LONDON-Grafton Advisors, a company with a $1.4 billion office investment fund client, has been sold to Quintan Estates and Development plc. for about $9.1 million. Nigel Kempner, chairman and founder of Grafton, and his staff will merge in with Quintan’s office.
Grafton’s principal business activity is to act as advisor to the West of London Property Unit Trust (WELPUT), which owns 11 offices in that region with a value of $1.4 billion. In 2011, the fund provided a total return of 17.4%. Schroder Property Management Ltd. manages the WELPUT fund.
The purchase boosts the assets under management at Quintain to $3.6 billion. Adrian Wyatt, CEO at Quintain, said in a statement that the company had not planned to break $3 billion until 2013. “The transaction enhances the group’s recurring income, offers substantial upside potential through performance and development fees, and increases the breadth and depth of expertise within Quintain,” Wyatt said.
Kempner, who sold his Benchmark Group firm to GE Capital for reportedly more than $450 million in June 2004, has been named head of fund management for Quintain. He will be joined at the firm by his management team of Paul Connellan and Christopher Cope, who will continue to advise WELPUT.
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