Bassi Capital, which this summer backed the MBO of the real estate restructuring team at Avison Young to launch Watling Real Estate, has set a target of £10 billion of assets under management as it eyes up another significant acquisition.
The launch of Watling Real Estate, with offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Bristol, comes after Bassi Capital acquired a 50% stake in commercial property management firm CGBA Robson in late 2022. The business now has £3 billion in assets under management.
Chief executive Gurpreet Bassi said the strategy is to build a multi-disciplinary UK property group that can thrive at any stage of the economic cycle.
“We have a number of deals currently in discussion with a focus on property management, property agency and bridging finance, backed by Bassi Capital who are debt free, with the ability to leverage additional finance swiftly if a deal is agreed that cannot be financed out of pure cash.”
Ongoing trading remains robust through Bond Wolfe, the major auction house and agency business, with combined sales of £210 million last year – a 20% increase on the previous year – and at Watling Real Estate, the UK’s leading restructuring and recovery advisor.
Non-core investments of Bassi Capital include flooring and distribution, alongside award winning restaurant, Ashas in Birmingham city centre.
Investments are held in publicly quoted securities, private limited companies and partnerships.
Gurpreet Bassi said that each business Bassi Capital acquires will continue to retain its own identity and management team but as the group continues to grow, he has plans to establish an overall board of directors from across the group.