Nine tenths luck, one tenth timing
Manish Chande is the Chief Executive of Mountgrange Capital plc, the company behind Edinburgh's mixed-use Caltongate scheme on the site of the former New Street Bus Station
Mountgrange Capital is an investment company specialising in the property
sector which Manish set up in 2002 with Martin Myers.
Originally a chartered accountant, Manish became involved in property
investment as Finance Director of Arbuthnot Properties and the Imry Group of
Companies. In 1997 he co- established Trillium Group and was Chief Executive
prior to its acquisition by Land Securities plc in 2000. He joined the Land
Securities board and left in 2002 to set up Mountgrange Capital. Manish was
appointed a Commissioner of English Heritage in 2003 and is a Trustee of the
Windsor Leadership Trust.
He tells us more about his start in property investment and the work in which
he is involved...
Manish has always been interested in property development and met his
business partner, Martin Myers in 1985 soon after he had started his own
property business. "We have now been in partnership for 22 years," says Manish,
"which has kept the appeal of property investment going strong." His first big
deal was St George's Hospital, which became the Lanesborough Hotel in central
London: "We acquired a 50% interest in the hospital site in 1984 for £10.8
million and in 1986 negotiated with Grosvenor Estates, the owner of the
remaining
50%, to enable a comprehensive development to take place, subject
to planning, which was achieved in 1987.
The development was let to the US- based Rosewood Group, trading under the
Lanesborough Hotel name. One hundred and fifty thousand square feet of office
space in the adjacent building was let at prevailing market rents. The completed
development had an appraised value in excess of £225 million, which was not a
bad return on the initial investment!"
Manish is most proud of the Trillium project, a joint venture, established in
1997, between Whitehall/Goldman Sachs, Archon and the Chande/Myers partnership.
"We successfully bid for and acquired the UK Department of Social Security's
(DSS) property portfolio - approximately 600 buildings throughout the UK - which
was the first major sale-leaseback and facilities management contract conducted
by the UK government."
CALTONGATE WILL INCLUDE A FIVE STAR HOTEL, 220,000 SQ FT OF OFFICE
SPACE, 200 RESIDENTIAL UNITS, RETAIL SPACE AND RESTAURANTS, A NEW PUBLIC
SPACE, OTHER AMENITIES AND 43 AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS.
Manish and his partner then formed the executive management team,
set up the business, including operational controls, business plans, board
structures, investment committees, risk management, reporting and other
fiduciary responsibilities.
They went on to build this fledgling business into one of the UK's most
profitable property entities, which saved the DSS £49 million in its first year
of owning and managing the properties and created a company that administered
over 1,000 properties and employed over 1,000 people throughout the UK.
Land Securities Group plc purchased Trillium in 2000 for a total of £335
million and Manish joined the Land Securities Board for 18 months, maintaining
full responsibility for the policy and direction of what is now the company's
most successful subsidiary: Land Securities Trillium.
The next big project for Mountgrange, the company that he and Martin Myers
now run, is the ongoing development at Caltongate in Edinburgh. This will
include a five star hotel, 220,000 sq ft of office space, 200 residential units,
retail space and restaurants, a new public space, other amenities and 43
affordable housing units. The Masterplan was obtained in October 2006 and the
plans for submitting detailed planning applications for each of the elements of
the site are being worked up.
His advice to someone interested in a career in property investment
would be "to recognise that common sense overrides most investment decisions.
Also, probably nine tenths of property is about luck and one tenth about getting
the timing correct. A professional qualification is only important in that it
provides a foundation for a management base."
As well as his hectic business life, Manish maintains involvement with
several heritable and charitable organisations, due to his belief that "giving
something back is critical. I have been very fortunate in having the benefit of
learning from the property industry and to give something back is my small way
of acknowledging this."
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