Praxis Group has appointed Gary Varley as chief financial officer.
Varley brings finance leadership experience in private equity fund management and capital markets. Most recently, he served as European finance director at Burstone, where he oversaw the sale of an €1 billion logistics platform to Blackstone, and Greater Pacific Capital, where he oversaw $1 billion of assets under management and managed multiple exits.
Varley joins the Praxis Group board and reports directly to chief executive Mark Harrison. He will oversee all finance functions and debt relationships, and support the company's growth including new joint ventures.
"I am excited to join the Praxis team at this pivotal moment in its evolution," said Varley in a statement. "The team offers a truly unique approach to opportunistic investing, which has consistently delivered outperformance over multiple cycles. I look forward to strengthening the financial operations and capital markets presence of the business to provide a strong platform for continued growth.”
James Hewitt, chief operating officer of Praxis, said in a statement. "We are pursuing multiple strategies in the most exciting market since 2008. The continued dislocation of capital markets from strong operational performance in our key sectors has created a generational investment opportunity, and Gary's experience will allow us to develop our platform to capture this opportunity fully."
Praxis is a privately owned investor and manager of commercial real estate specialising in value-add strategies in the UK regions. The business was established in 2009 but traces its origins back over three decades. In last 10 years, Praxis said it has bought and sold over £1 billion of UK real estate.