HISTORY
In January 1996, Marc Gilbard and Graham Stanley left Goldman Sachs International where they had been responsible for real estate activities in the UK, including primary and secondary equities, corporate advisory and the Whitehall Street Real Estate Fund (Whitehall). As a result of their role at Goldman Sachs, Messrs Gilbard and Stanley identified an opportunity to create a real estate and real estate-related investment business with dynamic and innovative asset and financial management skills that could act as the local partner to private equity investors.

Shortly thereafter, they took management control of Moorfield Estates PLC (later renamed Moorfield Group PLC), a London Stock Exchange listed real estate company. With support of the shareholders and banks, Messrs Gilbard and Stanley spent the next 9 months completing a comprehensive financial and operational restructuring of the Company, including replacing the majority of the Board of Directors whilst re-focusing the Company on a new strategy to maximise the value of its assets and materially expand its investment activities.

Starting in the summer of 1996, Moorfield embarked on an aggressive programme to realise non-core assets that had been inherited from before the time that Messrs Gilbard and Stanley took management control. As these assets were sold, Moorfield sought out new investment opportunities, investing their capital alongside other well-capitalised real estate/private equity funds seeking real estate and related opportunities in the UK. Moorfield originated these opportunities, identified the appropriate equity capital to invest alongside its own, sourced and procured the appropriate debt finance for each transaction, and acted as fund, real estate, financial and asset manager. This has enabled Moorfield to not only earn attractive returns on the capital invested in these transactions, but also to earn asset management fees and performance-related promote fees from its equity partners.

From 1996 to date, Moorfield has established successful joint venture relationships with the Blackstone Group, Ellerman Investments (an investment vehicle of Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay) Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank, Westbrook Partners and Bank of Scotland Group. These joint ventures have been successful both in terms of realised asset investment returns to the equity partners and in providing asset management and incentive fees to Moorfield. They have also worked closely with Morgan Stanley, Nomura, UBS and other such blue chip organisations.

After 5 years as a public company under the current management, it became clear that remaining a public company was inappropriate considering Moorfield’s investment structure and ambitions. As a result, in April 2001, the senior management team of Moorfield, combined with equity and debt capital from Bank of Scotland Group, took the Company private.

Over the 5 year period between January 1996 and March 2001, when Moorfield was a listed company on the London Stock Exchange, the share price increased by some 48%, the dividend per share was increased year on year by 10% and the net asset value per share increased by some 68%

In 2005, following a diversified and highly successful investment and subsequent disposal programme of some £2 billion, Moorfield determined to invest and directly manage equity on behalf of third parties. To this end, Moorfield Real Estaste Funds (MREF I/MREF II) were formed by Moorfield.

Today, Moorfield Group Limited is a private real estate company with 20 experienced professionals with backgrounds in real estate (investment, development, asset management, planning and legal), fund management, corporate finance, accountancy and marketing who are further supported by a team of administrative personnel based at their head office in the West End of London. Moorfield believes that its historic and current strong investment results are directly related to the quality and diversity of the firm’s professionals, together with the resulting broad real estate and financial contact base. Attracting and motivating employees to remain with the firm is essential to long term investment success and continuity for the firm. As a result, Moorfield has, over time, assembled an excellent team and encountered very little turnover of its investment professionals.

VALUE OF MOORFIELD GROUP MANAGEMENT TEAM
Management consists of a cohesive team of dedicated professionals responsible for executing Moorfield’s strategy. Headquartered in London, Moorfield believes that its team possesses the following important attributes for success in the real estate industry:

• Proven success in restructuring a company and creating asset growth with realised profits.
• Corporate, financial and analytical expertise.
• Real estate investment, trading and development expertise.
• Fund Management expertise: direct and indirect real estate investment.
• Joint venture/partnership expertise.
• Lateral thinkers to whom real estate is a commodity requiring dynamic asset and financial management.
• A hand picked team with proven capability working as a unit.
• Wide reaching real estate and financial contact base.
• Credibility in the real estate and financial markets.
• Range of current opportunities.

Marc initially worked for Gerald Eve & Company (chartered surveyors) where his responsibilities included professional real estate work. He moved to Edward Erdman (chartered surveyors), where he specialised in investment and development finance and formed a real estate financial services company, of which he was a Director. One of Marc’s responsibilities was to oversee all real estate financing initiatives and innovations, such as equity and debt securitisation. This resulted in the offer of a position with UBS (then Phillips & Drew – stockbroker/investment bank) in 1987, where he became a real estate equity analyst and specialist salesman, closely involved with many of the late 1980’s take-overs, mergers, flotations, equity issues and disposals.

In 1989, Marc was approached by NatWest Markets (NWM) to set up and become Director responsible for real estate equity research and sales. His work also included corporate finance and primary capital markets as well as debt recovery. It was here that he first started working with Graham Stanley. He was a founding Board Director of NatWest Markets Property Limited which oversaw all real estate activities within the investment bank.

In February 1994, Marc joined Goldman Sachs International as an Executive Director to establish a European real estate equity research and sales effort, to form closer relationships with European real estate companies in origination, and to advise, and later manage, the Whitehall Real Estate Fund in its investment of proprietary capital in the UK. Other responsibilities included multi-disciplined corporate advice to the firm’s clients.

Marc has been rated, with regards to real estate equity investment advice, in the top 3 (including 1st place) of the European Extel Survey in 1989 and 1991-1993, and the Institutional Investor Survey 1991-1995 (1995 being the last year he was eligible for a vote). He has also sat on the panel that advises the RICS on the investment of its own capital, together with having various advisory roles for the RICS on real estate equity and debt securitisation.

Marc became Managing Director of Moorfield in January 1996.

In 1987 Graham joined Provident Mutual as a fund manager responsible for real estate equities, managing a real estate equities fund in addition to the real estate interests of the firm’s other investment funds. The period between 1987 and 1989 was one of intense activity in the real estate sector, and the work involved analysing the investment prospects of the numerous real estate companies that were floated over this period, together with the valuation of those companies that were acquired.

After a period at Hoare Govett as a real estate analyst, he joined NatWest Markets (NWM) in October 1989, becoming a Director in 1992. In February 1994, he left to join Goldman Sachs International. At both NWM, and Goldman Sachs, Graham has worked in partnership with Marc Gilbard and, as such, his responsibilities and experience have been closely aligned to those detailed for Marc.

Graham became Executive Director of Moorfield in January 1996.

Graham joined Robson Rhodes (now RSM Robson Rhodes LLP) in September 1975 and became a member of the ICAEW in 1979. On qualifying he moved into the corporate finance department and worked on acquisitions, disposals and many Stock Exchange transactions, including flotations, placings, rights issues, other Class transactions, business valuations, capital raising for private equity, management buy-outs and development capital transactions.

He became a partner in the firm in May 1985 and continued to specialise in corporate finance becoming Head of Corporate Finance for a number of years. In 1993, Graham became Partner in Charge of the London Office and took over responsibility for the South East region of the firm in 1994. In 1994/5 he was approved by the Stock Exchange to act as a Sponsor in transactions for Listed Companies on the London Stock Exchange and maintained this approval until leaving the firm on 31 October 2000. Graham was appointed in 1999 onto the firm’s Executive Committee which comprised 4 partners with responsibility for overseeing the firm’s strategy, constitution and its partners.

On 1 November 2000 Graham joined Moorfield as Group Finance Director with responsibility for all financial aspects. In addition, he has responsibility for initiating and managing new corporate transactions. Moorfield is a member of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) and the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EVCA) for which Graham has responsibility.

Isidore has a degree in Business Management and gained accounting and financial management experience in a number of companies after university. He joined Moorfield in 1992 and he is primarily responsible for the accounting and quarterly reporting requirements for each of the limited partnerships.

Sadie has a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University and a post graduate degree in law. She is a qualified solicitor, having trained at Clifford Chance and practised in their private equity group where she advised private equity houses on acquisitions and disposals. At Moorfield she is predominantly focused on corporate acquisition analysis and in house legal advice.

Emma is a Chartered Town Planner. Before joining Moorfield Group in April 2008, she was a National Director at Jones Lang Lasalle and prior to that a Partner in the Planning and Development team at Drivers Jonas. Emma has a great deal of experience in bringing development projects, in all sectors, through the planning process. Her main responsibility at Moorfield is enhancing value through the planning system and accessing the planning potential of new opportunities.

Susan has worked in the real estate industry since 1987. Initially working in real estate management for Scotts Property Management and then Chesterton Property Management she joined Moorfield in 1996. Her responsibilities include a daily treasury management role and she is also responsible for the financial reporting of a number of investments.

Shane has a degree in Commerce and is a Certified Accountant. Shane has held a number of senior financial/ strategic positions at companies including Grand Metropolitan PLC and Bass PLC. At Bass PLC he was Managing Director of Holiday Inn Express Hotels, Europe, growing the business from zero to over 140 hotels within 6 years. He has worked with various private equity firms to purchase a number of hotel groups ranging in value from £100 million to £1 billion. At Moorfield Shane is responsible for overseeing all the hotel and leisure operations.

Mark is a Chartered Surveyor. As an Associate Partner of St Quintin Chartered Surveyors, he headed a team responsible for the asset management of a number of substantial portfolios, including Moorfield. Mark joined Moorfield in 1999 where his principal responsibility is asset management.

Niall is a Chartered Surveyor. He worked initially as a Quantity Surveyor for John Laing Construction and Amey Group before joining Simons Group as a Commercial Manager in 1997. He has been involved in a large and diverse range of construction activity during his 20 years in the industry. In recent years he has worked as a Project Manager in Simons Developments specialising in town centre retail and mixed use schemes. At Moorfield his principal responsibility is development.

Christine Brooker - Office Manager, Personal Assistant to Executive Directors

Lois Onley - Personal Assistant

Terriellen Bird - Office adminstration & organisation assistant