Downing has joined forces with Jessica Hardman, former UK chief executive of German investment manager DWS, to create Aboria Capital.
Aboria Capital, based in London, will initially focus on realising Downing鈥檚 拢1.6bn pipeline, which includes 10 new projects planned to start on site at locations across the UK in 2025 and 2026, including the 拢400m, 2,500-bed, Square Gardens co-living scheme in Manchester.
The plan is that these assets will seed Aboria Capital.
Jessica Hardman has spent most of her career with Deutsche Bank and DWS, its asset management division that was spun out in 2018. She is also currently president of the British Property Federation (BPF).
She said: 鈥淒owning is recognised as a seasoned, high-quality living operating and development business. The UK and European living sector continue to be the most favoured sector by international investors especially where managers can offer the benefits of a vertically integrated value chain across both the investment and operational disciplines.鈥澛�
Downing director Bay Downing added: 鈥淲e want to take advantage of the current dislocation in the market and the cyclical investment opportunities in front of us, which will produce long term generational value. We feel now is the right time to launch Aboria Capital, bringing together two hugely complementary skill sets in real estate and global investment management. We look forward to sharing more about our plans for this exciting venture in the near future.鈥�
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