Ascend appoints phil gilbert as group risk & compliance lead as part of senior team investment

Ascend – the UK’s leading manager of institutional living assets and largest third-party operator of single-family rental (SFR) homes – has strengthened its senior team with the appointment of governance specialist Phil Gilbert as Group Risk & Compliance Lead.

Phil holds significant expertise across regulatory compliance and risk management for housing and residential real estate, with over 20 years of experience in the sector.

He joins from Calico Group, where he was Governance Manager working across a 7,000-home portfolio, and has also held compliance and risk focused roles at Plus Dane Housing and Prima Housing.

In his new role he will be working for both Ascend and the wider Alvesta Living Group, focused on compliance and risk management capabilities across all aspects of the Group’s activity. Reporting to the executive team, he will oversee both in-house operations and the work undertaken on behalf of institutional client portfolios. His arrival reflects the Group’s ongoing investment in senior talent and continued commitment to improving processes and operational capabilities.

Alvesta Living Group is a vertically-integrated residential real estate investment, asset and property management platform, delivering long-term, stable and risk adjusted returns. It has established six SFR platforms, deployed more than £1billion in acquiring over 5,000 homes. Property manager Ascend holds management mandates with leading institutional investors, overseeing around two thirds of the entire UK SFR asset class alongside wider living sector instructions. Ascend Living, its unique ‘white label’ resident-facing brand, is one of the largest operators of institutional living assets, providing investors with a turnkey identity for homes across the UK.

Paul Stockwell, Chief Executive Officer of Alvesta Living Group, said: 

Risk management and compliance are central to what we offer our institutional clients and capital partners, with Phil’s arriving reflecting our ongoing investment in best-in-class capabilities. His expertise across residential real estate will be invaluable in supporting the Group’s expansion, including into new living sectors, and his insight will help us continue to deliver enhanced investor returns and resident experience across our operations.