Forrest Group Developments

Trainers New Property Plan
7 October 2001

THE YOUNG Scot who made his millions from outdoor advertising will open the doors on his eagerly awaited new business venture today (Monday Oct.8).

Chris Trainer (34), winner of the Scottish technology and communication entrepreneur of the year award just two years ago has now set his sights on another prize – to be the best in the commercial property business.To achieve that goal he has teamed up with one of the property world’s high fliers, Donald Stewart (37), who resigned as Managing Director of Stannifer Developments earlier this year in order to be his own boss and better still spend more time in Scotland. The dynamic duo has formed a new vehicle for their enterprise, Forrest Developments Ltd, which will be based at Trinity House, Lynedoch Street, Glasgow.

Not content with just taking over office space, the new company have invested around £500,000 purchasing and refurbishing the property so that it not only provides state of the art office accommodation for their staff but is also a perfect advertisement for the kind of work they are capable of. To begin with, the new company will concentrate their activities in Scotland and the North of England and are seeking development opportunities in all commercial sectors. Furthermore, Forrest Developments also have the financial ability to acquire existing properties, worth anything up to £20 million, that offer medium term redevelopment potential.They are also happy to discuss terms with others looking for joint venture partners in larger property development contracts.

After selling Trainer, the well-known outdoor advertising business, to Scottish Radio Holdings in a £27.5 million deal in 1999 Chris was appointed Chief Executive of the new company and given the task of going on the acquisition trail. He left that post a year ago after completing several deals and creating the Score Outdoor brand which by then had grown into the fourth largest provider of outdoor sites in the UK. Chris said:“ I enjoyed my time with Scottish Radio Holdings and learned a lot from being part of a PLC. However, I wanted to return to the challenge of running an independent company. I’d retained property interests through my own company, Forrest Securities Ltd and for the past 12 months I’ve been concentrating on it. We now have around 500 sites throughout the UK and over 100 of those have been acquired during the past year.

“I already knew Donald Stewart and consider him one of the outstanding performers in the field of commercial property. When we discussed setting up business together it seemed a natural fit and I’m really looking forward to it.” For Donald, a chartered surveyor by profession, the challenge of self-employment came after a meteoric rise through the ranks of Stannifer Developments, a company he joined seven years ago. After establishing their Scottish office he was appointed Managing Director and then a Director of the Group Board. His desire to go it alone came from wanting to spend more time living and working in Scotland where he believes there are a considerable number of development opportunities.

He said:“Forrest Developments Ltd has a small dynamic team which, coupled with a substantial financial source, will be able to take full advantage of present market conditions.“ We aim to specialise in adding value through the development process which will set us apart from established property companies who are principally investment led”

Even before the doors to their new office are officially opened Forrest Developments are investigating a number of projects including one site in London but no announcements will be made until contracts have been signed.

Developments News