Scottish Investor Looks to Expand in Boston, NYC

BOSTON-The manager of a Scottish real estate company has unveiled his plans for two properties just acquired in the city’s Back Bay, and says the firm is looking for additional investment opportunities here and in New York City. As first reported by GlobeSt.com , Heritor’s Consultants has paid more than $6 million in separate deals for 273 and 319 Beacon St. in its inaugural purchases in the US.

“We like Boston quite a bit,” manager Christopher Buchan tells GlobeSt.com, explaining the historic flair of the Back Bay and Beacon Hill fit into the profile of Heritor’s standard property inventory. Through various programs, Heritor’s owns and manages about 300 older residential buildings, nearly all in Scotland in the company’s home base of Edinburgh and in Glasgow, holdings with value estimated at 120 million British pounds.

The core of its business previously had been a so-called “let-to-buy” investment program that entailed acquiring, refurbishing and renting units for a seven- to 10-year period before harvesting them at a hoped-for return. Heritor’s earlier this year embarked on a plan to rent a block of those apartments on a quick turnaround basis, in some cases allowing stays as short as one day, as well as weekly or by the month.