Fortwell Capital

Fortwell Capital acquired in MBO



Fortwell Capital has been acquired by its current management, executive director Dan Smith (pictured above) and head of real estate finance Arthur Jennings.


The specialist development lender was owned by CPC Group and has lent in excess of £1.2bn since launching in 2011.

The management buyout has involved the acquisition of the entire Fortwell platform and brand.

As part of the deal, the Fortwell Capital team will continue to manage CPC Group’s existing loan book of around £120m.


Arthur Jennings, head of real estate finance

Fortwell hopes that the buyout will allow it to seek new sources of equity to further grow the business and expand the loan book.

“It continues to be a difficult market for developers to finance their projects – and as such there is significant demand for development and structured finance,” said Dan.

“That demand – coupled with Fortwell’s proven track record – means we see incredible potential to continue to grow the business and the loan book, especially by partnering with new sources of capital.

“We are in discussions with a number of potential investors at the moment and are excited by this opportunity to further establish Fortwell as the real estate lender of choice in the UK.”

Dan joined the Fortwell board in 2013 and oversaw the lender’s transition from a small-ticket bridging lender into a development and structured finance specialist, focusing on medium-sized loans of £10m-50m.

Following the management buyout, CPC Group’s primary focus will remain with their joint venture equity platform Orlandis Capital.

“Fortwell has been incredibly successful and established a strong platform and reputation as one of the UK’s most successful real estate lenders,” said Christian Candy.

“Dan and Arthur’s aspirations for Fortwell are significant and I believe they are extremely well placed to drive Fortwell Capital forward.”



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