Avignon Capital

Eric has over 27 years of experience within the investment arena, 25 of which have been as a principal and director. Fifteen of those years have been focused on commercial property in the UK and across Europe. Eric was the founding Director of Avignon Capital and has been operating in the role of CEO since inception.

Eric was also a co-founding Director of Appleton Asset Management in 1992, which was successfully listed in March 1999. He has been involved in the Cubic Property Fund since its inception and is on the Board of Directors. Eric’s strong interests are in finance, property investments and asset management.

Eric is also Founder of Montreux Advisers, the appointed investment advisor to the Cubic Property Fund.

Eric graduated from the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1987 with a Masters in Science and a diploma in Business Entrepreneurship.

Patrick joined Avignon Capital in 2016 as Chief Financial and Operating Officer (CFOO).

At Avignon Capital he is responsible for further growth and specialises in fund structures & management, operational excellence and deal structures.

Patrick started his career 18 years ago with Cushman & Wakefield. The last 12 years he has been working as a Managing Partner / CFOO for several Private Equity firms.

David joined Avignon Capital in 2018 as director and partner and has over 35 years experience in real estate. He was previously CEO of Cromwell and Valad Europe, responsible for leading the business, including partaking in the real estate investment committee.

Prior to joining Valad, David was CEO of the European funds management division of the Lend Lease Group. His previous roles include CEO of Lend Lease’s funds and development businesses in Asia and Head of Wholesale Funds. David has multi-sector experience including office, shopping mall investment, development and industrial.

David is qualified in valuation and land economics from the University of Technology, Sydney. He holds management qualifications from Mount Eliza Business School and London Business School.

Rob is one of the founding Directors of Avignon Property. He has over 25 years of experience in the property market and over 20 years as principle and director. Rob has been involved in the Cubic Property Fund since its inception.

Prior to founding Avignon, Rob ran his own commercial and residential development and investment business in South Africa. Rob has extensive experience across all property sectors and is particularly adept at evaluating and implementing add value strategies and financial structuring.

Rob is also Founder of Montreux Advisers, the appointed investment advisor the Cubic Property Fund.

Rob graduated from the University of Natal in 1990 with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Doug joined Avignon in 2010.

Doug has 18 years of experience within the commercial property environment. He has strong knowledge across all sectors and aspects of the property cycle. He has a particular focus on value enhancement and financing. Doug is responsible for all UK and European asset management activities within the Avignon portfolios and leads debt origination and refinancing activities.

Prior to joining the Avignon team in 2010, Doug was Fund Manager at Mirvac Plc, for over 11 years and was responsible for the City Opportunities Fund, a £175m joint venture with HSBC Specialist Investments.

Doug graduated from Portsmouth University in 1997 with a degree in Land and Estate Management.

Phil joined Avignon in 2015 and is responsible for sourcing, underwriting and executing UK and European investment opportunities as well as overseeing the asset management on specific areas of the portfolio.

Prior to joining Avignon, Phil worked for Savills Investment Management where he was part of the Fund Team that launched and grew a Core Plus / Value Add Fund to in excess of £375m over 18 months. Before this, Phil was employed at Montagu Evans LLP where he gained experience in a variety of advisory disciplines.

Phil has worked across all major sectors in property on both the consulting and client sides. He has experience of institutional fund management and adding value through active asset management.

Phil graduated from Reading University in 2010 with a first class degree in Investment & Finance in Real Estate.

Colin has been consulting for Avignon for over 5 years.

At Avignon Colin is responsible for providing the team with sophisticated tax and structuring advice across the different jurisdictions the company has exposure to. His advice always takes into account the circumstance of the specific client.

Colin has over 30 years’ experience in the tax profession and advises international investors about their wealth structuring requirements.

Our clients benefit from Colin’s extensive network of professional contacts to ensure that any property acquisition are structured effectively on a local and an international basis.

Laura joined Avignon in 2016 as Marketing and Communications Manager

At Avignon Laura is responsible for all marketing and communication. Laura has strong experience in the Media and Creative industries before moving into the Property sector.

Prior to joining Avignon she worked for commercial property developer TCN UK for over four years as Marketing Manager.

She has a passion for creative buildings, workspace trends and brand identity.

Laura graduated from the University of Greenwich in 2008 with a Bachelors degree in Media, Culture and Communications.

Sarah joined Avignon in 2016 as an Asset Manager.

At Avignon, Sarah is responsible for the management of the UK portfolio of assets valued in excess of £200m as well as sourcing new investment opportunities for the business.

Prior to joining Avignon, Sarah worked at Savills in the Business Space National Investment team where she worked on a number of office disposals and acquisitions.  As a graduate she gained experience in a variety of advisory and transactional disciplines including Commercial Valuation and Central London Retail.  Sarah also worked as an Asset Manager at Savills Investment Management and managed a number of assets in Central London and regional cities.

Sarah graduated from The University of Reading in 2013 with a master’s degree in Real Estate.

Sam joined Avignon Capital in 2016 as an Investment & Fund Analyst to focus on sourcing, underwriting and executing investments in the UK and Europe.

Prior to joining Avignon Capital, Sam was an Investment Associate at Savills Investment Management, where he was a key member of the Strategic Partnerships Department, which focused on the implementation of investment mandates for the firm’s overseas investors. This included direct involvement in closing over €650 million of business in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland across core, core-plus and value-add strategies. He also assisted in the building of a balanced pan-European property portfolio valued in excess of €1.2 billion for a ‘top 10’ Global Pension Fund.

Sam graduated from the University of Reading with a BSc in Real Estate and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors after qualifying through Savills’ Graduate Programme with spells in City Investment and Portfolio Valuation.

Lauren joined Avignon in 2016 as the Team Assistant.

At Avignon Lauren assists the Investment and Asset Management teams with administrative support and coordinating their busy diaries. This includes arranging regular travel to UK and European destinations. Prior to joining Avignon, Lauren worked in other executive and team support roles in Sydney and Melbourne.

Lauren graduated from The University of Sheffield in 2012 with a Bachelors of Arts in History and Sociology.

Nico joined Avignon Capital in 2017 and is based in the Avignon Germany office and leads the asset management activities for the German portfolio.

Prior to joining Avignon Nico worked at CBRE as a Research Analyst for the commercial real estate market and later in the Advisory & Transaction team, focusing on international and corporate clients.

Prior to moving to Berlin in 2011 he lived in New York where he got his BA in Economics at CUNY. Nico also holds a joint MSc in Real Estate from TU Berlin and George Washington University.

Jack joined Avignon Capital as an intern in 2016 before starting his current role as Junior Investment Analyst.

Jack graduated from the University of Reading in 2017 with a degree in Investment & Finance in Real Estate.

At Avignon Jack assists on new acquisitions, investor reporting and systems implementation.

Bianca joined Avignon Capital in 2017 as an Investment Analyst to focus on sourcing, underwriting and executing UK and European investment opportunities, as well as managing a selection of assets in the portfolio.

Prior to joining Avignon, Bianca worked at Knight Frank in the Hotels team where she worked on consultancy assignments and valuations within the UK and European hotel sector. As a graduate she also gained experience in transactional disciplines including Central London Office Agency and European Investment, where she worked on a number of single asset transactions in France and the Netherlands.

Bianca graduated from Cass Business School in 2014 with a MSc in Real Estate and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Alessandro joined Avignon Capital in 2018 as an Asset Manager and is responsible for the management of the UK portfolio of assets.

Prior to joining Avignon Alessandro worked at Kuper Legh Property Group as a portfolio manager where he was responsible for the management of a private portfolio as well as the Texton Property Fund with property assets in the retail, office and industrial sectors.

Alessandro graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Political Science and Economic History and completed a Certificate for the Commercial Property Practitioner from the University of Pretoria.