Leading commercial property consultancy, Hartnell Taylor Cook has today announced the completion of over £5m worth of acquisitions in the last quarter for privately owned property company, Maybrook Properties Ltd.

Acquiring both 720 Aztec West in Bristol, and a large industrial terrace in Bridgwater, the latest acquisitions mark Maybrook Properties long-term plans for diversification, following the sale of a £20m office in central Bath one of the company’s largest assets.

The news also follows a bustling summer for the South West property market, with take up in the South West and Wales logistics market at 3.49 million sq. ft so far this year, a 240 per cent year-on-year increase.

A former office building, 720 Aztec West in Bristol, is an 8,333 sq. ft property, which was acquired by Maybrook for £2.52m from Circle Properties Plc. The building has been let on a 10-year new lease to Specsavers Optical Superstores Ltd, who have comprehensively refurbished the space as an opticians and treatment centre.

Furthering its investment in the region, Maybrook Properties also acquired a 33,357 sq. ft industrial terrace in Wylds Road, Bridgwater from a private individual. Let to commercial design interior company, James Tobias Ltd, until May 2024, the three units were bought for £3.05m and present an excellent opportunity to either regear the lease with the tenant or refurbish the terrace and let to trade counter operators.

Hartnell Taylor Cook acted on behalf of Maybrook Properties Ltd, and Knight Frank acted on behalf of both vendors for these acquisitions.

Commenting on the news, Ian Lambert, investment partner at Hartnell Taylor Cook, said: “The commercial market in the South West is currently very competitive, so we are delighted to have assisted Maybrook Properties with these two acquisitions, which further diversifies their property portfolio and consolidate their presence in the regional market.”

Gareth Hunt, managing director at Maybrook Properties Ltd also commented: “We are very excited about these two recent acquisitions, which add to our existing holdings in the west country and are set to provide excellent opportunities for us to drive rental value through asset management initiatives.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region?


Find out how Bdaily can help →

Amid a slow down in the economy, higher financing costs, and mounting fears of a recession, real estate values are fast declining. But the downturn is an opportunity for investors who stick with their real estate holdings — or invest more — during the downturn.

In fact, superior returns in real estate tend to follow recessionary periods, according to the latest report from Cohen & Steers, a $56 billion investment manager specializing in real assets.

“When you look back, whether it’s on the public or private side, the best returns in real estate follow periods of economic and capital markets disruption,” James Corl, head of private real estate at Cohen & Steers, told II. “It’s just axiomatic that once we pass the point of maximum uncertainty in the markets…you can see some very interesting returns. But the setup for that is going to be painful.” 

Real Estate Investment Trusts are already down 17. 4 percent through August as measured by FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index, according to the report, called Recession Disruption and the Roadmap for Real Estate Investing. But the drop is in line with the historical performance of REITs during recessions. Private real estate, which is valued quarterly, hasn’t yet caught up with its public peers. But it will. 

“Listed tends to lead private real estate in both selloff and recovery during recessionary periods,” according to the report. “Differences in the real-time pricing of listed REITs and private real estate can create significant short-term dislocations. By understanding the leading and lagging behaviors of private and listed markets, real estate investors may be able to tactically allocate at different times across the two asset classes, seeking to take advantage of how markets have priced in current conditions.”

Investors may have opportunities in private real estate for a number of years. “Against the backdrop of our base case of an average recession, we expect private real estate values to sell off as much as 15 percent,” wrote the authors of the report. “A deep recession, though unlikely in our view, could possibly push prices down as much as 25 percent.”

Cohen & Steers argues that the market is already in a “shallow recession” after a few quarters of negative GDP growth. Investors who can take advantage of the current real estate market dislocation will reap attractive returns in the next two years, according to Corl. “Because of the big reset [in pricing], I think 2023 and 2024…will likely be very strong,” he said. 

Real estate will continue to serve as a hedge against inflation. Sectors with shorter lease durations, such as self-storage and hotels, can adjust rents quickly to keep pace with inflation. These sectors demonstrate greater cyclicality and can serve as a buffer against inflation, according to the report.

Technology will also play a key role in determining winners and losers in different real estate sectors. According to Cohen & Steers, cell towers, healthcare facilities, and data centers are “emerging secular winners” as a result of tech innovations over the past few years. Real estate in the Sunbelt and so-called surban areas are also new opportunities as people have moved out of some urban areas into less dense cities and suburbs across the country. 

“It’s very difficult to paint the whole real estate market with a broad brush,” Corl said. “Some opportunities and areas are a lot less obvious [investments] than others.”

Dubai Investment Fund (DIF), one of the world’s largest independent international investment funds and asset managers, has announced that it will be investing in five projects aimed at developing renewable energy sources in Australia and Europe.

DIF said that it is expanding its investment strategies to include more environmentally friendly and clean technologies, given their increasing importance around the globe.

As per the statement, the projects the DIF will support include two start-ups that are solar power plants for local communities of Australia. These projects will utilise the weather conditions of the region to improve the energy supply in the area. The project is expected to generate about 300MW of solar energy in its initial stage.

Two more projects will be developed in Europe. These are a wind power plant in Germany and a solar power plant in Spain, which are expected to exceed 125MW each.

The final project is dedicated to improving energy storage methods, DIF said, adding that ensuring safe and effective energy storage is the key part of expanding alternative energy sources. The energy storage with a capacity of 100MW will be used along with the wind and solar power plants mentioned.

The investment plans described above are a part of the long-term strategy of DIF to support promising and innovative research projects, the statement added.

“One of the core principles of DIF is investing into developing technologies, which will make people’s lives better in the future, and will create a possibility for a safer and sustainable environment,” explained Ryan Smith, Head of Global Strategy and Investment Operations at DIF. 

“With that notion, the fund announced the investment into five projects, united by the common goal – creating renewable energy sources, which will improve the environmental conditions on a local level and solve the problem of energy shortages. The rising prices for fossil fuels is another reminder of why it is important to support the research and implementation of alternative energy production methods.”

The technological and geographical variety of the projects ensures that they will develop and grow independently, thus increasing the stability of the potential profits, he added.

Kevin Mayer says that the investment strategy at Candle Media, the hard-charging entertainment startup that he heads with Tom Staggs, is product of his career time at Disney and TikTok.

While those two companies are behemoths and Candle Media a newcomer, the claim is not as outlandish as it seems.

At Disney, Mayer was largely responsible the launch of the direct-to-consumer streaming businesses that became Disney+. And as Disney, Pixar and other group content was made exclusive and contained within a walled garden, it stoked demand for premium independently-made content. Candle Media sets its sights on becoming just such a supplier.

At TikTok he learned to appreciate to power of platform-driven targeting, personalization and the scalability of commerce opportunities. While Candle Media is not a technology player, Mayer says the company is in the business of buying firms with well-defined audiences.

Explaining how “valuation haters” initially poured cold water on Disney’s purchase of both Pixar and Marvel, Mayer said that both of Candle Media’s headline acquisitions were expensive but good value.

“You have to look at the cash generation potential under your ownership,” Mayer said, speaking Wednesday in Singapore at the APOS convention. “We did not overpay for Hello Sunshine.” The acquisition of the Reese Witherspoon-headed company for $900 million in mid-2021 shocked many observers. Mayer counters that it has a well-defined audience, is run by women for women.

Moonbug Animation, bought for $3 billion, is built on IP that was largely born on social media. Its headline property CoComelon has grown to 140 million followers on YouTube and is now a hit show licensed exclusively to (walled-garden) Netflix. “We paid a lot. It will be worth a lot more,” said Mayer.

These and future acquisitions, he continued, are creator-led companies where Candle Media can provide the commercial aspects. “In Asia we are looking for rising companies across film/TV, social and commerce,” he said. Moonbug this year acquired Singapore’s One Animation. Deals tend to be a mixture of cash and Candle Media stock.

Mayer also weighed in on the future of premium VOD and moves by companies like Netflix to add advertising-supported tiers. “I think it is quite smart,” he said, backing up his conclusion with the example of (Disney-owned Hulu. When that company added a tier that cost $6 per month less than the premium layer, it generated more than $8 per subscriber of ad revenue. “The economics were feasible either way.”

He said that the companies such as Peacock and HBO Max which are latecomers to the streaming market can succeed as they seek to go global. “Some consolidation will happen,” he said. “But [streaming video] is not a winner takes all situation [unlike music]. If you want to watch ‘The Morning Show’ you have to subscribe to Apple. If you want to watch ‘CoComelon,’ you have to subscribe to Netflix. Nobody needs to subscribe to both Spotify and Apple Music. They have the same content with a different interface.”

On Monday, real estate investors from across the country convened in Highland Park to get a peek at one of the industry’s most anticipated software launches. At this event, Kyle Waldrep, CEO and Founder of Dallas Startup Dottid, unveiled his company’s latest innovation. For those in commercial real estate, this one could be a game-changer.

Dottid was devised to create more efficient, effective, and comprehensive ways of completing commercial real estate transactions. The company is assembled from industry experts and leans on the latest technology to power its platform.

Currently, this software as a service (SaaS) provider links up brokers, landlords, and tenants to create seamless workflows and provide a single source of truth for users. Its features include project management capabilities, asset organization tools, an intuitive dashboard, and more. But, they’re not stopping there.

Dottid Unveils The Next Era

Dottid has all the bells and whistles of a wide-ranging SaaS platform. However, Mr. Waldrep and the team plan to take it a step further. In front of a packed crowd at Park House Dallas, Waldrep unveiled the next iteration of this CRE platform – Asset OS.

“Dottid is expanding,” exclaimed Waldrep. “Dottid is growing. The launch of Asset OS is the next iteration of this technology. Think of it as Dottid 2.0. This is where the technology goes from being a leasing platform to a fully operational asset management product.”

Asset OS is the comprehensive culmination of just about every task within the real estate owner, investor, or operator space. This next iteration of their SaaS will have capabilities to tackle everything from leasing to capital projects to tenant CRM.

“We want to marry Dottid to what the market is telling us,” said Waldrep. “And the market is telling us to build something that they can use as their tool day-in and day-out. We’re really excited about this.”

What the Industry is Saying

Joe Zylka is the Director of Operations at Dogwood Commercial Real Estate. He and his team have been avid Dottid users for several years. This platform not only helps them with their day-to-day but it’s been by their side as they’ve scaled massively in the last few years.

“It’s really a great system,” said Zylka. “Our leasing team lives in it. It’s the first thing they check in the morning and the last thing they look at before they leave. We’re super excited for this next iteration because they do such a great job of understanding exactly what we need and then delivering on it.”

MAI’s acquisition of Prime Investment Advisors is the firm’s ninth deal since Galway Holdings, a financial services distribution company, completed its acquisition of MAI in September 2021. (File photo)

MAI Capital Management LLC, a registered investment adviser specializing in comprehensive investment and financial planning for high-net-worth individuals and families, Tuesday announced the acquisition of Bethesda-based Prime Investment Advisors.

The addition of Prime will expand Cleveland-based MAI’s presence in Maryland and widen its mid-Atlantic footprint, while adding significant talent and industry experience to its lineup.

Prime joined MAI Sept. 23 and adds approximately $140 million in assets under management.

Founded in 1991, Prime has built a multitude of client relationships and established a prominent reputation in the Bethesda area. Stephen Polan, founder of Prime, holds a Master’s degree in Taxation and is a licensed CPA.

Prior to Prime, Polan worked at Ernst & Young and MCI Communications advising on executive compensation, stock incentive plans and tax strategies. Now at MAI, Polan will assume the role of senior wealth adviser and managing director.

MAI’s acquisition of Prime Investment Advisors is the firm’s ninth deal since Galway Holdings, a financial services distribution company, completed its acquisition of MAI in September 2021. The firm has shown significant success since this partnership and is focused on continued growth throughout the remainder of 2022 and into 2023.

Earlier this year, MAI announced its partnership in Maryland with Investment Planning Associates located in Rockville and Investment Planning Associates in Rockville and Geier Asset Management in Baltimore.

MAI has 18 additional offices nationwide. As of June 30, MAI’s assets under management totaled $13.4 billion. The firm also provides comprehensive investment management and planning services to high-net-worth individuals, families and athletes. MAI is led by Managing Partner Rick Buoncore.

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–REAL, the first and only social app combined with messaging for real estate that puts agents back in control of their business, is the title sponsor for the National Association of Realtors®’ (NAR) Innovation, Opportunity & Investment (iOi) Summit, taking place September 28-29 in Los Angeles.

The iOi Summit brings together investors and innovators to cultivate and champion the most impactful ideas to disrupt the status quo and advance the real estate industry. As an industry innovator, REAL is an AI-driven platform, built exclusively for real estate, where agents can promote themselves directly and grow their business – for free.

Thomas Ma, CEO and co-founder of REAL, will serve as a judge for the Pitch Battle competition. The epic event gives real estate innovators only four minutes to pitch and four minutes for a live Q&A, with the opportunity to win a game-changing business boost.

“The pitch battle is one of the most engaging aspects of the summit,” Ma said. “It is thrilling to see some of the best minds in our industry share their latest advancements. We see REAL as the future of real estate, so this summit is an incredible opportunity to connect with innovators and investors who are driving our industry forward.”

World-renowned real estate powerhouse Fredrik Eklund, co-founder of REAL, founder of the Eklund | Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman and Bravo TV alum (featured on the network’s “Million Dollar Listing” franchise), will sit on the Go to Marketing Strategies in Proptech panel.

“REAL is the social app for real estate agents to take charge of their business,” Eklund said. “With iOi establishing itself as the preeminent tech and investor social event for proptech leaders, it is a natural fit for our team. I want to share my experiences in marketing to empower others to transform their businesses.”

NAR is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.5 million members composed of residential and commercial brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, counselors, and others engaged in the real estate industry. Members belong to one or more of approximately 1,200 local associations/boards and 54 state and territory associations of Realtors®.

“The iOi Summit is focused on innovation, opportunity and investment,” said David Conroy, NAR’s director of emerging technology. “I can’t think of a better way to get a pulse on the future of real estate than to hear from industry innovators, such as REAL, which are driving transformation.”

More event and registration information can be found online at https://ioisummit.realtor. More information on the advantages of the REAL solution can be found online at https://real.co/advantages.

About REAL

REAL is the first and only social app combined with messaging for real estate that puts agents back in control of their business. For the first time, agents can generate free leads without expensive online ads, labor-intensive emails, or extraneous and ineffective cold calls. REAL helps agents build professional relationships online with interested prospects, keeping them connected and enabling the agents and their prospects to engage with one another at any time. They can do this all through REAL’s social platform designed exclusively for real estate. REAL agents curate their feature images, content and chat topics to reflect their expertise and knowledge. When future buyers and sellers browse REAL’s online magazine, they view content curated by agents and follow those whose interests align with their own. REAL was co-founded by Hong Kong real estate entrepreneur Thomas Ma and Fredrik Eklund, co-founder of Douglas Elliman’s Eklund | Gomes Team and former star of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing NY & LA.”