Capital markets veteran Ashleigh Simpson, who left Grosvenor in 2007 to join insurance giant MetLife, has returned to the London-based property firm.
Simpson rejoined Grosvenor in Washington, D.C., where he serves as a senior vice president of co-investment and leads its structured development finance business in North America. In his new role, he manages a team of eight who are based across Grosvenor offices in San Francisco; Washington; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Grosvenor said it created its structured development finance division in response to growing demand for secondary financing of development projects, "and it’s an increasingly important part of our business operations."
Simpson replaced Alex Henderson, who left Grosvenor earlier this year, spokesman Tom Nolan said in an email.
Simpson, who has more than 26 years of experience in acquisitions, asset management, joint ventures and fundraising, worked at Grosvenor from April 2001 to June 2007, when he left to become a director and head of acquisitions and joint ventures at MetLife. He most recently served as vice president of Northeast acquisitions and joint ventures at MetLife Investment Management.
At MetLife, he oversaw the company's equity investment strategy for a portfolio with $9 billion in gross asset value.
Grosvenor expects Simpson's "extensive experience will help drive our ambitious growth plans to double" the structured development finance program over the next five years, Jamie Delmotte, chief co-investment officer for the firm's North American co-investment business, said in a statement.
The firm established its structured development finance business more than two decades ago to help address the lack of quality urban housing in gateway cities in the U.S. and Canada. Since 2000, the division has acted as a capital provider to 78 residential development projects containing more than 8,500 units. It has loaned more than $608 million in projects with an aggregate development value of $3.6 billion.
Last year, Grosvenor’s structured development finance business secured an additional $150 million in investment capital from two of its long-term Canadian partners for their True North III partnership that provides equity financing for residential and mixed-use developments in Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle and Vancouver.
Simpson said he looks forward to further Grosvenor's contributions to much-needed housing supply.
"I’m excited to kick off a new chapter with Grosvenor and progress our goals" for the structured development finance division, he said in a LinkedIn post.