Media. News and press releases from across Man Group.

25 February 2019

Man Global Private Markets (Man GPM), Man Group’s private markets investment business, today confirms the appointment of Shamez Alibhai as Head of Community Housing and Portfolio Manager, based in London. Man GPM also announces today the members of its newly established Community Housing Advisory Committee.

In this newly created role, Shamez will oversee Man GPM’s new Community Housing team and with the guidance of the Advisory Committee seek to deliver an investment strategy that achieves the dual objectives of providing both financial and social returns. He will also sit on Man Group’s Responsible Investment Committee.

Working alongside UK councils and housing associations, the Community Housing team intends to deliver additional homes to help meet the need for 2.5 million more affordable homes over the next 15 years¹. The investment strategy will seek to accelerate the provision of affordable homes in the UK across both rental and ownership tenures with a strong focus on creating sustainable communities. Specifically, the strategy will accommodate a range of housing tenures from social and affordable rent, to shared ownership, rent to buy, and market rent and sale.

Shamez joins Man GPM from Cheyne Capital where he spent 12 years and was a Partner and Portfolio Manager. Since 2014 he managed the firm’s social property impact strategy and prior to that he established the firm’s real estate debt platform. Shamez was previously at Credit Suisse and Barclays plc.

Man GPM’s Community Housing Advisory Committee will consist of senior professionals with expertise across the UK residential and affordable housing markets. The members of the Advisory Committee are:

• Dame Katharine (Kate) Barker – Kate was a Senior Adviser to Credit Suisse from 2010 to 2016 and a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee between 2001 and 2010. In 2004, Kate authored the influential Barker Review of Housing Supply and presented recommendations to the UK Government. Kate is currently a non-executive director of Taylor Wimpey plc and Man Group plc.
• David Hutchison, OBE – David is the CEO of Social Finance, a not-for-profit organisation that partners with the Government, social sector and financial community to find new approaches to tackling social problems in the UK with a particular focus on solutions which are both sustainable and scalable. David is a thought leader in the impact investing world, led the development of social impact bonds, and is a member of the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing and the Social Metrics Commission.
• David Sheridan – David is the former CEO of Keepmoat Group, a top 10 UK house-builder that focuses on creating new communities on brownfield sites in partnership with local authorities and housing associations. Prior to that, he was CEO of Apollo Property Services Group. David has significant experience and relationships across the housing market and a track record of working constructively with local councils and central government.
• David Gannicott – David was most recently Group Business Development Director at Hyde Group, a large Housing Association with over 50,000 homes in London, where he transformed their development programme. He has a strong track record of success across the housing sector and has worked with both the public and private sector in furthering the delivery of new affordable homes.

Shamez Alibhai, Head of Community Housing, Man GPM, said:

“I am delighted to join Man GPM to develop a UK-focused Community Housing strategy as part of Man Group’s growing responsible investment platform. The scale of the housing shortfall across the UK requires innovative solutions to enable all types of households to help meet their housing aspirations and needs. Man Group’s resources and commitment to socially responsible investing provide a strong foundation for pursuing our goal of alleviating this problem.”

Katharine Barker, Non-executive Director, Man Group, and Advisory Committee member, said:

“The UK is experiencing a housing shortage and there is an opportunity to make use of private, long-term capital to create affordable housing that meets the needs of communities across the UK in a socially sustainable way. I and the rest of the Committee look forward to advising Shamez and the investment team as they progress with what we believe will be a successful example of public-private partnership and demonstrate the benefits of impact investing.”

Luke Ellis, CEO of Man Group, said:

“We are committed to helping our clients achieve positive financial and social outcomes with their capital and believe that affordable housing is an ideal strategy for this purpose. Shamez brings considerable expertise and prior experience of investing in affordable housing projects, and we are delighted that he has joined Man GPM. Our private markets business is a key diversifier for Man Group and we believe affordable housing is an attractive asset class for long-term investors.”

Man GPM is a specialist in residential real estate investments, managing approximately $2.3bn (as at 30 September 2018). Over the past six years, the business has delivered more than 4,000 houses for rent and provided financing to more than 13,000 homes.

To learn more about Man Group’s commitment to responsible investment, visit www.man.com/responsible-investment.