Private equity house Cogress UK has said it plans to release a regulated offering which will allows UK IFAs to invest client money into its collective property investment model.
The Israeli company, which opened in the UK last year, said it plans to offer a bond product which will also allow investment banks and family offices to invest client money in line with its existing portfolio, which pools assets to allow investments of as little as £20,000 into developments usually reserved for larger investors. “We have a lot of interest from advisers and retail banking institutions, and they really want to get involved,” said Cogress chief executive Tal Orly. “We have started preparing a second product which will be fully regulated and therefore able for recommendation for investment through a variety of avenues.” He said the company will make a decision on how to act in the “next few weeks”, and that the creation of the regulated product will likely take around 16 to 17 weeks. The company’s currently allows clients to directly invest money with Cogress, who pool it together and take a shared 7% of equity as a charge for its legal, taxation, initiation, and monitoring services.
The company then invests the money into around 90 high-value property developments in various regions across the world, returning an average of 21.7%. Orly said the company has attracted interest from international investors, including several based in Europe, Canada, Australia, Israel, and Hong Kong. The company does not accept investment from American investors. He added that he predicts a boost in investor activity following the uncertainty that surrounded the effects on mansion tax of the recent UK general election, in which the Conservative’s won a slender majority. “The demand is there for houses, and it will be for a long time,” he said. “People flock to London as is a safe haven for property, and its predicted population is nine million by 2018, so it is a great place for us to invest.” “We are creating opportunities that were not in the London property market before, people get to take part in the development of the hottest city in the world.”
SOURCE: International-Adviser.com
