From Cambridge to Harvard to Super-Prime London

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 ten years building up Saigol DDC , which is now arguably the largest and most profitable developer of super-prime properties in London, focusing on buying and developing blue-chip buildings in Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair into luxury homes – the homes of 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 profits 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 2008, Saigol DDC has given investors a very positive 50% return on their investment. This is astonishing given that the FTSE over the same period has lost value and that many private equity funds are in the red over that period. In addition, Saigol DDC has bought, developed and sold almost 200 million of properties in the last 4 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 my 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.

Saigol-DDC is one of the leading investors in and largest developers of super-luxury properties in London.