About us and an introduction
to the team

Our Background

Oryx was founded by Fawaz AlRajhi and Johan Eriksson to provide international investors with direct access to UK and European real estate investment opportunities, asset management and advisory services.

Oryx was founded in direct response to the lack of resources available to this investor group, and since inception has furthered its founding mission of sourcing, investing in and managing real estate principally for GCC-based investors.

The founders recognised the importance of building direct relationships with this investor group. Through credibly understanding and serving investor expectations, Oryx is able to actively support with capital allocations to real estate and the integration of real estate as part of a wider portfolio construction.

Fawaz, Johan and the team possess several decades of experience in private capital and real estate investment management and share an industry reputation of high integrity and professionalism which forms the foundation of Oryx.

Our Team

We are a team of professionals with backgrounds ranging from private capital markets to real estate asset management with diverse experience and success track record in UK, European, Middle Eastern and US markets.

Fawaz Sulaiman AlRajhi

Fawaz Sulaiman AlRajhi

Chairman

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Fawaz is the Chairman and CEO of AlRajhi United, a family-owned investment management company that invests its assets in global public and private equities, real estate and alternative investments.

Prior to establishing the family office in 2010, Fawaz had spent more than a decade working in the banking industry. He held various positions within AlRajhi Bank and AlRajhi Capital, most recently as the Head of Private Equity Placement and Origination. He also worked at AlRajhi Bank’s Corporate Banking Department, originating and underwriting loans for major corporates.

Fawaz holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and two Bachelor degrees in Accounting and Management Information Systems from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

Johan Eriksson

Johan Eriksson

Managing Partner

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In September 2019, Johan co-founded Oryx Real Estate Partners with Fawaz. Prior to this, Johan was the Head of International Real Estate at AlRajhi United, managing a real estate portfolio that spanned across the US, UK, continental Europe and the UAE. The portfolio included offices, logistics, hotels and retail, and ranged from income/ core to development/ opportunistic strategies.

Previous to his role at AlRajhi United, Johan held senior positions with several real estate private equity fund managers such as Benson Elliot and Queensgate Investments. Within these roles, Johan focused on pan-European opportunistic real estate investment strategies. Johan started his career in the real estate investment banking team of Merrill Lynch in London and holds a MSc in Business and Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Amani Hussain

Amani Hussain

Investor Engagement Manager

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Amani is the Investor Engagement Manager at Oryx and focuses on the firm’s corporate communications and client services.

Prior to joining Oryx, Amani held investor relations roles with both a property management firm and a large real estate developer. Amani started her career at PwC in London.

Amani holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Liverpool.

Lucy Lewis-Blasetti

Lucy Lewis-Blasetti

Executive Assistant

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Lucy is an Executive Assistant at Oryx, together with office management responsibilities.

Prior to joining Oryx, Lucy worked as an Executive Assistant for several years across various sectors.

Lucy holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Greenwich.

Rafael Meyer-Schmidt

Rafael Meyer-Schmidt

Analyst Intern

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Rafael is an Analyst Intern at Oryx, primarily focusing on supporting the team to execute its real estate investment strategies and assist in the asset management of the existing portfolio.

Prior to joining Oryx, Rafael was a Legal Trainee at Accura, a Copenhagen based law firm. In his position at Accura, Rafael assisted senior attorneys in advising both buyers and sellers with transactions and development projects in Denmark.

Rafael holds an LLB in Law from the University of Copenhagen and is currently finishing both an LLM in Law from the University of Copenhagen and an MSc in Finance, from the Queen Mary University of London.

Guy Pickup

Guy Pickup

Asset Manager

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Guy is an asset manager at Oryx responsible for the active management of the current portfolio, together with providing asset related technical input to investment underwriting.

Prior to joining Oryx, Guy spent 9 years at British Land, a leading UK property development and investment company, working on multiple assets within their central London property portfolio optimizing asset performance. He previously worked at CBRE in the North West UK market providing leasing and valuation advice to pension funds and national company clients.

Guy is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and holds an MSc in Real Estate from Liverpool John Moores University.

Gary Shepherd

Gary Shepherd

Chief Operating Officer

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Gary is Oryx’ Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for executing the firm’s strategic agenda and enabling coherence across the business.

Gary has oversight of the non-investment functions and actively supports the development and delivery of products and transactions.

Prior to joining Oryx, Gary spent over 12 years working with the Big 4, and over 6 years at a multi-asset global alternative investment manager, actively contributing to the growth and meaningful institutionalisation of the firm. Gary holds a BSc (Hons) from the University of Birmingham and is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

James Welham

James Welham

Finance Manager

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James is a Finance Manager at Oryx and is responsible for the operational management of the firm’s financial and control environment across both the products and corporate.

Prior to joining Oryx, James spent 8 years at Nuveen Real Estate and previously Henderson Global Investors, where he was a member of the Group Finance team.

James is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Nicolas Zavvos

Nicolas Zavvos

Associate

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Nicolas is an Associate at Oryx, supporting the team to execute its real estate investment strategies and assist in the asset management of the existing portfolio.

Prior to joining Oryx, Nicolas was an Investment Analyst at Resolution Property, a London based, pan-European, value-add investor. He also worked for Zeus Capital Management in Athens, where he focused on commercial and residential real estate acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe.

Nicolas holds a BA in History and International relations from the University of Leicester.