Jack Perry to lead debt vehicle aiming to raise £100m

FORMER Scottish Enterprise chief executive Jack Perry will this week take up his most prominent appointment since leaving the economic development agency when he is named chairman of a company floating on the London Stock Exchange’s main market.

Perry, who is also a former chairman of CBI Scotland, will lead the board at a debt vehicle being launched by specialist property debt manager ICG-Longbow.

The vehicle – called “ICG-Longbow Senior Secured UK Property Debt Investments” (SUPP) – aims to raise at least £100 million and possibly as much as £250m when it closes this week.

SUPP will provide senior secured loans for UK commercial properties and aims to offer investors dividend income of around 6 per cent.

Perry said: “This is an exciting company, which is enabling investors to invest directly into senior property debt for the first time. We see a looming £44 billion shortfall in the supply of senior debt to the UK commercial property sector.”

Perry served as chief executive of Scottish Enterprise from 2004 to 2009 and recently rejoined CBI Scotland as a member of its ruling council so he can act as an “honest broker” in discussions about the independence referendum.

Joining SUPP will be Perry’s first stock market appointment since he stood down as a non-executive director of Robert Wiseman Dairies, the East Kilbride-based milk firm that was taken private by German peer Muller in January.