Merrow Wood
Residential Land Promotion
Merrow Wood is a specialised land planning business, focusing on promoting land through the planning system for residential.
Ashen originally backed the business founders (Daniel Webber and John Kennedy) in May 2025, before enabling the expansion of the executive resource further in August 2026 when Freddie Webber joined Daniel as executive director and shareholder.
The business works with landowners to typically deliver residential permissions for up to 500 units in locations that are sustainable with the most housing need. Merrow Wood has been allocated up to £5 million by Ashen Capital, which should be sufficient to secure planning permissions for over 2,500 units and are to be delivered by housebuilders or in partnership with affordable housing providers or rental investors.
The business will support one of the Governments’ core missions; by helping to enable its target to deliver 1.5 million new homes over this Parliament, through enabling suitable sites before exiting to housebuilders.
Sibner Investment Management
Residential Debt Platform
Ashen Capital acquired a minority investment into Sibner Investment Management (“SIM”) in January 2025.
SIM is a subsidiary of Sibner Group, a substantial privately owned real estate owner with a long track record of residential property ownership. It is a leader in lending senior, secured loans to SME housebuilders across the UK.
Ashen supported (and continues to support) SIM in its launch of the Sibner Real Estate Debt (UK) LP (a residential development debt fund) by providing non-executive and governance advice to the fund manager entity as well as making a material investment into the fund itself. The fund will focus on senior ranking development and bridging loans and is targeting high net worth investors, wealth managers and family offices.
Oren Properties
Income-Backed Industrial Business
Ashen Capital is a founding shareholder of Oren Properties, an industrial property company who specialises in industrial and warehousing in London and the South-East.
The business is the new company of Andy Gulliford and Mike Logan, who have known each other and worked together for 20 years. Andy was with SEGRO Plc (formerly Slough Estates) for 19 years, the last decade as Chief Operating Officer and Main Board Director. Mike was a Partner with Nabarro (latterly CMS) for 25 years and led the firm’s real estate practice as both an Executive Committee and Board member.
The business operates in a severely constrained market in terms of supply, capitalising on high occupier demand from a wide range of companies in order to secure enhanced rental income and capital appreciation. The business is creating an investment portfolio comprised of smaller, individual properties in and around London stretching from the suburbs to 40 miles outside of the M25.
