Property crowdfunding company opens to investors
Transcendent Real Estate, a crowdfunding platform focused solely on commercial property, has launched in Manchester after securing bank funding and an exclusivity agreement to buy its first investment opportunity.
Transcendent Real Estate has been set up by James Nichols, recently an investment partner at Paul Nichols & Co and previously an agent at WHR and Savills.
The company offers direct equity investment in specific UK commercial real estate assets. The first property being offered to investors is 43-45 Lever Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Located at the junction of Stephenson Square and Lever Street, the 13,182 sq ft corner building is let to Whitecross Dental on a new 15-year lease, as well as bar and restaurant Bakerie.
Transcendent is now crowdfunding to raise the rest of the capital to complete the acquisition, which requires £2.8m.
The company was incorporated in February 2015, and received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority in June.
Nichols said: “TRE was an idea developed as a result of seeing excellent deals that I personally would like to invest in myself but not having the resources to do so. Commercial real estate investment has previously been an arena only generally open to investors with significant equity at their disposal.
“This isn’t a new way of doing business. Syndicated property has been happening for decades but was always a closed shop to outsiders and was never open to the public. TRE now allows anyone with available funds from £5,000 upwards the opportunity to acquire shares providing they meet the relevant investor criteria on the platform.
“Acquiring 43-45 Lever Street will provide the perfect springboard to launch our unique crowdfunding platform. The UK property market remains one of the strongest in the world and the current low interest rates, low bond yields and volatile equities post Brexit means this is an excellent alternative asset class for investors. We have created our fully automated crowdfunding platform to enable both small and large investors to access these great investment opportunities.”
TRE is advised by law firm Nabarro and GDP Funding.
