Blackburn will be a member of the new deals team, working on origination and focusing on establishing and building contacts for the firm.

A qualified ski instructor and a rescue scuba diver, Blackburn joins from the international real estate investment and development group Grosvenor. While there, he oversaw the acquisition and disposal of property and business assets as well as being involved in assessing the viability of early-stage real estate business proposals.

Also a successful entrepreneur in his own right, Blackburn established Ashby Property, a company that specialises in redeveloping redundant office space in South London.