Consultants
Gallium Fund Solutions Limited
Gallium Fund Solution Limited (‘Gallium’) provides the FSA Regulatory support as Operator, Trust Manager and Liquidating Trustee, fulfilling functions such as back office administration and compliance support. It provides general investment and administration services for the Fund. Gallium specialises in establishing and operating Collective Investment Schemes (‘CISs’). It possesses considerable experience in designing fund structures, identifying investors, managing the fund launch process and the regulatory and administrative aspects once the fund is launched.
The founding director of Gallium is Tony Norris. He was previously the managing director of Partnership Incorporations Limited for over 9 years. During that time he grew the company into one of the leading UK companies in establishing and operating CISs. He has 18 years of practical experience in the launch and continuing management of collective investment schemes. Tony is a chartered accountant and, as well as raising and assisting with the raising of considerable amounts of investment capital from both institutional and private investors, he possesses a very detailed knowledge of the technical and compliance issues involved in launching and operating CISs.
Gallium is completely independent of any firm of surveyors or financial institution. Whilst it is a new company, the directors have previously been retained as operator or adviser on transactions totalling over £12 billion. The directors of Gallium have assisted and/or represented many of the leading institutional and professional investment managers. (www.gallium.co.uk)
Trustee
Royal Bank of Canada
The Trustee of the EPUT is Royal Bank of Canada Trust Corporation Limited (the 'Trustee') which is a trust corporation based in the UK. The corporation's ultimate parent is Royal Bank of Canada, Canada's largest bank which has assets under administration, including assets in custody and subject to fiduciary services in excess of $1,600 billion. Royal Bank of Canada was founded in 1869 and operates in more than 30 countries worldwide.
Accountants & Auditors
Baker Tilly
Baker Tilly Tax and Accounting Limited is the Tax Advisor to the Fund and Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP is proposed to be appointed as the Auditor of the Fund. ‘Baker Tilly’ is a leading independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisers that specialises in providing an integrated range of services to its clients. The firm has national coverage through its network of offices and is represented internationally through its independent membership of Baker Tilly International. Baker Tilly Tax and Accounting Limited has confirmed solely to the Operator that the two sections headed, ‘Taxation for the Limited Liability Partnership (‘LLP’)’ and ‘Taxation for the Trust’ on pages 21 and 23 respectively are an accurate summary of the relevant current United Kingdom tax legislation and HM Revenue & Customs’ practice. Baker Tilly Tax and Accounting Limited will not be responsible to anyone other than the Operator for providing protection afforded to its clients or customers or for providing advice in relation to the proposal.
Legal Advisors & Solicitors
Cummings
Cummings has been appointed in respect of drafting the Limited Partnership and Operating Agreement, the Trust Deed and the Asset Management Agreement. They are not acting for and are not responsible to Investors. Once the Fund is formed, Barlow Robbins LLP will act for the Fund in relation to on-going legal matters related to Projects.
McGrigors LLP
McGrigors is the trading name of McGrigors LLP and McGrigors Belfast LLP. McGrigors is a multi-national legal practice, and are specialists in a variety of sectors, in particular in-depth expertise in house-building, property development and regeneration. McGrigors delivers legal services to overseas national and multi-national clients in both the private and public sector.
McGrigors’ real estate finance team is multidisciplinary and includes partners and solicitors from their banking, restructuring, real estate, corporate, tax and construction teams, all of whom have considerable experience of real estate finance transactions, including restructuring of ‘impaired’ loans/assets.
McGrigors’ experience ranges from acting for senior lenders and borrowers in straightforward bilateral loans transactions to acting for mezzanine lenders, bond holders, issuers and insurers in more complex structured real estate finance deals. They have dealt with various types of onshore and offshore deal structure including joint ventures, limited partnerships, LLPs, enterprise zone syndicates, unit trusts, investment trusts and other fund based vehicles.
Their reach also extends internationally, through alliances with European and US partner firms, as well as high-profile assignments for clients on several continents. McGrigors have offices in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Aberdeen, Manchester and Falkland Islands.
Coffin Mew LLP
Coffin Mew LLP is one of the larger legal practices in the South East, with twenty seven partners and over two hundred other staff. The Firm has offices in North Harbour Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and Southampton. With a foundation stretching back over a century the firm is consistently recognised by independent sources such as Chambers Directory and the Legal 500, as one of the top firms in the South.
Planning Consultants
Luken Beck Ltd
An integral part of the due diligence process for the Sycamore Funds, Luken Beck are a private limited company, established in 1997 by Mark Luken and Graham Beck. They employ six highly experienced chartered town planners providing independent development, planning, management and legal advice to the private sector and government.
Specialising in major development projects they provide a full range of services, including planning applications and appeals; development plans and briefs; site and portfolio appraisals; housing capacity studies; and urban development and regeneration plans.
Their client list includes many local authorities and 'blue chip' companies, and accordingly they are recognised for their role in many of the largest, most complex and well known development projects in the sub region.
Barton Willmore
Barton Willmore has grown organically to become one of the UK’s leading, independent planning and design consultancies. They offer services from nine offices nationwide and place emphasis upon developing innovative yet commercially deliverable solutions that not only secure the necessary permissions, but are also capable of long term sustainability. They act for private and public sector clients of all types, from private landowner to local authorities, national corporate organisations to local businesses and across all types of development. Their personal approach to the services they provide has consistently resulted in long standing client relationships and a high level of repeat business.
Land Consultants
MCC Consultancy
MCC Consultancy are a multi-disciplined business. A renowned development consultancy, land agency & graphic design studio, each servicing the various sectors of the new homes industry.
Their unique service, in both development consultancy, land matters and design, is truly independent, handling all aspects of land acquisition, negotiation and disposal from small, bespoke schemes to major land allocations. In all instances offering both a professional and discreet service.
Their residential land consultancy specializes in the sourcing of development land throughout the South of England. They have a proven track record that has established MCC Land as a highly regarded and professional land consultancy, with clients including individual private landowners, local house-builders, regional developers, housing associations and national companies.
Their business continues to expand significantly, and now service a diverse range of clients, from national house builders to smaller, bespoke developers, Registered Social Landlords and consortia development teams. They are not involved in new homes sales therefore have no vested interests and their straightforward philosophy remains consistent - any advice is given totally without bias.
Funding Advisors
Barstow Associates
Barstow Associates has been established for nearly 25 years and arranges property funding for a wide range of clients primarily across the south of England. They arrange property finance for residential and commercial development Projects and residential and commercial investment properties and portfolios.
As an intermediary Barstow Associates has structured many primary and secondary funding solutions from a variety of sources including banks, financial institutions, equity investors, mezzanine financiers and joint venture partners. Through its years in the funding market place Barstow Associates has developed strong relationships within the property industry, with developers, funders and professional advisers.
These years of experience in dealing with such a wide range of property finance has given Barstow Associates an overview of the development process from land acquisition, planning, professional teams and construction matters.
Most transactions have a degree of complexity where the Funding Adviser’s experience can be brought to the fore to structure the most appropriate funding package, especially where additional second charge finance is required over and above the amount available from the primary funder. Their many years of experience with a wide variety of financial structures help Barstow Associates to identify potential problem areas. Knowledge of what is required from whom and at what time is often crucial to the successful arrangement of funding.