling; RWF House in Glasgow, in June; and the office and laboratory facility of Q2 Solutions in Livingston.
In total, the joint venture partners have invested £87m in commercial assets across Scotland and set aside £13m of capital expenditure for active asset management.
The tie-up with ICG-Longbow bookmarks an exciting year for Ambassador Group, an established Glasgow-based property company involved in the office, retail, leisure, industrial and residential sectors. The privately-owned property company, led by David Gaffney founder and CEO, has three main divisions; Real Estate, Developments and Capital Partners.
It is currently delivering one of Scotland’s most exciting luxury residential developments, Park Quadrant Residences – where the first release of luxury homes sold out following more than 1,000 enquiries.
Savills represented Ambassador LB in the acquisition of Hanover House; Stallan Brand, PMP and DWF also provided advice.