Buxton Family Office and Jameson TTB unite to bolster funds management

From left: Jameson TTB director and co-founder Jonathan Webster, Andrew Buxton, Jameson TTB director and co-founder Nick Browne, Jameson TTB investment management director Myles Hornbuckle, and Charlie Buxton.

Melbourne property tycoon Andrew Buxton’s private investment vehicle, The Buxton Family Office, has teamed up with asset manager Jameson TTB, to bolster its funds management platform.

The private BFO will underwrite the deals and give Jameson the ability to move on time-sensitive opportunities as market shifts and will also involve family scion and developer Charlie Buxton.

The family office is a key backer of the Jameson Special Situations fund, a $100m vehicle which will invest in hybrid-credit investments in sectors like childcare, seniors living, self-storage and data centres.

Jameson TTB’s director Nick Browne flagged that more funds were in the works. “To grow the business we’re going to continue to launch more discretionary funds. And as we continue to do that, we obviously need to have the bigger capital partners that will enable us to grow the business more rapidly,” he said.

Mr Browne said one of the next steps was to launch a follow-on vehicle to the Jameson Special Situations fund early next year, which will be backed by a number of offshore institutions.

In September, Jameson Capital announced a strategic partnership with TTB Real Estate, a Hong Kong-based investment and advisory firm, and rebranded as Jameson TTB.

Mr Browne said the corporate activity that took place with TTB around a month ago and then the Buxton partnerships had enabled the business to triple in size very quickly.

“We’ve got the management capabilities in Australia, but recently bringing in the team from TTB has given us an office in Hong Kong and better access to investors throughout Asia,” he said. “Then bringing in the Buxtons as an additional shareholder in the business has meant that we are …[drawing] on the excellent expertise and experience from Andrew Buxton, Charlie, and their many, many years worth of experience in property development.

“That‘s extremely beneficial when you’re growing and building a business. As well as the capital investment.”

Andrew Buxton co-founded Melbourne property developer MAB Corporation, which he and brother Michael earlier this year, tested market interest in earlier this year. A potential $1bn-plus sale, via Rothschild & Co, did not come to pass.

MAB has a $16.5bn pipeline, with its operations spanning housing estates, residential, commercial, industrial projects, and investment management.

Mr Buxton said as an initial investor in the Jameson Special Situations fund, they saw the prospect of a broader working relationship with the firm and the ability to add diversity to their current operations through exposure to deals in alternative real estate like aged care or data centres.

“Where traditionally we have been straight developers, we see a broader opportunity set with Jameson TTB in the alternative funds management space,” he said.

“Our partnership with Jameson TTB is one of great synergy and is complementary to what we do, which is fundamentally property development.”

Charlie Buxton, Andrew’s son, runs the Cadence Property Group, and is also involved with the family office and investment in Jameson.

Both he and Lauren Short, financial controller for the Buxton Family Office and MAB Corporation, will sit on the Jameson TTB board.