Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top London based Managing Director operating in the Real Estate space. If you think a Managing Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
James Hatchley
Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (Europe) of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
James Hatchley (London) is a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer (Europe) for KKR with local responsibility for the operations of KKR’s businesses across the MENA region. Mr. Hatchley joined KKR as Co-Chief Executive of Avoca Capital in 2014 where he has responsibility for business strategy, strategic fund raising and oversight of non-investment functions. He joined Avoca in May 2012. Previously, he spent 23 years working in the City of London as an investment banker with Schroders, Greenhill and Freeman & Co. Mr. Hatchley established Freeman & Co.’s European business in 2006. During his time as a banker he provided independent strategic and financial advice to a wide range of banks, insurance companies and selected institutional investors. Mr. Hatchley qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen. He has a first class B.Sc (hons) Degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Surrey in the UK.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Johannes P. Huth
Managing Director & Head of KKR EMEA of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Johannes P. Huth (London) joined KKR in 1999 and is a Member of KKR and Head of KKR’s operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He has participated in investments including Wincor Nixdorf, Zumtobel, Demag Holdings, MTU Aero Engines, DSD, Selenia, Kion Group, NXP Semiconductors, Pro7 Sat1, BMG, Wild, and Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik AG (WMF). He is currently a member of the Supervisory Board of Kion. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of NXP BV. He is Chairman of the Supervisory Board of WMF, and member of the Board of Hertha KGaA. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Huth was a member of Investcorp’s Management Committee and was also responsible for the firm’s operations in Europe. Previously, he was with Salomon Brothers, where he was a vice president in the mergers and acquisitions departments in London and New York. Mr. Huth holds a B.Sc with highest honors from the London School of Economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He is Chairman of the Trustees of the Private Equity Foundation, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Design Museum, trustee of the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt, a governor of the London School of Economics, and trustee of The Education Endowment Foundation.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Valeria Rebulla
Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Valeria Rebulla (London) joined in 2009 and heads the Capital Solutions Group in Europe. Since joining KKR Capital Markets, she has played an instrumental role in arranging multiple financings for KKR acquisitions and portfolio companies, including: PortAventura, SBB, Acteon, OEG Offshore, Fotolia, Bond Aviation, Inaer, Versatel, Alliance Boots, Wild Flavours, WMF and NXP. Prior to joining KKR, she was an executive director on Goldman Sachs’ Leveraged Finance Capital Markets desk. She began her career at Goldman Sachs in the late 1990s and developed a broad range of skills in the Advisory Group, and subsequently in the venture capital group (then “GS Ventures”), before moving into the Leveraged Finance Division. She holds an M.Sc., summa cum laude, from L. Bocconi University.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Said Business School, University of Oxford: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Abhishek Kapur
Managing Director – Regional Lead, KKR Capstone of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Mark Howard
Managing Director & Chief Compliance Officer International Markets of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Mark Howard (London) joined KKR in 2011 as a Compliance Officer for Europe and Mid-East. Before joining KKR.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Ludo Bammens
Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Ludo Bammens (London) joined KKR in 2009 as the Director of European Corporate Affairs. Before joining KKR, Mr. Bammens was the Director of European Public Affairs at Coca-Cola Company Europe Group. Prior to taking this role he was Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications for the Europe Group of Coca-Cola Enterprises, the largest bottler in the Coca-Cola system. He joined Coca-Cola from Janssen Pharmaceutical (the pharmaceutical branch of Johnson & Johnson) where he was Director of European Public Affairs. From 1986-1991, Mr. Bammens was Deputy Chef de Cabinet of King Baudouin of Belgium. Mr. Bammens is honorary member of the Executive Board of the Belgian Banking and Market Supervisory Authority and former member of the Stakeholder Group of the European Securities and Market Authority(ESMA).
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Franziska Kayser
Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Managing Director at KKR & Co. Inc.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Clayton Perry
Managing Director, Client and Partner Group of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Clayton Perry (London) joined KKR in 2014 as part of Avoca Capital and is responsible for the strategic development of KKR’s collateralized loan obligation business. Before joining Avoca in 2010, he worked for Credit Suisse for sixteen years in a variety of roles, most recently running the collateralized loan obligation arranging business. Mr. Perry has a B.A. from Otago University and an M.Sc from the London School of Economics.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
William Needham
Managing Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
William Needham (London) joined KKR in 2014 and is European Legal Counsel for KKR Credit.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Paul Roberts
Managing Director, KKR Prisma of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Paul Roberts (London) joined KKR Prisma, which previously conducted business as Prisma Capital Partners LP, in 2008. Mr. Roberts is part of the Client and Partner Group, focusing on customized hedge fund solutions. Prior to joining KKR Prisma, Mr. Roberts was a managing director and co-head of European shares at Goldman Sachs & Co. Previously, he worked in the equity derivatives group of Goldman Sachs & Co. advising institutions on portfolio restructuring and hedging strategies. Earlier in his career, he was the head of derivative sales at SG Warburg, responsible for the distribution of all listed and OTC products. Mr. Roberts holds an M.A. in Economics from Cambridge University.
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About Kohlberg Kravis Roberts: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global alternative asset manager focusing on private equity, fixed income, and capital markets.
Markus Noe-Nordberg
Managing Director and Head of Europe mid-market Private Equity of H.I.G. Capital
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About H.I.G. Capital: H.I.G. Capital is a global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with $42 billion of equity capital under management.
Kenneth Borton
Managing Director of WhiteHorse Capital of H.I.G. Capital
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About H.I.G. Capital: H.I.G. Capital is a global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with $42 billion of equity capital under management.
Ben Bourne
Managing Director of Bourne Capital
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About Bourne Capital, P10 Finance: Bourne Capital is a leading international active property management and leisure operations group.
Tadhg Flanagan
Group Managing Director of Bourne Capital
Following a career in operations and customer services in the airline industry and previously with MWB, Tadhg joined Bourne Capital as General Manager in 2005 before being appointed Group Managing Director in 2007. His flair for developing new ventures, as well as running the serviced office businesses at MWB, has been instrumental in the successful letting and launching of Capital Tower and the development of sales, marketing and operational strategies for all commercial aspects of the Group. Tadhg has also established strong financial controls and disciplines within the group and has defined and grown the property and leisure arms of the business. Recognising that any organisation is only as strong as the people it employs, Tadhg retains an on-going commitment to developing and growing both management and operational teams for the group. Tadhg is focused on Bourne Capital’s owner operated strategy of growing brands within the existing estates, and the acquisition of complementary businesses to create new ventures and grow the business.
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About Bourne Capital: Bourne Capital is a leading international active property management and leisure operations group.
Roger Kennedy
Managing Director of Cantor Fitzgerald
Roger Kennedy is the Managing Director at Cantor Fitzgerald.
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About Cantor Fitzgerald: Cantor Fitzgerald is a global financial services firm that specializes in equities, investment banking, and real estate.
Marco Castelli
Managing Director of BC Partners
Marco Castelli initially joined BC Partners in Milan in 2006, left to attend his MBA in 2009 and re-joined in London in 2011. Previously, Marco spent two years as a management consultant at Bain & Company in Milan where he focused on strategy and mergers and acquisitions related assignments. Marco holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a degree in Business Administration from the Bocconi University in Milan.
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About BC Partners: BC Partners is an international alternative investment firm focused private equity, credit, real estate, and investment strategies.
Laurian Douin
Managing Director, Real Estate of BC Partners
Laurian Douin joined BCP Real Estate in London in 2018. Previously, Laurian spent 12 years at Altarea Cogedim, a French listed multi-format real estate development and property company, most recently as a Managing Director with responsibility for office investments, member of the group executive committee and CEO of AltaFund, a €650m private equity real estate fund. Before that, he was head of Altarea Cogedim group corporate finance for 4 years until 2009, in charge of corporate development, international expansion and bank financing. Prior to Altarea Cogedim, Laurian was Director at PwC Real Estate Corporate Finance, which he joined in 2004, and previously, Manager at Andersen Real Estate Corporate Finance where he started in 1998, with a focus on M&A, financial advisory and valuation services in the real estate sector. Laurian holds a Masters in Management and MSc with a major in Finance from EDHEC.
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About BC Partners: BC Partners is an international alternative investment firm focused private equity, credit, real estate, and investment strategies.
Olivier Berment
Head of Global Debt Fund – Managing Director of Ardian
Olivier has 18 years of private equity experience including 13 years with Ardian. He began his career in 1996 as a junior investment manager in a private company, specializing in recovery investments. Olivier was also involved in M&A transactions and advised companies with respect to their IPOs. In 1999, he joined Renaissance Investissements, an investment fund specializing in turnaround situations. He joined Ardian in early 2001 where he was in charge of turnaround activities and also completed some direct transactions. He joined the Private Debt team at its inception in 2005.
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About Ardian: Ardian is an independent private investment company with assets of US$55bn managed or advised.
Ana Nekhamkin
Managing Director of Inhabit Residential
Ana Nekhamkin has spent over 10 years in real estate acquisitions & development working first for Morgans Hotel Group and subsequently for Ian Schrager Company. She has also consulted for a number of companies in the lifestyle hotel space including Chelsea Hotels, Virgin Hotels and Virgin Limited Edition; a student accommodation developer; and select other real estate clients. Her responsibilities have included deal sourcing; project underwriting; negotiation of purchase & sale, joint venture, management, lease and development agreements; securing debt and equity sources; and asset management of both operating properties and development projects. While at Morgans Hotel Group she was also actively involved with all capital markets activities and other corporate-level initiatives such as restructuring, asset sales and evaluation of M&A opportunities. She has extensive experience in North America, Europe (including the United Kingdom) and the Middle East. Prior to Morgans Hotel Group, Ana was an Analyst in Morgan Stanley’s Real Estate Group where she worked both on advisory assignments and private equity transactions. Ana is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where she received a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a concentration in Finance. Ana is a native Russian speaker who is fluent in English and Russian as well as proficient in French.
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About Inhabit Residential: Inhabit Residential create contemporary city centre rental apartments that you can make your own.
Gregory Dewerpe
Managing Director of A/O PropTech
Gregory is a seasoned real estate and technology investor with over 15 years of experience across I-Banking, real estate and venture, a multi-billion deal-making history, and a deep understanding of the financial markets, real estate and venture capital eco-systems. A/O Proptech has emerged from AMD Capital, a dedicated real estate investment company ( direct real assets, public real estate markets, and venture) also founded by Gregory after he left I-Banking where he started his career a decade earlier, at Credit Suisse and Citigroup, looking after investments, structuring and financing for Sovereign wealth funds and other large institutions. Gregory sits on the board/advisory board of a variety of companies in the tech and Real estate space including amongst others Placemake.io, Plentific, Wildstone, Fornova, Residently, Livelike and Tiger Media. Gregory is a Swiss national, fluent in English, French and Italian; he attended HEC Lausanne University, London School of Economics (Masters) and Harvard Business School. Gregory is passionate about sports, travelling, nutrition/food-tech, cancer research and fighting the destructive long-lasting impact of bullying amongst children and younger generations. Gregory currently lives between London and Berlin.
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About A/O PropTech: Europe’s largest Proptech VC firm investing in technology companies transforming the real estate industry.
Lukasz Kisiel
Founder and Managing Director of Kisiel Ltd.
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About Kisiel Ltd.: A privately owned construction company specializing in residential refurbishment, renovation, extensions and new build construction.
Paul Brett
Managing Director, Intermediaries of LANDBAY
Paul has over 20 years experience in the financial services and lending industries and over 10 years specialist business development expertise. Prior to joining borro Paul worked at Fastcom as the Sales and Marketing Director and at SPML as the Head of Sales. He also formed the Mortgage Industry Association and brand “Freehold” by successfully bringing together 25 companies in the industry with a collective £1.6 billion of distribution. Paul also brings to the table several years of consultancy experience, devising strategies for several multi million pound turnover private companies.
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About LANDBAY: Landbay is a specialist Buy to Let mortgage lender using peer-to-peer technology to fund its loans.
Mark Croston
Founder & Managing Director of Propeasy
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About Propeasy: Propeasy provides assistance to people interested in property investments.
William Cooper
Managing Director of Stanhope Cooper
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About Stanhope Cooper: Stanhope Cooper is an insurance broker for private clients, family businesses/offices, SMEs, property developers, renovators & contractors.
Daniel Mohamed
Founder & Managing Director of Urban Intelligence
Founder & CEO at Urban Intelligence
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About Urban Intelligence: Data-Driven Property Development
Akshay Ruparelia
Founder and Managing Director of Doorsteps
Akshay Ruparelia is the Founder of Doorsteps.
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About Doorsteps: Doorsteps is a UK-based online estate agents.
Alex Wrottesley
Managing Director, Landmark Geodata of Landmark Information Group
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About Landmark Information Group: Landmark Information Group is a company that assists clients with a variety of real estate development and management projects.
Rajeev Nayyar
Managing Director & Founder of Fixflo
Raj is a former property lawyer – the idea of Fixflo came to him as he was suffering the pain of property repair management as a tenant in New Zealand while managing properties in London. He enjoys long walks on the beach and carries a Fixflo stress ball with him wherever he goes.
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About Fixflo: Fixflo is a repair reporting and maintenance management software system.
Tom Buttress
Co-Founder & Managing Director of Propio
Tom is Propio’s day-to-day lead and is involved in all strategic and operational aspects of the business. An expert in building, improving and re-orientating regulated financial services firms, Tom previously worked as a management consultant advising household names such as Barclays, Bank of England, Aviva, FCA and T. Rowe Price. He holds a BA from Oxford University.
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About Propio: Propio is a crowdfunding platform that brings together investors property firms seeking funding for development.
Eric Tomaszewski
Founder / Managing Director of Itoma Lux
Eric Tomaszewski is the Founder & Managing Director of Itoma Lux. He founded Itoma Lux in 2017 after 10 years of corporate experience with companies like Ocado, Magna Exteriors and Magna Interiors, Ishida Europe Ltd, and Kimberly-Clark.
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About Itoma Lux: We enable PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT with FINANCE and then de-risk it and increase chances of commercial success with MARKETING & SALES solutions.
Maher Lababedi
Managing Director of Sterling Bros
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About Apply.Property, Sterling Bros: Sterling Bros provides assistance and consultation services for real estate investment.
José Francis
Founder and Managing Director of Hamilcar Capital Limited
José is an Investment Advisor. His main role is to screen the African market (Private and Listed Equity) to find the best investment opportunity on behalf of a consortium of selected investors Partner. José Solange Francis founded Hamilcar Capital Limited which is a regulated London Investment Boutique mainly dedicated for investment across the African continent. As a Principal Investment and Advisor Partner, he is surrounded with highly talented Expert Advisors. Mr J.S.Francis is global coordinator for deal sourcing, analysing and execution of direct equity investments. José brings to the growing business in Africa his 20 years’ extensive experience in financial markets on Equity and Derivatives products. He has a strong academic background in Finance and Economics. Prior to Hamilcar Capital Limited, he worked in London and Paris for well established financial institutions such as Paribas Asset Management, Natixis, Société Générale, GFI Group, Integra Capital. He covered different roles such as Fund Manager, Trader and Sales. Through his long experience, Mr J.S. Francis covered very large international institutions and also hedge fund clients by arranging deals on industrial participations and special situations. His responsibility was covering deals on IPO, Secondary Offerings, Block Trades, Repo Trade, Stocks Lending. He was also responsible for identifying attractive investment opportunities on equity event driven, M&A situations, distressed and restructuring stocks, large discounted stocks, managing equity and derivatives exposure. Mr J.S. Francis holds a Masters Specialized in Finance (ISG Business School, Paris) and a Bachelor degree in Economics, specializing in Mathematics and Statistics (University of Toulouse, France). Mr J.S. Francis is registered CF1 (Director) and CF30 (Customer) by the Financial Conduct Authority. He is trilingual in English, French (mother tongue) and Italian. He is currently learning Arabic. His motto “Never Give Up, just Carry On”
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About Hamilcar Capital Limited: Hamilcar Capital is an independent investment boutique focusing on private and listed equity in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Steven Weller
Managing Director of Comparison Services of Zoopla Property Group Plc (ZPG)
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About Zoopla Property Group Plc (ZPG): Zoopla Property Group Plc is a company that uses digital media to assist in property searches.
Payam Tamiz
Founder/Managing Director of GoMoove
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About GoMoove: GoMoove is a property website and an online platform that helps users find and share information about properties available to rent or buy.
Joe Kim
Managing Director/Partner of UPIN Fund Management
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About UPIN Fund Management, XnTree: UPIN is an investment and management consulting firm that helps to optimize its clients’ business solutions and meet its goals.
Sandra Jones
Managing Director of Dataloft
Sandra keeps a strategic eye on all Dataloft’s client reports and is actively involved in consultancy assignments. With a career that has spanned commercial and residential markets, she has a particular interest in institutional investment in residential property. She has written widely on property for national and trade press and is a regular speaker at seminars and conferences.
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About Dataloft: Dataloft is an established property market intelligence company with a long track record of analysing and reporting on the housing market.
Barnaby Oswald
Managing Director of Local Data Company
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About : Local Data Company is the UK’s most accurate retail and leisure location data business.
David Walker
Managing Director of Spot Blue
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About Spot Blue: Spot Blue is a real estate company, providing services to sell or buy properties.
David Walker
Managing Director of Spot Blue
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About Spot Blue: Spot Blue is a real estate company, providing services to sell or buy properties.
