James is an experienced real estate investment professional with a strong focus on Hospitality, Real Estate Capital Markets, M&A Advisory, Investment Management, Development Management, and Real Estate Private Equity.
He is currently the Investment and Asset Manager of Hospitality Property Fund (HPF) where he is responsible for the analysis and execution of acquisitions and disposals as well as the implementation of commercial strategies pertaining to the funds existing asset base. Hospitality Property Fund is the only specialised Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) investing solely in the hospitality and leisure sectors.
James worked was an Associate in the Capital Markets division of the Hotels and Hospitality Group at Jones Lang LaSalle, where he covered the Sub-Saharan Africa region. His expertise was applied in investment sales, acquisitions, workouts, debt origination, equity financing, fixed income, and mergers and acquisitions where he served a broad client base which included individual investors, institutional investors, developers, opportunity funds, sovereign wealth funds, REIT’s, property Companies, and Corporates. During his tenure with the company, James was instrumental in growth of the SSA business and advised on over $200m dollars’ worth of transactions.
He also has experience in Real Estate Private Equity and began his career working for the global management consulting firm, Proudfoot Consulting. James holds a BSc (Honours) in Property Studies from the University of Cape Town, and an MSc in Real Estate Investment and Finance from Cass Business School, University of London.