From Cambridge to Harvard to Super-Prime London: A profile of Faisal Saigol, CEO of Super Prime Property fund Saigol DDC
London (PRWEB UK) 14 March 2014 -- Faisal Saigol read Law at Jesus College, Cambridge, holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and in the 1990’s worked in private equity and at Goldman Sachs. It is therefore interesting that Faisal went on to spend almost fifteen years building up Saigol DDC to become the largest investor in period super-prime properties in London, creating homes for the global super-rich.
As an asset class, London super-prime has not historically been the port of first call for Cambridge-educated hedge fund managers, private equity fund managers or for the big hitters in large institutions. Is Saigol DDC the start of a professional attitude to this segment of the property market? Faisal Saigol’s CV certainly suggests so. Faisal states, “My time in private equity and at Goldman Sachs taught me the fundamental rules needed to build a business in what can often be a volatile market. Saigol DDC has been set up and structured to deliver results no matter what the broader market does in the short-term.”
This is a bold statement and Saigol DDC’s results certainly back it up. Since the crunch started in 2007, Saigol DDC has given investors an extremely strong 50% per annum return on their equity. This is astonishing given that the FTSE 100 over the same period has only just recouped its value and that many private equity funds remain in the red over the same period. In addition, Saigol DDC has bought, developed and sold almost £250 million of properties in the last 5 years alone, turning itself into the market leader.
Has Faisal’s professional background played a large part in this? Faisal says, “I am grateful for the rigorous business training I received in my previous careers and feel that background has helped me coolly assess opportunities and deals whether the market is wildly optimistic or whether the market is hopelessly depressed.”
So the professionalisation of super-prime has begun and Saigol DDC’s analytical approach should pay dividends.
Kristian Gough, Incite New Business, http://www.incitenewbusiness.co.uk, +44 7971144778, [email protected]
Share this article